May have figured out why Apple put a single processor in their new entry-level Powermac in spite of the fact that it's a huge step down from the previous entry level, dual processor, 867 MHz G4 Powermac.

Let's say you've got $1500 to spend on a Mac (or that you would spend, whether you've got it or not). You don't want the iBook b/c it's only got a G3 in there. Heck, let's say you want a Superdrive and that means G4. You look at the Powermacs to get pretty good hardware (ie, better than the iMac) around that G4 at the cheapest price possible. Build to order and you can get a Superdrive-equipped, single-proc Powermac for about $1650. Not bad, I guess.

But you start thinking, hey, while I'm here, what about these new Powerbooks? For "just" another three-hundred bucks you can get a 12" Powerbook with a Superdrive. How close are the two? Well, the bus speed's the same. The processor isn't even 15% slower. You can get a great laptop that'll rival the hardware of the Powermac you were looking at for $300! It's like a Powermac and laptop for the price of one computer! Now you're "sexy cool"!!! -- (c) 2001 Steve Jobs.

Anyway, that's about (minus the "sexy cool"; to me the rationalization is, "Buy the Powerbook and then you can sell the iBook on eBay. It's like the Powerbook is ($700-$300 == $400) cheaper than the Powermac!") what I keep thinking and have to keep telling myself I'm an idiot for considering either machine. Let's face it, if you want speed, you need the two processors. Apple isn't producing the only dual-proc home-use hardware for nuttin.

If it weren't for the horrible customer service reviews at versiontracker (okay, and the fact that it'd literally take a day to burn a 90 minute DVD on my 500 MHz G3), I'd nearly buy a devideon drive (an "external superdrive" with iDVD-esque software -- that runs on a G3!) for $400 and call it a day.