First, I wouldn't put much stock in the "two year" comparison to the G4. Its this guys job to do the PR spin. As another poster pointed out, if PBG5's were being released tomorrow, this guy would still plug the G4 until morning. What He's a marketing executive doing an interview on the day they released refreshed PBG4's. What's he going to say, 'Yeah, the G4 is on it's last leg and this update is really just to keep sales going until the PBG5 is released in a few months. But please, dont let that discourage you from plunking down a couple grand on these beautiful "new" G4PBs. He's got to allude to a time far off (2 years), otherwise, there's no justification for buying one of these updated models. They said the same thing about the G3 in ibooks last year. When questioned about the possibility of a G4 iBook they replied with something to the effect that 'we believe the G3 has a lot of life left in it.' Yeah right, like any of us believed that. Though I knew that statement was garbage, they actually put the G4 in the iBook sooner that I expected. I wasn't expecting a G4 in the iBook until the PBG5 it.
Secondly, I've heard many people say that we don't truly 'need' the power of a PBG5 and that the G4 can handle everyday tasks. This is true, we don't 'need' that much power yet. In addition, those same people throw out accusations that we're just vain in wanting the "latest and newest technology". While this may be true for some, it is not for all. People making those claims are forgetting the users like me who upgrade once only 5-6 years. I'm currently on an iBook 366mghz G3 and am ready to upgrade. I've filled my hard drive with Photos and Music and have finally maxed out this computer. While I don't need the power of a G5 today, and could get by with a G4, I'm looking ahead long term. I cannot afford to upgrade every 2 years like some, and I want a powerbook that is going to last me 5+ years. I don't see this future for the G4. The G5 and 64bit is the direction Apple is moving. While the OS X may not support 64bit for another year (or maybe even more), that is the direction we're going, and I want a computer that can support that growth. Its not the raw processing power of the G5 I want, but rather it's potential to take advantate of the direction Apple is headed. My G3 has served me well, but is on its last leg. I got 6 years out of it. I just don't see the PBG4s as having this type of longevity at this point. I could care less about the 'power' of the G5, I just want it because it's not going to be an obsolete processor in a year. The G4 is going the direction of the G3.
Finally, the PBG5 could come in June or it could come in Jan. Who knows. Either way, it's going to make it to the PB faster than the G4 did. The 2yr analogy doesn't hold water. That was several years ago, a different time. Technology has changed. Portables were not as commonplace, and we're seeing a trend of people wanting the portability over the desktop. This is going to speed things up. Plus, back when then, they didn't have the Xserve. We know that they can get a G5 in a small thin enclosure and control the heat. Not to say that PBG5's are around the corner simply because of the Xserve, but it's not going to be any two years. I agree with others who said 'if you need a PB now, buy it now', 'if you can wait, wait'. I desperately want one, but cannot force myself to pay for a processor thats on its way out the door. Waiting only a few months to purchase a PB could result in a few years of extra use. A PBG4, I may get a good 2 years. A PBG5, I definitely get 5-6 years out of it. Given what I've said, I don't think the PBG5 is as far off as the marketing clown leads us to believe. I understand that if you wait for the newest technology, you'll always be waiting. However, in the case of where we know the G4 is on its way out, a few months patience now could result in years of extra use.
