An Apple with a twist.

Apple (arguably one of the greatest computer and industrial design firms on the planet, have finally released their latest laptop... the MacBook Pro. First glance shows that they wisely stuck with the previous Powerbook design. For the past year, I have owned a 15" aluminum Powerbook, and have nothing but praise for the ergonomics and style. The sleek metal look, and Bauhaus design still makes me smile when I look at it.

The big... no, HUGE change in the new MacBook is the implementation of Intel chips. Gone are the motorola PowerPC chips. Whether that's good or bad, I can't say. But Apple claim that the new MacBook will run 4 times faster than the previous model. I'm all for switching to Intel if that's the case.

However, the two big questions that are on every Macophile's mind are reliability and software compatibility. Admittedly, Mac owners love to remind PC users about their familiarity with the Blue Screen Of Death. Not that Macs haven't had their problems, as well. I personally suffered for weeks with 'kernel panics' that locked my Powerbook up at least once an hour. But once I swapped out an aftermarket memory stick for Apple-approved Samsung RAM, the problem disappeared immediately and has never returned.

Software compatibility has been more of an issue with Macs ever since the release of OSX Tiger. Much like the deservedly-hated Windows XP, I've heard many stories of driver issues for printers, scanners and other peripherals under OSX 10.4. Fortunately, I've learned never to be the first to jump onto a new OS bandwagon. Let the company work out the bugs first, then proceed with caution.

Another aspect of software deals with the programs Mac users current are, and have been using for years. Will the current programs run on the new system? We're led to believe it should be a seamless change. I guess we'll know in a couple months when the new machines hit the proverbial streets.

One thing that surprised me is that the prices of the respective models weren't affected. The new version of the MacBook Pro (comparible to the Powerbook) starts at $1999. I'm guessing that the Intel chips are cheaper to make, or at least Mac expects to sell so many that volume will keep the cost down.

As of today, I'll be saving my nickels. And looking under the sofa cushions. By the time I put $2,000 in my piggybank, we'll know if the new Macs are Apples or lemons.