Apple Moves To Intel
A bold move towards innovation, or Apple's eventual demise?

On every Mac lover's mind these days is what will the future hold for the enjoyment of our computing experience? The day is coming when we will no longer be able to brag about our RISC architecture and Altivec (Velocity Engine) technology. A day is coming that the answer to the question "do these computers run Windows?" (or the worse form, "do these computers run a 'normal' operating system") will be "yes" or at least "possibly."

These events may seem tragic, but I think the benefits of a move to Intel may out-weigh the problems. First, this should be the easiest major transition Apple has ever instituted. The NextStep Operating System (Mac OS X's ancestor) ran on the x86 architecture, so the port for Apple was probably an easy one. Cocoa developers will essentially just have to recompile their code, and Carbon developers will need to make a few tweaks and recompile. (Of course, some developers have not made the transition to X-Code, but that is one hurdle they would have had to eventually do anyway.)

The end-user should have no problems with the Intel architecture. Mac OS X will still look, feel, and run like it did on a Power PC. Rosetta should aid in the use of most programs that aren't recompiled by 2006 for those users who don't want to upgrade their software. (Personally, I hope that developers make a free upgrade to a universal binary version of all their current programs, but that's probably not too terribly realistic.) I'll no longer have to try and equate the speed of a Mac computer to that of an Wintel machine.

All-in-all, if Apple really can prevent owners of other branded Intel boxes (such as Dell, Gateway, Lenovo, etc.) from installing and using Mac OS X, then I don't think the transition will be the demise of Apple. In fact, it could be Apple's greatest move towards more innovation.

Well, now I need to go and begin the painful process of waiting for the new MacIntel (or Mintelac) computers to come out.

Best Of Tiger

Spotlight
When I first heard about Spotlight, I was only slightly impressed; I figured Dashboard would be the coolest new feature of Tiger. Well, I was completely wrong. I failed to realize the implications of Spotlight's complete integration into the operating system. In fact, I still don't think I understand all of the implications of Spotlight's technology. I do believe it will change the way I use my computer. No more rooting through disks and folders in a filesystem, but instead, everything will start with Spotlight.

Automator
This is not simply visual AppleScript, but a sibling to AppleScript; the two are complementary (and know, I don't mean their angles add up to 90°). Automator is also integrated through out the operating system, in Apple's programs, and possibly in third-party programs. Depending on how you use your computer, this could definitely increase your productivity

Dashboard
Exposé for widgets that are easy for people to develop. Looks cool, but I'm no longer that impressed with it. (Blame Spotlight)

Quicktime 7
A major overhaul and a lot of features that were a long time coming. First, the live resizing is cool and the aesthetic enhancements don't end there. Second, you can finally record audio and video using Quicktime Pro. Finally, it has support for the new H.264.

Preview
Apple isn't touting the updates in preview, but I think they deserve a mention. New support for reading PDF Annotations, PDF Form support, Image Correction, Slide Show, RAW image support, and more.

Tiger, Worth The Upgrade?

In a word: Definitely
While Panther took some convincing, Tiger's new features make upgrading a necessity. With over 200 new features, Tiger is the biggest overhaul of Mac OS X ever. While most of them are under-the-hood features, Tiger has more major new features then any other upgrade. Just Spotlight and its integration into the Operating System is worth the $129. Check out all of Tiger's goodness at Apple's website.

What Will The Future Hold?

Towers
The G5 towers have to break the 3.0 GHZ mark. Steve Jobs said that it would happen a year after the first towers were released, and now, almost two years later, the G5 Tower maxes out at only 2.5 GHZ. In the more distant future, expect to see dual core technology implemented in the G5 towers, Superdrives that burn at 32x, faster AGP graphics slots, and increased frontside bus speed.

iMacs
Apple's new G5 iMac is a killer machine. Expect the iMac to offer a 23" model in the near future, processor speed bump, and support for Bluetooth 2.0 - EDR. In the long run, expect the screen size to stay within that 17"-23" range, graphics card boosts (possibly an AGP port instead of built into the logic board?), superdrive improvements, and more RAM slots.

Powerbooks
The Powerbooks just received a long-overdue update, but big changes should be coming to this powerful machine. In the distant future, look for HD displays, a G5 (possibly dual core?) processor, amazing graphics cards and a 32x Superdrive.

iBooks
The iBooks seem to always be chasing the Powerbooks and I see no change in this senario. The next update should have Bluetooth 2.0 - EDR built into it as well as a Superdrive model for the 12" iBook and larger hard drives. In the far off future, expect the iBooks to have the same features as the current '05 Powerbooks.

iPod Photo and iPod U2 Reviewed

iPod Photo
With the advent of the iPod photo has come colored screens and a 60GB iPod. Unfortunately the 60GB option is only offered in this new line of iPods. While the ability to store picture and create slide shows seems cool, I'm not sure how useful that is to me personally. The screen is kind of small and the coolness factor seems likely to run out pretty quickly. Still, the iPod photos are nothing to sneeze at since they have a 15 hour battery life for playing music.

iPod U2 Special Edition
I'm not sure this iPod will really take off. It's a 20GB iPod that is black with a red click-wheel. Additionally, the back has the autographs of the band members of U2 and the iPod comes with a $50 gift certificate only good for U2's complete digital collection found on the iTunes music store. Most U2 lovers probably already have their complete collection and will not find that useful. Don't expect this iPod to be flying off the shelves.