This probably falls into the category of "Should-I-Buy-Now-Or-Wait" questions, but I'm hearing some information recently about the Apple/Intel partnership that concerns me. I can't seem to get an answer that suits my questions out of searches so it seems I must ask.
My affair with Apple has been brief and intense. Last year I made an abrupt switch from Windows to Macintosh. I lost a lot in the change (which is to say that I went from a 1.7ghz AMD / 1gb PC133 system to an iBook 900mhz / 384mb PC133), but I am now a Mac user for life. With these new rumblings of the rearrangement of Apple's architecture, I'm concerned about what this means for me as a user.
I'm an art student in education and design, and a serious semiprofessional photographer. I am a power user, but I could care less about the long technical discussions that seem to result from asking this question. I don't care about if Intel's chips oupterform IBM's chips, or squeezing that extra half-percent performace out of something like Steve is so fond of doing. I care about stability and longevity.
I'm currently looking at upgrading out of the (very lovely but ultimately frustrating) doldrums of my sub-giga system to a new PowerBook 15in with the VRAM upgrade immediately, later to be maxed out in every available respect. I'm sure that all the third-party applications I use will make the jump to Intel (Photoshop, Cinema4D, Nisus Writer, BBEdit, CSSEdit, PathFinder, Adium, Firefox), but I am concerned about ending up with a system that leaves me using older versions when Apple makes that switch.
Hopefully that question makes sense. I'm not concerned about the new products, since I haven't been using Macintosh long enough to care about legacy software support. I am more worried about legacy hardware support in the new applications. 2006-07 is still a way off, and I am patient enough to wait for Intel systems if that is a preferable alternative to getting a system now ('now' probably meaning in the autumn).
So what do you think? Should I continue to exercise my patience, take up Zen a profession, and wait for an Intel PowerBook, or do I fork out the $2200 this year and get on with my life with a new system? Am I being paranoid and looking a picture too big for the context of my computer use? Should I seek out professional female companionship and lighten up about the whole notion?
Thanks.
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