Random Question: Powerbooks/Intel Processors
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Anyone know a release or ETA for the new powerbooks with intel processors. Now is a really bad time to invest in an powerbook because of the transition , but I need a notebook for law school/music production this fall. I'm hoping it's soon, spring at the latest. I can't wait. They're gonna be 
.Prolly hit up the apple forums now. Peace.
.Prolly hit up the apple forums now. Peace.
Comments
caveat emptor, 1st gen anything apple tends to be buggy.............getting applecare is a must, we're # 1!
i need a new mac as well, decided to buy one two days before i heard, there will be intel inside... stopped it, need to wait!i hope my apps (especially vst plug-ins) will run on intel without any bigger problems.
our problem: we wait to buy a faster powerbook, in the mean time we have to buy all the modified software again or we buy the best powerbook now, that will do for the next two, three years, over.
tricky...
what advantages does using an intel chip instead of whatever mac is using exist?
it'll be the same difference as a PC running AMD or Intel processors...
If you need a new powerbook now, then get it now. If you can wait, at least, a year for the intel powerbook - then wait...
IBM (makers of the powerpc processors: g4, g5) were unable to produce a. enough chips to keep up
with demand, and b. a g5 chip cool enough to work in a portable form factor.
The portable computing lines for apple are their biggest sellers with the biggest profit margin
(next to the iPods), and their inability to offer a significant upgrade to the (now several years old) g4 line
of processors, coupled with IBM's devotion to advancing their processors which both Micro$oft and
Sony are using in the XBox Live and PS3 respectively, rather than devoting time and energy to creating
a mobile g5 or a g5 processor which could reach 3gig like S.Jobs promised two years ago, led to
the ultimate decision to move to the intel/x86 archetecture. Add in the sucess of intel's mobile chip
technology (see pentium M, Centurion, etc) made it the perfect fit.
Which processors Apple goes with has yet to be determined, and knowing apple, i assume it will be
a well guarded secret until the release date, but folks are expecting, as was noted above, that the
powerbooks will get the upgrade first, and many are expecting some sort of dual core 2ghz pentium
m type chip (i forget all the intel code names). These laptops will be dope, for sure, but also as noted
rev.1 apple products do tend to be buggy, but expect them to update quickly if the buggieness is debilitating.
All this said, as with all of apples products, if you need it now, buy it now. Apple will continue to support
the power pc processor for many years. Keep in mind that the current platform will suport programs
written for os9 in the classic environment, and this is 4 years after osX first debuted.
In fact, I would bet you $100 right now that by the time your laptop was not supported by apple and
third party software/hardware co.'s you will be in the market for a new laptop anyway.
The current powebooks are super dope, 512 ram standard, up to 2gigs, 1.67 proc's, etc.
hope that helps.
B