I agree that most users could care less about the CPU architecture unless they happen to be the sort of user who wants to run big-memory apps and really needs a 64-bit address space. For those users, it makes sense for Apple to stick with the G5's in the big tower configurations, at least until Intel goes x86-64 across their product line and Apple can do one final migration.

Probably the most intriguing feature on the new MacBook is that they dropped PCMCIA and went with ExpressCard/34. This is the next-generation standard from the PCMCIA people, and it comes in two form factors: one 34mm wide, and the other 54mm wide. Electrically, it's PCI Express, so it's blazingly fast. There's already one vendor offering a 5-in-1 memory card reader that will fit in the MacBook. However, the professional photographers are screwed by this. All the big cameras use CompactFlash, which is too big to fit in a 34mm slot. You need the larger 54mm slot. That requires some kind of external solution. Given Apple's big push into supporting pro photographers, you'd think they'd get this right.

Never mind that, by ditching PCMCIA, Apple is also making life rough for anybody with an EDGE of EV-DO card on their laptop. Maybe they're assuming that you'll just do everything with Bluetooth to your cel phone.