Core 2 Duo MacBook Also Supporting 802.11n?

Nice to see the 802.11n cards in there. I just hope the standard doesn't change that much.

Though the N card won't run at full speed until Apple makes a firmware update, will they still have the range capabilities that N sports, or will they have normal 802.11g range?

Might it just be that chipsets that support just G and no type of N are not as available or offer no cost advantage?

Though the N card won't run at full speed until Apple makes a firmware update, will they still have the range capabilities that N sports, or will they have normal 802.11g range?

Nope, you need full N hardware. (Cards & router)

Might it just be that chipsets that support just G and no type of N are not as available or offer no cost advantage?

It's likely.

this is so apple can release iTV in Q1 of next year. jobs will say something like:

oh there is one more thing, we've got HD in itunes now. of course HD takes up a lot of bandwidth so iTV ships with 802.11n draft. we'll be selling an adapter for those of you with older macs, but for anyone who bought a mac in the last 6 months -- you've already got it.

Leopard will probably unleash the real capability in this hardware with a firmware update as well.

Leopard will probably unleash the real capability in this hardware with a firmware update as well.

Now that is interesting.

Does anyone know if Apple actually plans to enable these in the future with an update or are they simply just the card theyre using these days?

Allright, so when I get the next AirPort Basestation with N, will I be able to recieve better signal with my G-only CD MacBook?

Might it just be that chipsets that support just G and no type of N are not as available or offer no cost advantage?

The changes within the chipsets to support "n" are very minimal and the new chips are readily available for about the same price as their a/b/g only counterparts. It makes sense for Apple to put them in - if everything goes OK and 802.11n is ratified without too many changes from its current form, then all the C2D Mac systems can take advantage of it. If for some reason "n" takes longer and goes through more dramatic changes (which is somewhat doubtful), then nothing is really lost.