Where's my Credit Card?

[AlanH]

Sooo! New Intel iMac is out! And a new 'MacBook'.

Form the Keynote via MacRomors:

Intel iMac:

Same sizes. 17", 20". Same design. Same features (isight, front row, apple remote), Same price. What's different.
Intel Processor. 2-3x faster than the iMac G5.
Intel Core Duo. an amazing chip.
Two cores. each one faster than the G5.
showing benchmarks. overall 2-3x faster.
10.4.4 is entirely native on Intel processor. All the applications included are universal and native on Intel.
iLife 06 and iWork 06 are all universal binaries, and was demoing them on an Intel machine.
17" iMac, 20" iMac; 2-3x faster. Shipping Today.

MacBook Pro:

Today - MacBook Pro
No more Powerbook. Intel duo Core.
2 processors in every Macbook pro.
4-5x faster.
Fastest notebook ever.
Hair thinner than the 17".
15.4inch LCD. bright as cinemas.
iSight Camera.
IR sensor. Apple Remote.
New feature: New Power Adapter is magnetically held in. If yanked, comes right out.
5.6lbs. iSight, Front Row; $1999 1.67 Core Duo; 667 DDR bus, x1600; $2499 1.83GHz.
Shipping in February.
Taking orders today.

 

[Gatekeeper]

Wow. I didn't expect to see an Intel-powered iMac so soon, but had been wishing upon a star for one. So, wishes do come true! And I agree, Alan, just where is my credit card? Heh. Although I'm more likely to use the savings I've accrued over the last two years (that's about how long I've been planning to buy an updated iMac)!

How will this affect C3C? Or Civ IV? Did Brad have inside knowledge that this was coming down the pike and has been planning accordingly? I would think so, especially with Civ IV, since Aspyr is a developer and all.

Heh. Tuesday's are rarely memorable days for me, but this Tuesday definitely wasn't cut from the same mold as other Tuesdays!

Gatekeeper

 

[AlanH]

It was clear from some time ago that they would get the first ones out for San Francisco, They couldn't afford to watch PPC sales dwindle as people started to delay their purchases for Intel kit.

Aspyr will certainly be developing using Xcode, and probably have several of the developer editions of the Intel hardware in house for testing. Brad said C3C would run under Rosetta, but once he's got Civ4 running on a PowerPC I'm sure he'll recompile and test it on Intel kit.

 

[bio_hazard]

Did you notice the MacBook doesn't come with a modem?! I'm having flashbacks to when I got my original blue iMac (before they came out with the other colors) and it didn't have a floppy drive.

my current powerbook is less than a year old, so I can't justify getting something new just yet... It is a sweet looking machine though!

 

[AlanH]

Modems went out with the last iMac. A portable with no modem is another step along that path. I assume the modem dongle they offer as an option for the iMac will also work with the MacBook, but modems don't get me excited any more.

 

[Gatekeeper]

It was clear from some time ago that they would get the first ones out for San Francisco, They couldn't afford to watch PPC sales dwindle as people started to delay their purchases for Intel kit.

Heh. I would have most likely been among those folks — I want to play Civ IV real bad, but wasn't sure if it was worth getting a PPC-powered iMac to do it, especially with Intel on the horizon. A friend told me software developers will be creating PPC/Intel programs for another three to four years, so that was some relief, but with today's announcement ... well, Intel it is!

Aspyr will certainly be developing using Xcode, and probably have several of the developer editions of the Intel hardware in house for testing. Brad said C3C would run under Rosetta, but once he's got Civ4 running on a PowerPC I'm sure he'll recompile and test it on Intel kit.

Hmm. So an Intel-powered iMac will be able to run both C3C and Civ IV out of the box?

Gatekeeper

 

[AlanH]

Hmm. So an Intel-powered iMac will be able to run both C3C and Civ IV out of the box?

... unless Brad has a major crisis on Civ4. I'm sure Rosetta on an iMac running twice the speed of the current iMac will eat Civ3 Complete for breakfast. But I wouldn't like to rely on it for Civ4, given its apparent bloated hardware needs. So I *hope* they'll honor Glenda's recent undertaking that all Aspyr's 2006 titles will be released as Universal Binaries, to run natively on PPC or Intel.

 

[k-a-bob]

Hey Alan, while you're getting your CC out, pick me up one of them, too.

I'm not picky, the cheapest one will be fine!

 

[AlanH]

Sure Just one?

 

[Brad Oliver]

Hmm. So an Intel-powered iMac will be able to run both C3C and Civ IV out of the box?

C3C didn't ship as a universal binary, so it's not currently intel-native. However, it's not very performance intensive so the new intel Macs should have no problems running it in Rosetta (with the caveat that I haven't tried it yet on the new Macs).

Civ4 should ship as a universal binary.

 

[Gatekeeper]

Good to hear about Civ IV being a universal binary, Brad. Heh. As for C3C ... well, let the chips fall where they may. Alan's probably right about an Intel-powered iMac running Rosetta having C3C for breakfast. I'd like to get both, but if it's only one, it's *definitely* Civ IV.

Gatekeeper

 

[imadork]

Did anyone else notice that Apple's closing share price on the day they introduced the first Intel-based Macs to the world was $80.86? Kinda of freaky, huh? (Get it? 8086, 80286, 80386.....)

 

[Beamup]

I'm currently struggling over whether to buy now or wait.

My current main system is more than 6 years old and hasn't seen major upgrades (due to lack of funds as a penniless grad student). The very first G4 Powermac - 450 Mz. But I've got a fairly new iBook, too, that's likely on the borderline for CIV.

So the question becomes whether or not I try to muddle through until the new Powermacs come out (likely picking up a new HD so I can actually use Software Update again*), pick up one of the new iMacs, or go with a G5 Powermac. I'm inclining towards the first option, but I really wish Steve had said something about the likely timeframe for the rest of the lines to switch over...

* Does anyone else think it's strange that downloading a (listed) 2.5 MB iPod updater requires half a gig of free space?

 

[AlanH]

I really wish Steve had said something about the likely timeframe for the rest of the lines to switch over...

Well, he did say the rest of the range would be transitioned by the end of 2006. I guess that's a couple of iBooks, one or two PowerBooks, the Mini and the G5 tower. Six machines, make up your own roadmap for the next twelve months.

* Does anyone else think it's strange that downloading a (listed) 2.5 MB iPod updater requires half a gig of free space?

Yes, but if you don't have 0.5GB free space your system is going to go unstable if it isn't already.

 

[Beamup]

Well, he did say the rest of the range would be transitioned by the end of 2006. I guess that's a couple of iBooks, one or two PowerBooks, the Mini and the G5 tower. Six machines, make up your own roadmap for the next twelve months.

That's the problem. May would be a completely different proposition from December.

Yes, but if you don't have 0.5GB free space your system is going to go unstable if it isn't already.

Hence the new HD.

 

[AlanH]

That's the problem. May would be a completely different proposition from December.

I figured they'd switch the G4 products first - Mini and 'Books. I was half wrong, so I'm probably the wrong person to try to guess. However, I now think they'll focus on the other single processor products first, so it'll be the Mini and other 'Books by May or July (WWDC and New York). The G5 tower (along with the XServes) will be the last to switch, because they are already dual core, dual CPU-capable. Remember the emphasis on perfromance per watt? Watts don't matter so much when you have a wind tunnel to disperse them.

If you are looking for a new system in time for C-IV then you may not have any more choices than you can see now. Possibly a new Mini, maybe an iBook, but not a replacement for your tower. I also have an old G4 tower - even older than yours as it was 350 MHz before it was breathed on. But I think an iMac will do next time around, hence the thread title. I doubt if I'll need the internal expansion capabilities of a tower in future.

 

[Beamup]

We're definitely thinking along the same lines. I probably don't need a new system for CIV thanks to the newish iBook, so it's really more a general need. So I really need to decide (as you already have) whether or not an iMac will do. As I think more about it, I'm really thinking it might.

It would have some other advantages, too - I currently use a 40 pound 19" CRT, which is really too heavy for the desk (which is now bowed in the middle by almost an inch). I really ought to get an LCD... but the iMac would solve that at the same time.

And since I can get one soon for 25% off...

 

[bio_hazard]

@Beamup- you've probably already checked the specs of your iBook, but lots of PC users with 'fairly new' machines have had trouble with Civ4. Especially watch out for the video card.

I was a proud owner of one of the original titanium g4 powerbooks (I had actually ordered one of the iBooks but they were so badly backordered that I got frustrated and switched my order to a titanium). I got a little bit 'burned'- almost literally as they hadn't done much about heat dissipation yet and i had a lot of overheating problems, and because the lcd screen was even more vulnerable to etching/compression than the later versions of the powerbook. Anyway, with a big leap like the intellimacs- i'm a bit leary of getting something from the first run off the assembly line...

 

[AlanH]

iThink the iMac is not a big leap in production technology. It's basically the same as the one they've been shipping for the last couple of months, with a different mobo. And that's the second version of that form factor. [Edit] And I bet they got a lot of help with the mobo design from Intel.

Sure there's going to be some fun and games with the Intel stuff for a while, but the way those puppies are going to sell they won't be able to walk away from any significant problem that comes up.

 

[AlanH]

Well, the SJ Reality Distortion Field has had a chance to wear off a bit now. Can't say I'm back to normal yet, but I'm on the mend.

iThink the right thing to do is to wait and see what the timetable for Mac Civ4 looks like. That seems to be the earliest crunch point at which I have to upgrade my video card. So I might as well wait until then before buying, then get whatever's the best InteliMac deal at that point. Maybe they'll have knocked out a few of the early gremlins by then as well.

So my credit card can relax and go back into hiding for a month or three.

Now. Where's Civ Complete?