Apple is holding an event on Tuesday to announce updates to its notebook computers. Rumors suggest a new portable laptop line, cheaper MacBooks, MacBook shell carved out of a single piece of aluminum, and perhaps new NVIDIA chipsets instead of Intel’s chipsets.

We’ll have to wait and see what Apple has in store for us.

Here’s a roundup of most of the rumors: Apple MacBook Event 2008 [Gizmodo.com]

Info on the supposed new NVIDIA chipsets: Apple dumping Intel chipsets for NVIDIA’s [AppleInsider.com]

And to get live coverage of the Apple event by the folks over at Gizmodo, check out live.gizmodo.com

So the semester is almost up. Exams are almost done. I should be studying right now, however, I am stuck pondering whether or not I should upgrade my Powerbook G4 to the newest version of the Apple operating system, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

From the looks of it, Leopard seems to be a great operating system with amazing features, including Quick Look, Time Machine, and a updated Mail application. But unfortunately, there have been many issues with the new OS, especially when it comes to compatibility. I came across a couple of articles that seem convinced that its too soon to upgrade. The Unofficial Apple Weblog in had a few interesting reasons not to upgrade, including one about Photoshop having issues on Leopard:

[Leopard: Should you upgrade?]

• If you have only one computer and it’s your production machine, don’t upgrade.
• If you work with Adobe software and need your software to work reliably, don’t upgrade.

Here’s another website that has the Top Five Reasons Not to Upgrade to Leopard.

Can it really be that bad? I mean apple has already pushed out its first update for Leopard, 10.5.1. I think I’ll be fine as long as I can use my important programs (Mail, Safari, iTunes, MS Office, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and some others). I just hope my computer can handle it and doesn’t become slower.

So, I think when I get a chance over winter break, I’ll upgrade to Leopard, of course making a bootable backup of my current system. I’ll test it out and make sure that I’m still able to do my work (web design, video production, and everyday usage).

We shall see how this goes. Wish me luck!

UPDATE (April 2008): I never did upgrade to Leopard.  My computer is very old and I don’t think it would show any performance benefits.  I’ll likely wait to use Leopard ’til my next Apple computer (which probably won’t be until after I graduate college).