But I did touch it and scroll around for a second. It feels alot like an Aluminum PowerBook G4. And it acts like an Al-Book, too. Except faster. Yeah, a lot faster.

The demo model I got up close with was the high-end MBP, powered by an Intel Core Duo chip with two processors running at 1.83 GHz. You can order this computer right now, starting at $2499, but you won't get it until sometime next month according to Apple. A low-end version is available for $1999, running the same Intel processors at 1.67 GHz.

Both machines ship with Mac OS X 10.4.4, which was released today and is available via Apple Software Update. 10.4.4 runs natively on the new Intel Mac platform (it also runs on PowerPC Macs). iLife '06, which is also available now (I ordered a copy directly after the keynote and already received word from Apple that it shipped), runs natively on Intel Macs as well.

Let me tell you: the MacBook Pro runs native apps very quickly. Fast. Noticeably fast. It also, according to Apple reps, will run non-native apps at more or less the same speed they run now on top-end PowerBook G4s. The Intel dual-core chips are faster than G4s, but the Rosetta emulation slows things down. So it's more or less a wash if you want to run, say, Photoshop on an Intel Mac right now.

But the future looks fast.

The Apple guy demo'd iPhoto first because, as he put it, "It screams." It does. It boots a lot faster than it does on my iBook G4 or the iMac G5 I use at work. Scrolling through a pretty hefty iPhoto databse was similarly fast.

10.4.4 is native, and Safari rendered Apple's homepage ridiculously quickly and ESPN's more complex homepage a little slower but still much faster than I've ever seen it rendered. Everything native is fast. Everything non-native is more or less the same ... for now. Eventually everything that most people use most of time will be native, which means it should be fast.

I don't want to get carried away here because my time watching the machines in action was limited and this was, of course, an Apple trade show environment. But what yesterday's announcements may have lacked in "out of the box wow factor" (no Mac media center, iPod Boom Box, or new industrial design save the magnetic power adapter) they made up for in sheer computing power.

The first real tests will come when users get their new machines and put them to real-world tests - especially when new versions of the Pro Apps line (Final Cut, Logic, Aperture) ship in a few months' time. Until then, the MacBook is in something of a no man's land: It's a pro-level machine optimized for consumer-level applications.

There are a few changes about the MacBook worth noting: No Firewire 800 port, An ExpressCard slot instead of PC Card, slightly less screen resolution and a slower SuperDrive than the PowerBook G4, and Apple hasn't said a word yet about battery life. But it does add a built-in iSight camera, Apple Remote with IR sensor and Front Row software, and a slightly thinner and lighter (if wider) overall build. For a tale-of-the-tape comparison between the MBP and PBG4, check out this handy dandy spec chart.

Consensus these days seems to dictate waiting a few months before buying a new Apple product. And yet, people line up with their credit cards just as soon as Stevie J. tells 'em to. Minutes after the Keynote I ordered a copy of iLife '06 for $59 with the education discount. The guy in line behind me dropped about $3,800 on a tricked out MacBook Pro and a few extra goodies. What can I say?

If you were waiting to buy a PowerBook just in case Intel dropped this morning, now's your chance. Heavy duty apps won't run much faster right now, but they shouldn't run any slower, either. But if you're thinking upgrade but can get by for now, not sure if you need a pro-level Mac or not, or simply don't have two grand to spare, this isn't a must-have upgrade just yet. Wait a few months to see what the Universal Binary versions of your favorite applications look like running native on OS X for Intel. Wait until summer when the new iBooks (or whatever they're called) are likely to come out in time for back-to-school season. It's taken so long for Apple and Intel to come together, it's hard to imagine them breaking up before they get the chance to prove what they can do. This is just the start.

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