Intel Macs Make Debut at Macworld
FROM MACWORLD As widely rumored, Steve Jobs announced at Macworld Tuesday that Apple's switch to Intel processors will occur about six months earlier than previously announced. The first Macs to make the transition will be the iMac line, with the rest of the company's products moving to Intel by the end of the year.
Previously, Apple had only publicly committed to releasing Intel Macs by the middle of 2006, around the time the company holds its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference.
Many thought Apple would leave the iMac line alone, considering it had refreshed the lineup only three months ago as part of the video iPod announcement.
The new desktop machines include Intel's Core Duo processor. The chip makes the machine about two to three times faster than the iMac G5, even rivaling the power of the company's top-of-the-line Power Mac systems.
Mac OS 10.4.4 will power the new iMacs, and was widely rumored to be the first build that would support the Intel processor. All applications are native to Intel in this build, Jobs said, and would run on both the PowerPC and Intel platforms.
The company also announced that professional apps from Apple would become universal in March. If a customer has the latest PowerPC version, they would be able to upgrade to a universal binary for $49. Other companies, such as Quark, have begun to ship betas of compatible applications beginning today.
Microsoft will be releasing universal binaries with the next release of Office for Mac, however Apple worked with the company to ensure Office works well under Rosetta in the meantime. Rosetta is the application layer used to run old PowerPC-based applications on Intel based Macs.
The Intel Imacs are available immediately in the same 17-inch and 20-inch configurations offered today, and start at $1299 USD.
Apple will follow up the Intel iMac in February with a new laptop dubbed MacBook Pro, a replacement to the company's PowerBook lineup. The MacBook Pro will be between four and five times faster than Apple's current notebooks.