Well, Apple has done it again. They’ve managed to retain the secrecy of their new products until this morning at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. I’ll admit it: I get pretty caught up in events like these. Just a few times a year, Steve Jobs walks out onto a stage and introduces  new and great things from Apple. In September, it was the iPod Nano. Amazing. In October, it was the iPod with Video. Again, amazing. Today, it’s all about Intel. Apple has been saying that they are transitioning to Intel chips for several months now, and today that vision has been realized. But before I fill you in, let’s talk about what almost eveyone thought was going to happen:

- Most rumor mills were predicting new iBooks with Intel chips because the iBooks haven’t had an update in quite a while.

- We were also expecting a teeny-tiny iPod Shuffle since the Nano is pretty much in the same size class as the Shuffle now.

- We were also thinking about new software, including iLife ‘06, which was supposed to have an easy-to-use website tool called “iWeb”.

- There were also some late rumors about some huge, plasma displays for use in home theaters, which could be hooked up to…

- New Intel Mac Minis, with Front Row software that made it more of a home theater-style computer.

- Also, there was the possibilty of a desktop stereo for iPods.

OK, so what products ended up being released? Well, there’s no Intel iBook. Instead, there is a new PowerBook in town….except that it’s not called a PowerBook. Now, it’s the MacBook Pro, with an Intel dual-core processor, which means that it’s twice as fast. Except that it’s actually boasting speeds 4 times faster than the most recent PowerBook. This really took me by suprise, since I recently purchased a PowerBook and wasn’t expecting a new one for quite a while.

They also put the new Intel chips in the iMac, which blows my mind because they just updated that computer like two months ago. Those crazy guys.

They did, in fact, toss out some new software, including iLife ‘06 (with iWeb), iWork ‘06, and an update of OSX.

The iPod family didn’t get a new, tiny Shuffle or a sleek desk stereo, but Apple did add a new accessory: an FM radio receiver that’s integrated into a nifty iPod remote w/earbuds.

So do any of these things strike my fancy (as if I had any money)? Well the MacBook Pro would be awesome, but I love the PowerBook I have and the Intel chips would make some of my software obsolete (more on that later). The iMacs are cool, but I’m a laptop guy. As far as the software goes, I’m a little intrigued by the new iLife because iPhoto has some cool new features and the iWeb program looks interesting (there’s some blogging and podcasting tools on it that I’m sure are nifty). I’m not interested in the FM radio for the iPod because, honestly, the whole point of me having my iPod is to be able to avoid the torture of FM radio (now, and AM radio would be a whole different story).

So what about this Intel transition? Well, Apple has been using IBM PowerPC chips for as long as they’ve been in business (I think) and that was one of the reasons PCs and Macs had compatibility issues (you had to buy software designed for either PC or Mac). Now that Intel is the chip for Mac, the whole “for Mac” concept is out the window. This means that conceivably, you could run Windows on an Apple computer. This is only a theory though, and now one has tried it yet (but now, people will). This also means that you can run any software on a Mac, without having to look for the “for Mac” label. The vice-versa effect will also result, though: If you have an Intel Mac, then you won’t be able to use “for Mac” software. This means my Adobe software, which is Mac specific, would not work on the new MacBook. Apple will be quick to roll out the “Universal” versions of all of its software and other software manufacturers will be quick to follow.

All of this means that I’m willing to bet that at this time next year, all of Apple’s computers will be Intel powered and my PowerBook will be a part of Apple history, but it should still last me long after that, though. So, once again Apple is on the cutting edge. In the coming months we will see lots of new Macs running at blazing speeds, a new OSX to compete (yeah right) with the upcoming Windows Vista, and probably some even cooler iPods.

So, in case you couldn’t tell, I’m a bonifide Mac nerd. I’ve tried to resist the urge to post about how much better Macs are than PCs, but I have a feeling that this year I will end up posting quite a bit about the glory that is Apple. Heck, I’ve already added an “Apple” category.