This morning, as anticipated, Apple announced the immediate availability of the new line of Power Mac computers. Though this is not a groundbreaking release, all the models show an improvement in processor speed, file storage, and in the base level of installed RAM. Most noteworthy of mention, these computers have dual-layer DVD-ROMs included in their architecture. This essentially doubles the amount of information you can burn on one DVD.
Apple's flagship model now clocks in at 2.7 gigahertz on each processor. That's an incredible amount of number-crunching power. With power comes price. These towers are designed for research, graphic design, and multimedia production. Designed for professionals, the dual-processor models start at $2499.00 CDN.
Advocates of the Intel platform will tell you time and time again that the Pentium-4 chips clock much faster than the IBM Power PC chips that Apple utilizes. Don't be misled by their arguments. Apple is climbing the ranks of number-crunching power. The latest results by Apple state that their towers out-perform the competition in almost every computing task. I will not hesitate to mention that Apple may (or may not) have skewed the results in their favor.
This release comes in anticipation of the release of Apple's next-generation operating system, Tiger, due Friday. The average computer user will soon know what it means to have a next-generation interface at their fingertips. And yes, I expect to be one of the first people in my city to own this operating system.
