Keep your hands and coat of arms inside the vehicle , everyone . After six month of slowly ratcheting anticipation , we ’ve in conclusion reached the top . And a yearlong Intel roller - coaster drive is about to commence .
The first Intel Macs have get in , kicking off a twelvemonth of young product rollouts the the like of which Mac fans have n’t seen since … well , possibly since ever . And by the end of the year , the Mac product lineage will be like nothing we ’ve ever seen before .
Twice as fast?
Let ’s start with the new iMac , powered by Intel ’s Core Duo processor . For the first time , iMacs are power by two processor . Apple claims that , as a result , the organization is double as tight ; our own real - world mental test do n’t bear those claims out ( see The Intel Mac FAQ ) , but they do show a performance cost increase — without an accompanying toll hiking .
The speed of these new Intel - ground Macs will depend in part on the package you ’re play . mackintosh OS X 10.4.4 itself , all of the Apple apps that come bundled with it , and the iLife and iWork software suites are all already cosmopolitan — mean they ’ll play natively on both PowerPC- and Intel - based Macs . legion other developer have also released Universal updates for their programs .
But if you ’re running software that has n’t been recompiled for Intel — Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop come immediately to heed — your Intel - based iMac will have to translate that program ’s codification from PowerPC to Intel , on - the - fly . Such course of study should work just fine on these fresh political machine — but definitely more slowly than on their PowerPC predecessors . Apple ’s announcement that Final Cut Pro , Aperture , and Logic Pro will be available in ecumenical form in March is good intelligence . A Universal translation of Photoshop will be even good news show .
Good-bye, PowerBook
Of course , I would guess that most iMac users rely primarily on the programs bundled with their systems , all of which are now Universal . That ’s one ground technology savant had been anticipate that Intel flake would first appear in consumer system , such as the iMac or iBook .
So we were half right . In addition to coming out with the Intel - based iMac , Apple introduce the 15 - inch MacBook Pro , a PowerBook replacement powered by a similar Intel Core Duo processor .
As a laptop computer user , I ’m worked up about the MacBook Pro — but I ’ve also got a thousand questions . regrettably , we wo n’t be getting any answers until the MacBook Pro ships ( Apple says February ) . Apple claim that the new laptop will be four times faster than the PowerBook ; unlike the iMac , the MacBook Pro is ( thanks to the Core Duo CPU , better bus and RAM speeds , SATA memory , and PCI Express video recording ) a potentiallymajorimprovement on the system it ’s exchange .
As someone who totes an iSight on trip-up so I can picture - chat with my family , I ’m also happy that these new laptop computer arrive with a build - in video camera . And by adding Front Row , Apple has create a portable set - top box seat : you could plug a MacBook Pro into a television and turn tail it , lid close , from across the room .
I ’m also looking forward to the magnetically connect MagSafe power arranger . My kids have yanked on my PowerBook ’s cord so many times , it ’s awful I have n’t had to put back the simple machine a dozen times over . But I ’m also groaning about the obsolescence of yet another generation of Apple power transcriber .
Meanwhile , lover of Apple ’s 12- and 17 - column inch PowerBooks may question when they ’ll be invite to the Intel political party . If the past is any indicant , it ’s likely that , once the 15 - in MacBook Pro find oneself its ocean legs , larger and smaller versions will come . get ’s go for so .
What’s next?
So where do we go from here ? The iBook ’s day are no doubt numbered ; devote the proclamation of the MacBook Pro , can a plain old MacBook be far behind ? Meanwhile , the Mac mini is look a flake long in the tooth . I would n’t be surprised to see those two theoretical account exchange soon . Only the Power Mac might fall on for a while , given its user ’ reliance on gamy - performance professional software that simply must be world-wide before they can switch .
Yes , 2006 is going to be an exciting drive . There will be young Intel - base Macs around every corner . Some of the wind and act will be exhilarating , while others might end up making some of us feel a flake queasy . But however you look at it , it ’s going to be one heck of a drive .
What do you intend ? Will you be purchase a new iMac or a MacBook Pro as presently as you may ? Or are you waiting for your apps to be “ Universalized ” ? countenance me cognise in our forums or ship me an e - chain armor .
