Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2005.09.22
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 desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered
in The iNews Review.
The Transition
Intel Developments
Other News
The Transition
Apple's Intel Mac 'On Track' - Jobs
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Apple is on track to ship Macs based on Intel processors by
June 2006, CEO Steve Jobs claimed today.
"Jobs' comments follows speculation aired this week that the Mac
maker could ship Intel-based PowerBooks as early as January 2006,
with other rumours pointing to a much later introduction.
"Speaking to reporters at a meeting ahead of Apple Expo Paris'
first day, Jobs said: 'We said we'd be shipping by next June and we
are on track to have that be a true statement.'"
Apple Set to Ship Intel-based Computers
in June
Reuters reports:
"Apple Computer is on track to ship Intel-based computers as
targeted by June 2006, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said Tuesday.
"'We are on track to do that,' Jobs told a news conference in
Paris, referring to the plan the company announced in June.
"Apple said June 6 that it was severing its long-standing
relationship with IBM and switching to microprocessors made by
Intel, aiming to have all its Macintosh computers using Intel chips
by the end of 2007. Microprocessors are the number-crunching nerve
centers of personal computers.
"Apple had publicly expressed frustration with IBM for over a
year prior to the decision."
Apple Bolsters Mac OS X for Intel
Development Efforts
eWeek's Daniel Drew Turner reports:
"The company debuts an online resource for developers tasked
with moving their applications to Apple's forthcoming Intel-based
Macs. By Daniel Drew Turner Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday boosted
its commitment to Intel Corp. processors. The company debuted an
online resource for programmers working on Intel-based Macs; the
move follows the recent update to its operating system for Intel
processors.
"The new Developer Transition Resource Center is targeted at
developers who have been tasked with moving their applications to
Apple's forthcoming Intel-based Macs, scheduled for release in
2006.
"The site ties together topics, resources and tutorials, some of
which were previously available on other parts of Apple's site,
including QuickTime archives of World Wide Developer Conference
sessions. Some of the content, including the session videos, are
available only to registered Apple developers."
Why Apple Picked Intel over AMD
Macworld's Laurieanne McLaughlin reports:
"Steve Jobs sent a seismic shocker across the tech landscape in
June when he announced Apple would phase out PowerPC chips and put
Intel processors inside Macs starting in 2006. To some, the move
seemed puzzling: Why would Jobs, the king of cool design, make a
deal with half of the empire that conquered the world with
cookie-cutter beige boxes? Jobs had an answer at the ready during
his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote - a switch to Intel
chips means better Mac hardware down the line. And analysts agree
that the move ensures Apple's ability to craft unique designs.
"But one aspect of the "Why switch processor suppliers?"
question hasn't been answered. Intel isn't the only X86 chipmaker
in town. Why didn't Jobs, ever the maverick, opt for the scrappy
challenger, Advanced Micro Devices, instead of the old-money
establishment, Intel?"
Intel Developments
Intel's Manufacturing Cost: $40 per Chip
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos reports:
"Though Pentium 4s can sell for up to $637, Intel's average cost
for making a chip comes to $40, according to a report from analysts
In-Stat.
"The report doesn't consider expenses related to design or
marketing, or the fact that high-end chips can sell for more
because fewer off the production line can actually run at top
speed, but it does shed light on how Intel has managed to maintain
healthy margins in an era of price declines. The cost has been
steady at about $40 since 2003, according to In-Stat."
Intel Developing Ultra-Low Power Manufacturing
Process
PR: Intel Corporation is developing an ultra-low power
derivative of its high-performance 65 nanometer (nm) logic
manufacturing process that will enable production of very low-power
chips for mobile platforms and small-form factor devices. The
ultra-low power process will be Intel's second process based on
65nm process technology.
Intel's high-performance 65nm (a nanometer is one-billionth of a
meter) process provides both power consumption and performance
benefits over Intel's current industry-leading 90nm manufacturing
process. The company's new ultra-low power 65nm process provides
Intel chip designers additional options in delivering the circuit
density, performance and power consumption required by users of
battery-operated devices.
"People typically embrace mobile platforms that maximize battery
life," said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the
Intel Mobile Platforms Group. "Such products will be greatly
enhanced by our new ultra-low power manufacturing process. We will
design future mobility platforms to take full advantage of both
leading-edge, 65nm manufacturing processes."
One of the factors in decreasing chip power consumption, which
is important to mobile and battery-operated devices, is improving
the design of the transistor. Lost electricity leaking from these
microscopic transistors, even when they are in their "off" state,
is a problem that is a challenge for the entire industry.
"With the number of transistors on some chips exceeding one
billion, it is clear that improvements made for individual
transistors can multiply into huge benefits for the entire device,"
said Mark Bohr, senior fellow and director of Intel Process
Architecture and Integration. "Test chips made on Intel's ultra-low
power 65nm process technology have shown transistor leakage
reduction roughly 1000 times from our standard process. This
translates into significant power savings for people who will use
devices based on this technology."
Intel's ultra-low power, 65nm process technology includes
several key transistor modifications which enable delivery of low
power benefits while providing industry-leading performance. These
transistor modifications result in significant reductions in the
three major sources of transistor leakage: sub-threshold leakage,
junction leakage and gate oxide leakage. The benefits of reduced
transistor leakage are lower power and increased battery life.
Intel's 65nm processes combine higher-performance and
lower-power transistors, a second-generation version of Intel's
strained silicon, eight high-speed copper interconnect layers and a
low-k dielectric material. Building chips using the 65nm processes
will allow Intel to double the number of transistors it can build
on a single chip today (using Intel's 90nm technology).
Intel's 65nm processes will feature transistors measuring only
35nm in gate length, which will be the smallest and highest
performing CMOS transistors in high-volume production. By
comparison, the most advanced transistors in production today,
found in Intel® Pentium® 4 processors, measure 50nm. Small,
fast transistors are the building blocks for very fast
processors.
Intel has integrated a second-generation version of its
high-performance strained silicon into these 65nm processes.
Strained silicon provides higher drive current, increasing the
speed of the transistors with only a two percent increase in
manufacturing cost.
Intel Invests in 200mm-wafer Fab Capacity
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Intel will pump $345m into two US fabs in a bid to boost
production capacity, the chip giant said yesterday.
"The two fabs targeted for investment, Fab 17 in Hudson,
Massachusetts and Fab 23 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, both work
with 200mm wafers.
"As such, they're used primarily to punch out chipsets,
communications parts and Flash memory components. While Fab 17 will
get $155m to increase overall production capacity, Fab 23's cut,
$190m, will be used to kit out a second clean room which will be
used to finish off processors made on 300mm wafers at other Intel
facilities."
Intel Dives into the Ultra-low Power Pool
CNET News.com's Michael Singer reports:
"Intel's latest rallying cry seems to be 'Save the battery!'
"The chipmaking giant announced on Monday a new technique that
it said could help cut back on wasted battery power in cell phones
and mobile devices by as much as 1,000 times current levels.
"Active computing accounts for only half the power Intel
processors use. The other half is gobbled up by a leakage current
in transistors that exists when a machine is in a low-level sleep
state, Intel said.
"The new version of the company's 65-nanometer wafer-making
process, internally known as P1265, is better than Intel's current
process at helping prevent the extra power from being sapped from
the battery, the chipmaker said."
Intel Remixes Chips to Cut Power
eWeek's John G. Spooner reports:
"Intel Corp. plans to begin cutting the power consumption of its
chips right at the factory.
"The chip giant will on Tuesday unveil a plan to create an
alternate version of its manufacturing process technology - the
means by which it knits together the transistors that make up the
circuits inside its chips-designed to yield more power-efficient
processors and supporting chipsets for notebooks, handhelds and
other battery-powered devices."
Other News
Apple Files Patent for an Autonomous Thermal
Management
Macsimum News' News2Me reports:
"On September 15, 2005, the US Patent & Trademark Office
revealed Apple's patent application 20050204175 entitled Autonomous
thermal management. The inventor listed on the application is Joel
S. Burton for serial number 800258, originally filed on March 11,
2004.
"The present invention provides both a peripheral device that
regulates its own temperature by adjusting its power consumption,
and a method to accomplish the same. In one embodiment of the
invention, the method includes monitoring the temperature of the
mass storage device and reducing power consumption when the
temperature exceeds a certain threshold. In such an embodiment, the
mass storage device would be capable of operating while the power
consumption is reduced."
Microsoft, Intel, and Apple Team Up for
DigitalLife Conference
pcadvisor.co.uk's Jonny Evans reports:
"The DigitalLife exhibition in New York on 14 October will see
keynote presentations from Microsoft and Intel representatives and
a panel discussion featuring Apple and HP employees....
"Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice-president of iPod product worldwide
marketing, will participate in a panel discussion that will
'demonstrate a number of hot new products and talk about the
highlights of this year's holiday tech shopping season', according
to the organisers of the show."
More Mac News
PowerBook, iBook, and other portable computing news is covered
in The 'Book Review. General
Apple and Mac desktop news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered
in The iNews Review.
