I am NOT an Apple fanboy. I will only say this once. I am not crazy about the iPhone, or their iPods, but I must admit Apple is changing the world with every new product, finding new paths and setting the direction for the rest of the industry, and that's what really matters, in the end. No matter how many weak points may find people in the MacBook Air (I made it clear already - I love the MacBook), it has become clear already that Apple's latest notebook has changed the direction of other companies, and I am talking about PC manufacturers.
I don't like to rely on rumors, but sometimes I write about rumors too, because they proved to be true in so many cases... but this time, it's the naked truth: according to a source with inside information from Intel, in the near future, two PC makers will start manufacturing systems powered by the same custom Core 2 Duo processor used in the MacBook Air! Unfortunately, we don't have a single clue about who these companies are going to be, but let me guess - Dell and Sony, maybe?
According to Connie Brown, Intel spokeswoman, while the CPU we're talking about here was designed especially for Apple's MacBook Air, "other PC makers can use it". Well, this is the natural flow of things, and I don't think it would have been useful for Apple to pay for being the exclusive user of this technology, especially since the new 45nm Core 2 Duo mobile chips may be similar to the custom 65nm design used to power the MacBook Air...
Do I need to say more? Sooner or later, we'll get to see if I was right with my prediction (remember, Dell and Sony, all right?), because one thing is obvious: Apple still has the power to change the IT world, and this is happening right now, as we speak. For Intel, this was the first time to develop a small form-factor chip for a "normal" mobile processor, and soon, it's going to be someone's privilege to step behind the MacBook Air and, who knows, maybe even release a thinner and lighter notebook!
