Pigs fly: Macs with Intel inside

[arch_angel16]

So Apple released the unfortunately-named "Macbook" and Intel-based iMac today. The specs on the laptop are sexy as hell. Intel core Duo (aka dual yonah-core pentium-mobiles), ddr-2 ram, big sata hard drives, 1440x960 screen, possibility of dual-booting windows...

of course, no Apple release would be complete without the requisite elitist pretension (check out apple's website for it).

*sigh* i wants one...even if the company and its userbase are a bunch of cappucino-sipping pricks. *sigh*

[Doom9]

I think PC users drink just as much coffee and capucino. Excluding myself.. I don't drink any coffee at all, even though I have a PC and an iPod.

[arch_angel16]

I drink *coffee*. Tim.Hortons. I don't sip $5 mocha-cappa-frappa-crappa-cinos

[theReal]

I know at least two Mac Fans who don't drink coffee at all ;)

No really - I can understand why they becameMac Fans: they noticed that the only way to get a good Windows pc is to build one yourself, which they didn't want to (and I don't say "aren't able to" because the guys I'm talking about are very capable of other technical stuff). The only well-working pc that comes out-of-the-box with select parts of good quality is a Mac. Windows boxes have to be assembled from single, selected parts to be good (mine is, but not everybody wants to or can't build a pc themselves, so Mac is a good choice for them)

btw. I am still a Windows user and Mac doesn't always convince me (I like to build my own box and I don't want everything chosen for me and pre-configured), but after I have seen the 12" iBook and the 17" PowerBook I have to laugh every time I see Windows laptops because they are so ugly in comparison.

[arch_angel16]

There are many boutique PC vendors that sell amazing out-of-box machines. The best is probably Falcon Northwest...

[deets]

but after I have seen the 12" iBook and the 17" PowerBook I have to laugh every time I see Windows laptops because they are so ugly in comparison.

i guess ill never be a mac owner, "ugly" never even comes into my equation when buying a computer ;)

[theReal]

There are many boutique PC vendors that sell amazing out-of-box machines.OK, I forgot about those.

[Doobie]

Where's the photoshop benchmarks to prove the new Apples are the fastest computers in the world? Or, has Apple ditched this dishonest policy?

Too bad Apple chose to not use AMD. That means, as per Apple's specialty, higher price, less power. As a bonus, increased energy consumption.

Don't forget the DRM to prevent you from running the Apple OS on a non-Apple PC.

On the positive side, Apple has chosen not to go with a 9" built-in B/W screen nor have they decided that upper-case letters is all anyone needs. I even bet that the new mice aren't those anti-ergonomic, one-button round things. This raises the question: What really stupid thing did Apple do with the new PCs just to prove that Mac users will tolerate anything? I mean, besides Apple forcing their customers to abandon their software or peripherals investments for the umpteenth time.

It's a good thing that Apple dropped that PowerPC just before it went Cell. That much power might have confused Apple users. No wonder Apple thought it was best to shift to a platform based on a prehistoric CPU architecture.

BTW, arch_angel16, "requisite elitist pretension" What are you trying to do? Start a flame war? My mom told me that if you can't say anything good, then don't say anything at all. I think you need to listen to that advice.

"Cappucino-sipping pricks". I wouldn't call Mac users pricks (because I don't like to speak badly of anyone). A couple of them of them are nice, in a dazed and confused, yuppy way.

[theReal]

I just looked at the apple site and had to laugh out loud because they did it again "4x times faster than... " / "2x faster than ..." what they don't say is what speed they are talking about and how they measured it :sly:

However, there is one major reason I can't talk bad of apple: with Final Cut Pro they have the best NLE system which is also inexpensive (compared to other pro solutions). Adobe has been trying for years to become better and challenge Avid but they haven't gotten anywhere, Avid itself is buggy, bloated and overpriced, but Apple's FCP is so good that in only a few years it became a real threat to Avid. You have to take into account that Avid cutters are - just like Mac fiends - very obsessive about their software. It's hard to get a foot in the door, but FCP seems to have big feet ;)

[foxyshadis]

Doobie: For notebooks Intel Centrino processors still have a much better power to performance ratio than AMD mobiles (or desktop processors... why people put A64-FX in a laptop is way beyond me). P4s and P4EEs of course are in another universe. The price sort of makes up for that cool though... Still, that was Apple's biggest complaint with PPC, IBM just never came through on that front. If you want a desktop replacement that'll burn a hole through your lap, get a desktop.

And Carbon apps will work basically seamlessly, since Carbon is essentially Mac's .Net. Cocoa apps I'm not sure about. System 9 required an emu anyway, so at least they're sort of used to taking it up the backside for compatibility.

I can't figure out macfags or the geeks who bristle at them, I think the company's just hilarious and an awesome marketer.

In the end, I want a laptop with excessive power that's thin with curves and corners in all the right places, just like my car, and unfortunately Apple has only one design, take it or leave it. Oh well, there are enough PC models and vendors that a few of them appeal to me.

[Doom9]

(or desktop processors... why people put A64-FX in a laptop is way beyond me).I'm typing this on a Notebook that has a desktop 2.8 GHz P4 ;) Not of my own choice obviously, but the thing has worked just fine for over two years.

[arch_angel16]

OOh. Something to note for all would-be switchers. "Intel Core Duo" aka dual-yonah, is 32-bit. No 64-bitness. Which means no Windows Vista compatibility. (also note that MacOSX is a 64-bit OS) I'm going to *definitely* be waiting until dual-core 64bitness is out...

[Shinigami-Sama]

I drink *coffee*. Tim.Hortons. I don't sip $5 mocha-cappa-frappa-crappa-cinos
god bless Canada

but I agree, about this, IMO Macs are good for ultra newbs, and ultra hi end, no medium, and in the realm of my understanding, specialized creatures die faster than gernalized ones, but these do look interesting

[Doobie]

Apple
R.I.P.

I don't know anything about these new makes, hardware wise, that makes them anything other than a Windows PC. Therefor, Apple has thrown in the towel in being an alternative computer company.

Back in the 1980s, there were a number of companies that made personal computers. IBM, Apple, Atari, Amiga, Texas Instruments, and others. Because of the almighty need of compatibility, it wasn't long until only the IBM/Windows PC and the Apple Mac remained. The Mac was headed for death in the 1990s until Microsoft bailed Apple out with software commitments and cash. The market really didn't support Apple lasting this long.

It won't be long until most Apple computers sold will be running Windows Vista. OS X will languish then for a few years. The Apple Windows PCs could gain market share if Apple decides to aim at the mainstream, or Apple could continue to target those looking for style over value. Either way, Apple will be fighting up hill just to stay relevant.

And, don't count on Apple to continue to rake in the cash on iPods, as the iPod job will eventually go to the cell phone.

Goodbye, Apple.

[DarkNite]

I just saw the new Mac commercial on TV while watching a playoff game, and I almost felt bad for all those little intel chips stuck in all those dull, boring boxes doing dull, boring things until I realized they were refering to my beloved PCs.

Offensive? Very. True? Absolutely not. Effective marketing? Yes, if you're an amazingly impressionable consumer monkey.

Imagine the possibilities... I already did. When I was running FreeBSD with a heavily customized enlightenment installation on a self built P4 machine years ago. Without ppc I have no reason to look at a Macintosh unless it's a prototype Lisa in a display case.

[Doobie]

I just saw the new Mac commercial on TV while watching a playoff game, and I almost felt bad for all those little intel chips stuck in all those dull, boring boxes doing dull, boring things until I realized they were refering to my beloved PCs.

Go get a PC, with far more power for the price, hide it under your desk. On your desk, put a nice wide-screen LCD, and wireless keyboard and mouse. Then you'll have an something sexy, not boring.

Also, ask Dell, and the hundred other PC makers why they resist making a few designer models for the style-above-value people. Any PC maker can take laptop parts and make a cute, little Cube PC, or stuck those parts into the back of an LCD monitor. Then they can throw a special brand name on the PC. Like, maybe "Izod" with a little alligator on the Cube on the LCD. As competative as the PC market is, I've always wondered why only a non-PC company does things like this.

[theReal]

I will agree with all of you as soon as you can show me how to run Final Cut Pro HD on my PC. As long as that doesn't work, Mac will have a growing market share in the video world...

[arch_angel16]

Let's just make this one thing clear...With the assumption that you *can*run Windows on it....these Apple notebooks are the sexiest notebooks in existence. Period. Sure they're priced high, but they're goddamn sexy. Well-built, too. And no, it's not "the death of Apple". As long as there are people who will pay through the nose for the feeling of exclusivity and the near-orgasmic (reportedly) experience that is a Mac, Apple the computer vendor will thrive.