I note HP beat Apple to market with a touch screen (swivel no less) w/ fingerprint I.D. security, ability to draw directly on screen with eraser/pen etc.

Apple will hopefully do better. But, later.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/cto_store/notebooks/KD480AV;HHOJSID=qynRLPMTdC0WL5s3hYGnjN1W6XsvynnLTBMHXTL2ddH6QC4shG82!-1608629856

It may be that Apple will produce the long awaited tablet or worse a slate portable. However, with the April acquisition of P.A. Semi I don't think that is route apple is going go with its next secret release.

It's well known that Apple makes its profit from the novelty items such as ipod and iphone--sure they makes money from the computer line of sales, and will continue to do so just as they will continue to make some new iteration of a laptop and desktop.

Apple has committed to the x86 family processors, and putting the PPC based chip from P.A. Semi in a laptop while the desktop still runs on x86 architecture is foolish. I think it will certainly cause them to lose big. It's too much of a step backwards. I do see however Apple using this low power desktop/server chip in a new novelty item--a gaming console.

A gaming console would suite a new platform fine while maintaining the core OS. With this processor--which I am sure has more than the 2.2ghz that was reported some time ago--Apple could create a multi-use system that would rival the PS3, and the wow factor would come in portable form factor that would play the same games creating the same user experience.

Tim