MacBook Pro

I confess, I’m intrigued, but not enough to let Apple or you pry my new 15″ Powerbook from my hands. Here are a few reasons why I’m not panting to get one of the new Intel inside MacBook Pros:

• It only has FireWire 400
• There’s no modem

I have to use a modem when I visit my mom, or I can’t get work done. Rural Maine isn’t the only place where broadband isn’t available—nor am I the only person who has to support users with modem access. I need to see what it’s like for them to use software or sites I create.

• No PCMCIA slot.

So I can’t use a Cellular modem card. There’s an Express Card/34 slot but to save my life I can’t find anyone who makes anything to put in it.

On the other hand, I am dying of curiosity about whether or not Windows XP will work on the MacBook Pro and the new Intel iMacs. I know that VirtualPC won’t work—that’s a given—but given that both machines use Intel Core Duo, I wonder about the utility of having both Mac OS X and XP on the same box.

If Windows XP works natively, I’m in. I’m so in.

UPDATE: According to Beta News, the Intel Macs won’t boot under the current version of XP because the Intel Macs use EFI rather than the current Open Firmware used on current PowerPC chips, or the BIOS that’s standard on Windows. It sounds like it’s possible that a release of Vista later this year might work, but no one seems sure.