Daring Fireball: MWSF ’06 Predictions:
New Macs based on Intel processors: I say no. Everyone who’s
calling for this announcement seems to be taking stance that it’d
be cool for everyone involved if Apple has managed to get
Intel-powered machines out the door a few months earlier than
expected. But it wouldn’t be cool for developers who took Apple at
its word at WWDC, when they were told that Intel-based Macs could
be expected in the spring or early summer.Releasing Intel-based Macs now might be popular with the keynote
crowd and the tech press, but it would come at the expense of a
bit of Apple’s credibility with developers. As late as September
20, Steve Jobs said the following regarding when Intel-based
Macs would ship: “We said we’d be shipping by next June and we are
on track to have that be a true statement,” said Jobs. As was
pointed out recently in MDJ, if Apple were to release Intel-based
Macs now, in January, the next time Apple tells developers they
have a year to get on board with something new, developers will
feel like they’ve got to drop everything and do it immediately.If I’m wrong, and Intel Macs are announced today, I expect to see
only Mac Minis, not iBooks or PowerBooks.Result: Wrong. But at least the MacBook Pro has FireWire.
Well, dammit. I was betting the same way and just bought a 17 inch iMac 2.0 GHz. Wouldn’t I like to do that over again.
And I agree: MacBook is the worst product name I have heard in ages.