[X4U] Virtual PC question

[Eddie Hargreaves]

On 12/20/05 10:32 AM, Stroller <macmonster at myrealbox.com> wrote:

> On Dec 20, 2005, at 4:06 pm, mac2 wrote:
>> 
>> It was/is my understanding that the first intel based laptops to be
>> released would be iBooks, not powerbooks.  Have I understood this
>> incorrectly???
> 
> As Messrs Self & Hargreaves have pointed out, it's all speculation at
> the moment.
> 
> I, too, have heard the rumour that iBooks will be first, but I've also
> heard a counter-argument that Intel's processors will be able to kick
> the pants off a G4; would Apple release an iBook that was more powerful
> than it's current Powerbooks?

If you were a power user, using Photoshop, Final Cut, etc. on a Powerbook,
would you purchase an Intel iBook so that you could run all your apps in
emulation? Or would you wait for an Intel Powerbook, which would come out
later, when some of those pro apps have been made Intel-compatible?
Secondly, Apple has always used more than speed to differentiate 'consumer'
laptops versus 'professional' laptops. They probably won't have FireWire
800, audio-in, Gigabit Ethernet, monitor spanning, may have less maximum RAM
capability and may use slower hard drives. Would current Powerbook users be
interested in such a machine?

> The initial suggestion was that the Intel processors would be used on
> the low-end models first, but I wonder if this wasn't somewhat
> pandering to the entrenched "megahertz myth" belief

It's because Apple specifically stated that the low-end machines would be
the first to receive Intel chips.

> I believe ArcsTechnical did some performance tests with OS X
> running on an Intel which were quite impressive.

I haven't seen this and couldn't find a link by searching either
arstechnica.com or using Google. Care to post a URL?

> Anyway... it's all speculation, but isn't there usually some MacWorld
> or similar event in January at which new models are often unveiled?

Apple has sometimes introduced new laptops at January's Macworld. We should
know by 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 10.

Eddie Hargreaves