speedemonV12 said:
Hi all...im new here....but im eager to get my hands on an apple....Just had a few questions....first off i love mac...but right now i am runnin windows xp pro on a dell inspiron 600m, and its 3 years old. Its time to get a new computer. Mac has held my eye for a long time now, and i really want to get one......but what i would like to know first, is what will happen once they switch to intel chips? will that make it so that i would run OSX on an PC? since its intel based?.....also....does anyone know if, or when they will begin to use the new intel chip (nyhon or something) after it comes out in January....and i guess the last question would be....When will they come out with a new powerbook......the g4 has been out for a while, and g5 just seems like the next step? do you know if they will comeout with that soon? and wiill the g5 have intel, chips in them?....im looking to get something by christmas, but if Apple is planing on releasing some nice new comps begining of 06, then i might wait. Please let me know...thanks
P.S. i posted this in the Macpolls.com discussion, but i think that was the wrong place. if an admin would like to delete it..that would be great!
OK, quick word of advice before I try to answer anything, your posts and questions will be much easier for us to understand if you use sentences and paragraphs to break down your queries into more clearly delineated segments. This way we can easily get the gist of your questions and deal with them one at a time so that it is easier for you to get the answers you want.
So here goes:
1. When Apple switch to Intel chips there will be very little visible change (unless they change how the computers themselves actually look). There should be a dramatic increase in raw grunt for the portable line and a healthy boost for the desktops. At the time of launch all Apple's software should run and hopefully there will be a good deal of third party apps running natively on the Intel architecture. For those apps that aren't yet compiled for Intel and PPC they will run in emulation on the Intel based Mac.
2. OS X will not run on any other hardware besides an Apple Macintosh. Currently there are builds of 10.4 doing the rounds on generic x86 based PC's but by the time the Intel Macs come out they will be utilising some sort of hardware security device that must be present for the OS to run.
3. There is no information as to when Apple will be switching to Intel, all we know is that the change over will begin before June 06. Nobody knows what chips Apple will be using yet although educated guesses place the Yonah and subsequently the Merom chips inside the portables and the new desktop chips NOT based on netburst inside the desktops, although this will most likely occur later in the timeline.
4. A new PowerBook will, in my opinion, arrive when they switch to Intel. Nobody but Steve and the management team at Apple know when this is.
5. You must understand that G3, G4 and G5 are names Apple has given to the generations of PowerPC chips used in the Mac. The new PowerBook could not be called a G5 and be based on Intel chips, the G5 moniker is reserved for the IBM 970 chip used in single-core form in the iMac and dual-core form in the PowerMac. A G5 based PowerBook is treated as a mythological creature on these boards and questions about it's existence are treated most commonly with disdain.
6. Apple has completed it's product updates for 2005, the next round of updates will most likely come at MacWorld San Francisco in mid-January. This is the largest Mac related gathering of the year and has traditionally been used by Apple to launch new software and hardware and to announce updates to current models. Apple is possibly the most secretive computer company in the world - it's why there are so many of these rumour sites - so anything we say or predict is usually based on a good deal of crystal ball gazing with a bit of cyber voodoo thrown into the mix.
As for purchasing this year, I'd say go for it. The PowerBook was recently updated (in the 15" and 17" widescreen form - the 12" was left alone, I think this is because Apple will be discontinuing it or replacing it with a new 13" widescreen model next year) to what I believe is it's last incarnation in PowerPC form.
The iBook may be coming up for review soon however it still represents great value and they are remarkable machines to use.
The iMac was updated into probably the best value computer Apple makes and of course the PowerMac regained it's Power with a move to dual-core G5 processors and PCIe architecture.
As for the Mac mini well, look at the front page, something is happening with it soon but if you need one, they are a great little cheap desktop Mac.
Welcome to the forums and I hope I was able to answer some of your questions.
