Caught Flat-Footed

I'm enough of a news-hound that few things catch me completely off-guard. Until now…

Monday, Apple confirmed rumors (which I'd heard last week and dismissed) that they are switching processors, from IBM to Intel. Intel?! INTEL?!!! NO!!! Why?! Oh Lord, why? **curls into fetal-position, shivering like a leaf and wishing the world to end**

Actually it's not that bad. Not bad at all.

The processor is the part of a computer that "thinks" and for the last ten years Macs have been "thinking" with chips made by IBM. That's right, IBM has been making the brains of Macintosh computers since the mid-90's. But Intel chips have been able to increase their speed to a degree that IBM has lost whatever advantages it once offered. And Intel does it without generating a lot of heat (put my laptop on your legs and feel the burn; it's been described as "wicked" hot). The IBM chips have hit a wall, lagging further and further behind. They can get somewhat faster but they'll keep getting hotter, which means they need to be in larger, louder machines -- not the direction Apple wants to go (although all of the new video game consoles will be using IBM's chip).

So the experts have told us this is not the end of the Mac (see Forbes article). Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, has said your current Mac will be supported for years and new "Intel" Macs (due out in a year or so) will seamlessly run old Mac software. For the foreseeable future, all Macs will run all Mac software. Just as many Mac users never realized that IBM was under the hood, many will not be bothered that Intel is there.

In coming years Macs will get much faster, probably cheaper, and they will run your entertainment world. Someday soon your Mac will integrate seamlessly with your entire home entertainment system. It will manage your TV and movie watching just like an iPod manages your music. Everything will be wireless and high-bandwidth. This is why Apple is switching to Intel, to sell you movies in your home. I wouldn't buy stock in Blockbuster right now.

Everything good about a Mac will still be there; Macintosh lives on! And you won't have to endure a future of a Windows machine freezing and crashing everyday.

Buyer's note: So do you buy a Mac right now? If you're buying something new right away, like an iMac or PowerMac, I wouldn't hesitate. It might be two years before the replacement comes out and you'll be supported in the 4-to-5 year window you intend to use that machine. But if you're looking at a mac-mini, a laptop, or you just have to have the lastest thing off the assembly line, then wait until mid-to-late-'06. That's what I'm going to do with my work computer. I'm still undecided about things at home.