I know any answers are purely speculation. Do you think the new features of leopard will require "touch screens", "multi-touch finger pads", "holographic projectors", etc. or can I buy a MB now and upgrade to 10.5 in October? In other words, will the new software require new hardware?
Leopard will definitely require new hardware to run. Apple will scrap their entire line of computers and replace them with hardware that is a cross between the iPhone and R2-D2.
A side-note...I will never for the life of me understand the love-affair some people seem to have with the idea of pc/laptop touch-screens. The use for this technology resides in hand-helds (PDAs, phones, music players) , tablets, and *possibly* some sort of whiteboardesque implementation. It does not and will not work with laptops or desktop machines. Lift your hands from your keyboard to touch a screen repeatedly. Yeah, that's ergonomic. /sarcasm.
Seeing as Leopard is currently being developed on machines running G4s, G5s and the current range of CD/C2D machines, I think it'd be a bit bloody rich to limit Leopard to use on new hardware. There would be an unthinkable backlash against a move like that. Think of the reaction that Leopard's delay got - now imagine what it'd be like if you told people buying machines now, next week, next month, that suddenly oh dear, you can't have Leopard at all.
Many years ago there have been attempts to create desktop computers with a touchscreen; I think I remember one computer named HP 150 with such a feature. The consensus was that after a day of work with such a computer your arm falls off. Not literally, but users hoped it would. Nobody would use it for any length of time.
The HP-150 personal computer featured a touch-sensitive screen that allowed users to activate a feature by touching the screen. The PC had an MS-DOS operating system and an Intel 8088 microprocessor. The HP-150 was introduced with twin 3-1/2 inch HP 9121 disc drivesthe first commercially available 3-1/2 inch floppy-disk drives in the United States. These drives were less expensive, more reliable and held the same amount of information as the 5-1/4 inch IBM-compatible drives.
That's great. We know it's possible and has been done before. Touch screen pcs and laptops are still painful and pointless.
New MBP is a few months out....would it be foolish not to wait? I currently have a MB 1.83 Ghz 1 GB Ram...etc...it runs great no problems...but I definitely want to upgrade soon and pass on my MB to my wife...trying to save her from the PC side...anyway my next purchase is at the very least 3 months away...with the news that leopard is not due until October would it be foolish to purchase a MBP in let's say July and not wait until October? I really need help with this one....