Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Get the Right Memory for Your Mac Top Quality, Competitive Price, Lifetime Backed Free Expert Support + Installation Videos too! MacBook & mini 8GB, iMac 16GB, Mac Pro up to 32GB. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Apple's Intel Transition Smooth, Paves Way for Next Big Thing

- 2006.01.20

As expected by the Mac rumor community and several big-name technology analysts, Apple introduced the first Intel Macs last week at Macworld San Francisco.

While the safe money was on a consumer laptop (the rumored 13.3" widescreen iBook) or desktop (a Mac mini not only with Intel but Front Row), Apple once again managed to have the upper hand on the rumor mill by introducing the Intel-based iMac and PowerBook (er, MacBook Pro) instead.

The fact that Apple beat their original estimation for shipping Intel Macs by six months bodes well for the transition. With NeXTstep/OpenStep's history on Intel hardware and Apple creating internal Intel builds since the beginning of OS X development, Apple was ready.

More importantly, the developer community responded very well to the transition plan. We started seeing Intel-ready universal binaries ready for download before consumers even had Intel Macs in their hands. Now that the systems are available for purchase by the general public, the flood of universal binaries has been unleashed, and we may be looking at one of the smoothest transitions in Mac history.

Not that the transitions from 68K to PowerPC and OS 9 to OS X didn't go well, but there were bumps along the road - and less-than-optimal performance in both cases. Most of the Mac OS - especially the Finder, the heart of the OS - wasn't PPC native until about four years after PPC machines were introduced. Even then a lot of 68K code still lingered, even in OS 9.2. And it took a couple of years before OS X got good enough for everyday use.

With the Intel Core Duo processors two to four times as fast as the G4s and G5s they replace, plenty of native apps, and the reported outstanding performance of Rosetta for PPC emulation, a majority of OS X users could make the switch today and be better off for it.

Why the Switch to Intel?

It's been debated for months, but now that it seems a given that Apple will pull this transition off, what exactly is their motivation?

The official party line is that Intel's technology roadmap simply meant faster, more efficient CPUs for the foreseeable future. Intel had the best to offer, and Apple wants to deliver the best for its customers.

Of course, most people following this story (especially those with a good grasp of Apple and Microsoft's history together) think there's more to it. Even though Apple isn't selling OS X for general use on off-the-shelf PCs, that doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future.

Lest you doubt, did you ever think they'd switch to Intel processors? I know I didn't. Imagine for a moment if every consumer had the choice of installing Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X on the PC hardware they already owned. This would be Steve's one chance of overturning Microsoft's dominance in the personal computing industry.

Or Apple may just be hoping to attract more developers to the Mac platform. While writing apps for the Mac will always be different than writing them for Windows, the Intel switch undoubtedly makes porting a much easier task. The common architecture makes a Mac version easier to produce, and we'll undoubtedly see more Mac products now.

Apple's partnership with Intel may also be built around future digital media ventures. The iPod has obviously been a runaway success, and the tech industry is holding its breath to see how Apple follows it up.

Whether it's a movie store or something nobody's thinking of right now, you can bet that Intel technology will play a huge role in whatever that Next Big Thing is. I'd like to think that Intel and Apple have something in the lab right now that's going to blow us all away at some point.

Or the reason for the switch may be all of above. Or it may be just to put the Mac on par with the hardware that powers Windows boxes all over the world.

Whatever the reason, it's working out brilliantly so far. As a company, Apple has never been more successful, and they have definitely shaken the "beleaguered" tag.

Recent Plays Well with Others articles

End of G4 models points to unprecedented value for used G4 Macs, 06.02. The PowerPC G4 may no longer have a place in Apple's product line, but that's a far cry from saying G4-based Macs are obsolete. If anything, there value is going to increase.
X11: Your window for using Unix apps on the Mac, 05.17. Mac OS X is a Unix variant. X11 is the tool that lets you access Unix applications using a graphical interface with mouse support.
6 extensions to make Firefox even better, 03.29. Improve Firefox with everything from web developer tools to nuking unwanted ads, from faster page loads to knowing the weather.
Intel Mac mini confounds market with higher price, 03.23. After the raging success of the $499 Mac mini, why did Apple feel a need to move away from the entry-level market by making the Intel Mac mini more expensive?
More in the Plays Well with Others index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Plays Well with Others articles copyright ©2005-06 by Leaman Crews. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.