The Intel-based Apple hardware has been released.

Why is this news? Well, if you have to ask, you obviously do not use computers or you turn them on, do your work, and then turn them back off. To everyone else, the fight between Apple and the Wintel Duopoly (Microsoft Windows and Intel-based hardware) is legendary. Apple was nearly done too if not for a cash infusion by their mortal enemy due to the realization that the competition was needed. They may be regretting it now.

Mac OS X is a very robust variant of the Unix operating system (it is based on BSD) which does things the way the Unix/Linux community has promised for a decade as an alternative to the Windows desktop. Only with OS X has this actually come true. I use a Mac Mini at work and I can tell you that while I miss certain things, I would love to live in the Apple world only.

Now, due to a major limitation in the current chip line (PowerPC G5 architecture developed with IBM and Motorola), Apple had no choice but to look at making a major switch; getting in bed with the co-conspirating enenmy. Intel (and maybe AMD) would be able to offer Apple the immediate means to scale their hardware/software cmbination higher still their the current dead end. As a wonderful (planned?) accident, it also offers for the first time an apples to apples (sorry about the pun) comparison between OS X and Windows as they will now basically have common hardware between them.

On the Apple site, you will find the first products of this new relationiship; an Intel-driven Powerbook and an Intel-driven iMac. The immediate claims are 4x and 2x faster operation right off the bat. Of course, any recent purchasers will be royally pissed off unless they bought at a discount.

At a glance, the new products look good, have lots of new features, are comprably priced and look competitive. I no longer can afford to be an early adopter but I definitely would buy these if I was able to. I will wait for the reviews to see what gets said about them.

Enjoy.

Apple