Why a MacIntel is Looking Less Likely

The rumors about which Mac will first show up with an Intel processor are flying around the Net, with some claiming that the MacMini will be first and others insisting it will be the PowerBooks. The latter has now been claimed by both the AppleInsider website and by a Citigroup analyst, giving some credence to the idea that Powerbooks may indeed win the race. (I think it’s just as likely Apple won’t unveil just one Intel based line in January at MacWorld SF but several.)

In previous blogs, I stated my interest in an Intel-based Mac laid primarily in PowerBooks because I wanted the ability to boot into Windows XP and Mac OS X. As I’ve taken more time to assess my true needs, though, the need to boot into Windows XP has somewhat lessened. That need for Windows is the sole driver for my consideration of a MacIntel PowerBook.

It’s not that I need the Windows applications I run any less. They are primarily flight planning applications I use on the road. I’m simply not flying as much cross-country as I thought I would; and when I do, running those applications under Virtual PC is working just fine, even if not a quickly as I would like. I had thought I would need Windows to update my aircraft’s GPS database, but the airplane wasn’t wired up with a data port when the GPS was installed, so I have to find another way to perform the task. I have, and while it does require a Windows machine to do it, I have a desktop I can use for that. Indeed, the realization that I will be keeping a Windows desktop is part of what lessens my need for a Mac notebook. The other factor in my cooling is Apple’s abandonment of the 12 inch form factor. I really don’t want to haul a 15 inch notebook around; they are of marginal use in an airplane, whether a general aviation aircraft or a commercial airliner.

Buying an Intel based iMac doesn’t make much sense for me either since I’d have to run all my software, other than i-apps supplied with the computer, under Rosetta. That goes doubly for buying a PowerMac. Upgrading my video editing pro-applications to Intel versions would cost more than a pretty penny and would make no sense to do unless I was into video as a business. Right now, I’m not.

So, that leaves a MacMini employed as an entertainment center as the most likely candidate to buy. At the moment, though, I don’t have a large LCD or plasma TV to hook it to, so buying it would be a true experiment. That’s not something I can afford.

I hate to be out on the sidelines; but it’s starting to look more and more like that’s where I’m going to be. (All that aside, where are the applications? If vendors don’t hit the streets with dual binary applications at or before the machines are released, there won’t be any software for the machines to run.)

All that said, there is one scenario where my buying an Intel PowerBook would make sense. If a dual-core, Intel-based PowerBook could run my current applications under Rosetta even faster than my current 2.0 GHz PowerPC iMac, then replacing the iMac with a 15 inch PowerBook and a 20 inch Apple Cinema Display makes sense. I’d hand the iMac and my current PowerBook down to my wife if she wanted them, contact PowerMax and trade the iMac in on the PowerBook, or sell the iMac outright. In that case, I could see the PowerBook becoming my “everything machine” except for video editing, assuming the PowerBook could be gotten with a hard disk big enough to house OS X, Windows XP, and my data as well. That could be the best of all worlds.