This Week's Macintel News
Low End Mac has standardized on Macintel as our informal label for
the forthcoming OS X on Intel Macintosh computers, although you'll
probably find just as many people calling them "Mactels". Whatever we
call them, Apple's decision to switch to Intel CPUs means we live in
very interesting times.
PowerBook, iBook, and other portable computing news is covered in
The 'Book Review. General Apple and
Mac desktops news is covered in The Mac
News Review. iPod news is covered in The iNews Review.
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Tech Developments
News, Analysis, and Opinion
New Tiger Build Prevents Use on Unauthorized Intel
Boxes
engadget's Barb Dybwad reports:
"The newest build of Mac OS X 10.4.3 . . . includes
anti-piracy measures that will supposedly prevent it from running
smoothly on Intel-based machines that haven't been authorized by
Apple...."
Macintel Fan Club Starts
The Inquirer's Rob Squires says:
"Apple's OS X fan club has setup shop over at
http://www.osx86project.org . It seems that there is now a complete
install disc floating around the BitTorrent networks that allow you to
install OS X on any x86 platform and yes that includes AMD.
"On a more interesting note, anyone looking for Windows
compatibility? According to their site, 'by adapting the Wine
compatibility layer for Windows, some enterprising developers have
developed a method to run Windows programs under OS X for
Intel.'"
Intel Switch Could Heat Up Apple's Hot Computer
Sales
BusinessWeek's Arik Hesseldahl says:
"Jobs & Co. are already starting to win back lost PC share, and
this switch, if negotiated properly, could accelerate that trend
"With all the attention paid its iPod music player and its
hot-and-cold relationship with major music labels, it's easy to forget
that Apple Computer is at its core a computer company.
"And a computer company at a critical crossroads. Having announced a
once-unthinkable shift to using chips from Intel in its systems
beginning next year, it's enjoying renewed interest in its traditional
desktop products - sparked, in part, by the iPod's popularity. And with
the move to Intel, Apple may begin to regain some of the market share
that has ebbed away over two decades of competition from Windows-based
rivals.
"Indeed, Apple's computer sales are growing at a rate more than
twice the industry average. In July, research firm IDC reported that
Apple PC sales grew by 37% in the second quarter, compared with a 16.6%
rate for the PC industry as a whole. That was enough to push Apple's
share of the U.S. PC market to 4.5% in the same period, up from 3.7% in
the second quarter of last year.
"The switch to Intel, if negotiated properly, could prove to be the
turning point by enabling Apple to grab a larger slice of the PC
market. But it won't happen without challenges. The changeover won't
begin until next year and isn't expected to be completed until sometime
in 2007."
Energy Miser CPUs and Optimized Libraries to
Strengthen Macintels
Fairfax Digital's Garry Barker says:
"Rumour mongering reminds me of our cat. It's half Siamese and
possesses a special kind of feline evil. It will sit beside my easy
chair with a paw raised and fix me with a steely yellow eye. 'No, cat.
Not again!' I plead....
"Launching rumours is like that but, what the heck, raise the paw
and let's begin, recognising that good rumours need some facts and, in
this case, they are coming fast.
"Last week Intel released details of its new microchip; power-frugal
and allowing processors with four or more cores - running cooler but
working harder.
"How cool is in Intel's claim that its most economical chip will
draw only half a watt. A small torch draws about five watts, a Pentium
4 about 95, as much as an average room light. Imagine battery life on
half a watt!
"Intel has since said it will port a complete set of compilers and
performance-enhancing libraries to Apple's Intel-based version of Mac
OS X for both single and multicore processors, matching Windows
and Linux. The tools will work as plugins to Apple's Xcode development
environment.
"The new chips mean the Pentium is history and Wintel geeks and
server farmers will have to find new ways of frying their breakfast
eggs.
"The first Intel PowerBooks look likely to use Merom, a notebook
chip due next year. The standard chip will consume five watts, but that
will drop to the aforementioned 0.5 watts with the introduction of an
ultra-lean version at the end of next year. Pentium M chips draw up to
22 watts and in notebook form 5.5 watts."
Macintel Switch Won't Be Easy
CNET News.com's Charles Cooper reports:
"Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen recently met with CNET News.com to discuss
his company's acquisition of Macromedia and changes he sees in the
technology world. During the interview, he offered insights into Apple
Computer's switch to Intel chips.
"Such as: 'Steve (Jobs) likes to trivialize the process and make it
seem easy, but moving the apps over is not that easy... Getting over to
MacTel is work. I think in the long run it's going to be great because
what the users will get is better performance . . . and
greater value. At Adobe, we tend to optimize for Intel today on the
Windows side. The fact that we'll be able to optimize for Intel
cross-platform will make it even better for us.'"
Macintel Switch May Be Easy or Hard
MacDevCenter's Derrick Story says:
"I was just thinking about Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen's comments on
Cnet.com where he was quoted, 'Steve (Jobs) likes to trivialize the
process and make it seem easy, but moving the apps over is not that
easy...'. Although Chizen remarked that 'in the long run it's going to
be great,' his overall tone was not exactly optimistic....
"When I was being interviewed by Gene Steinberg on The Tech Night
Owl, he asked me, 'which is it - easy or not?'
"This is the beginning of what will be a long discussion. But the
short answer is: 'That depends on your code now.'"
Tech Developments
Intel's Dothan vs. AMD's Turion 64
Laptop Logic's Dan Zhang says:
"For many years, Intel's Pentium M processor and the the Centrino
platform, has reigned as king. Offering high performance at a fraction
of the power consumption of its competitors, the Pentium M was the
obvious, no-brainer choice for most mobile users.
"However, things are becoming more complicated. With AMD's recent
release of its Turion processor, Intel's dominance of the mobile market
faces its first real challenge since it introduced the Centrino
platform. Based on AMD's powerful Athlon 64 line, the Turion 64 mobile
processor claims to offer comparable battery life and even better
performance than Intel's Pentium M champion....
"This article fully covers the architecture of both the Pentium M
and Turion CPU, along with a brief history outlining the various tweaks
and optimizations that were performed during their development. To
appeal to a broader audience, this article will first discuss the
effect of the respective designs rather than delving into any
engineering details. Then, the pros and cons of each CPU architecture
are discussed, followed by a brief evaluation of price. Finally, the
bulk of the article compares the Turion ML-37 against the Pentium M 760
in a myriad of benchmarks, starting from simple synthetic benchmarks to
the four main categories of computing: office/business, multimedia,
gaming, and scientific use. Battery life is also compared, and the
conclusion will provide a brief summary."
Intel Chip Sets 'Sold Out'
eWeek's John G. Spooner says:
"Intel's chipset factories are running flat out, the company
said.
"The chip giant, which earlier this year said it was reprioritizing
its chipset manufacturing in an effort to keep up with demand, doesn't
expect to catch a breather until early 2006, said Andy Bryant, Intel
Corp.'s CFO, on Thursday."
More Mac News
PowerBook, iBook, and other portable computing news is covered in
The 'Book Review. General Apple and
Mac desktops news is covered in The Mac
News Review. iPod news is covered in The iNews Review.
