Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2005.09.29
This Week's Macintel News
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.
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Tech Developments
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Macintels to Ship Before New Processors?
Engadget's Thomas Ricker reports:
"Just last week Apple's Steve Jobs proclaimed that they are
right on target for a June 2006 delivery of their first Intel-based
Macs. However, as the Inquirer reports, these new Macs are rumored
to run on Intel's dual-core Woodcrest and ultra-low-power-consuming
Merom processors which aren't expected to drop until the third
quarter of 2006. Their sources say that Steve's attempt to
strong-arm Intel into an early delivery just ain't flying in a
global PC market dominated by the boys-in-beige."
Apple Will Get the Intel Chips It Wants
Nakfull Propaganda says:
"A recent 'The Inquierer' [sic] article seemed to insinuate that
Apple won't get what it wants from Intel because 'Dell sells 20
times what you do...'.
"Let say that this article is correct up until the point where
it says Apple can't get the chips destined for Dell... near the
end, the article has Intel raising the question 'why should we give
you preferential treatment again?' Apple's answer will be simple
yet powerful... 'We can give you media attention you never dreamt
possible.'"
OS X on Intel Tied to Apple Hardware
MacDevCenter.com's Giles Turnbull says:
"Apple is a very image-conscious company. It controls the output
of information better than any other in its sector, indeed better
than almost any other company of any kind. There are lots of
secrets within Apple, and mostly they are kept pretty well.
"All of which makes it interesting when the senior management
allow the tiniest snippet of information to come out.
"In this week's 'Meet the press' event in Paris, Steve Jobs and
Phil Schiller talked about a range of subjects. I suspect they had
a list of points they wanted to make, whether or not they were
asked the right questions by the assembled journalists.
"One comment by Steve Jobs caught my attention more than the
others.
"Jobs promised new technology on Intel Macs that will prevent
the installation of OS X on non-Apple hardware. He's very
confident about this. Jobs wanted to remind us of this summer's
widespread reports of OS X installations on x86 machines,
because he's sure he has an answer to prevent that happening on a
massive scale once the switch has begun."
What Is Dual Core Good For?
eWeek's Roger L. Kay writes:
"Opinion: Multicore is an expensive technology that does things
most of us don't need."
For a different perspective on multiple cores, see Unleash Mac OS X with Dual
Processors.
New Macintel Transition Articles from
Apple
The Apple Developer Connection has published two brand new
feature articles as part of its Developer Transition Resource
Center (DTRC), the central source for information on Apple's
transition to Intel-based Macintosh computers:
Scoping Your Transition Projects
What does it take to make your application ready for Intel-based
Macs? Read this article to determine your transition path and learn
what you'll need to do for your application to be ready. For
complete details, visit the following URL:
http://developer.apple.com/transition/projectscope.html
The Transition to Intel-based Macs: An Introduction for Testing
and QA Engineers
Get your QA team ready for testing your applications for
universal binaries that run on both PowerPC- and Intel-based
Macintosh computers. Read this article on creating a test plan for
the transition. For complete details, visit the following URL:
http://developer.apple.com/transition/testingqa.html
Tech Developments
AMD, Intel Ramp Up Performance, Cut Power
eWeek's Jeffrey Burt and John G. Spooner reports:
"Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp. continue making
moves to increase the performance of their processors while
controlling the amount of power they consume.
"AMD, of Sunnyvale, Calif., this week is rolling out dual-core
Opteron chips with a higher frequency than current chips."
Intel Showcases Benefits of Centrino Mobile for
Entertainment On-the-Go
In its fall advertising campaign breaking this week, Intel
Corporation showcases the digital entertainment benefits of the
Intel Centrino mobile technology platform for laptop PCs. The
eight-country campaign consists of television, print, online,
retail and outdoor elements.
"As computing and communications converge, Intel technology
innovation continues to reshape how people live, work and play,"
said Eric Kim, vice president and co-director of Intel's Sales and
Marketing Group. "Intel's fall advertising campaign specifically
promotes the benefits of Intel's innovative mobile platform
technology and the new and exciting ways Intel is transforming the
digital entertainment experience for people around the world."
Ads for Intel Centrino mobile technology take a fun and humorous
approach to address how consumers worldwide are increasingly
interested in using their laptop PCs as all-in-one entertainment
systems that can be used almost anywhere, anytime, without wires.
The campaign promotes the benefits of the brand as the essential
technology ingredient for the ultimate mobile entertainment
experience around and outside the home.
The television ads feature well-known entertainment
personalities sitting on consumers' laps. Each celebrity - actors
John Cleese, Lucy Liu and Tony Leung; singer Seal; pro skateboarder
Tony Hawk; and soccer star Michael Owen - represents different
entertainment genres, such as games, movies and music. The metaphor
of an entertainer sitting on the consumer's lap in place of a
laptop PC illustrates how Centrino mobile technology enables a
vibrant, realistic mobile entertainment experience.
"The ads creatively use personalities that are well-recognized
worldwide in a memorable way to effectively reinforce the brand
attributes and benefits of Intel Centrino mobile technology for
entertainment," said Kim. The print ads will feature the blue and
magenta Intel Centrino mobile technology logo and deliver quick
benefit statements on digital entertainment, such as "For
incredible movie experiences in your lap, get Intel Centrino in
your laptop."
The Intel Centrino mobile technology platform includes a mobile
processor, related chipsets and 802.11 wireless network
capabilities that have been designed and tested to work together.
In addition to wireless networking capability, the technology
platform enables extended battery life, thinner and lighter laptop
PC designs and outstanding mobile performance. Since its
introduction in 2003, more than 200 laptop PC designs have been
introduced based on Intel Centrino mobile technology.
Intel Continues Push Power-Optimization with
Xeon Processor Line
PR: Completing an era in enterprise computing and
signaling the beginning of a new generation of platforms and
capabilities, Intel Corporation today announced availability of its
last planned single-core Intel(R) Xeon(TM) processor. Intel also
announced new low voltage versions of its Intel Xeon processor line
as the company shifts to enterprise platforms with processors
having two or more cores.
"We are aggressively driving the transformation to an entire new
generation of multicore servers. As the most widely deployed 64-bit
platform in the industry, Xeon is the clear server and workstation
workhorse for business," said Diane Bryant, vice president of
Intel's Digital Enterprise Group and general manager of Intel's
Server Platforms Group. "And as we support the transition to
multicore enterprise computing, Intel is already sampling
next-generation processors and platforms that will consume orders
of magnitude less power and incorporate new platform technologies
that deliver leadership manageability, virtualization and I/O
efficiency."
As part of its strategy to improve power efficiency, Intel today
introduced low voltage versions of its Intel Xeon processors. They
include the 64-bit Intel Xeon processor LV 3 GHz(1) with only a 55W
processor power envelope and the 64-bit Intel Xeon processor MV
3.20 GHz with a 90W processor power envelope. Both processors are
targeted at server rack and blade designs where space is
constrained and power-efficiency is a priority.
Intel also introduced a new 64-bit Intel Xeon processor with
2 MB of L2 cache running at 3.80 GHz that is drop-in
compatible with the previous Intel Xeon processor platforms and
continues to offer power-saving features with Demand Based
Switching, enhanced performance and flexibility with support for
Hyper-Threading Technology(2), DDR2-400 memory and PCI Express(a).
Additionally, Intel introduced a 64-bit Intel Xeon processor 2.80
GHz with 2 MB L2 cache for servers used in small and medium
business environments.
"Building on our history of delivering high-performance and
innovative platforms to customers in high volume, Intel has an
impressive roadmap of dual-core and multicore Intel Xeon platforms
under development," said Bryant.
In the coming weeks, Intel will introduce its first dual-core
Intel Xeon processor, code named "Paxville." Originally scheduled
in 2006, Paxville will deliver improved performance for both
dual-processor (DP) and multiprocessor (MP)-based servers.
In early 2006, Intel will deliver another server platform, code
named "Bensley," including a dual-core Intel Xeon processor, code
named "Dempsey," a chipset optimized for dual-core, code named
"Blackford," and technologies that will improve performance,
manageability, reliability and productivity. At that time Intel
will bring to market a dual-core Intel Xeon processor-based
workstation platform, code named "Glidewell," also including the
Dempsey processor, and a new chipset, optimized for workstations,
code named "Greencreek."
To further efforts in reducing server power consumption, in 2006
Intel also plans to deliver a new dual-core processor, code named
"Sossaman," targeted at power-constrained environments.
Later in 2006, Intel will introduce a dual-core Intel Xeon
processor-based platform, code named "Woodcrest," designed on
Intel's advanced 65-nanometer technology manufacturing process.
Woodcrest, based on the company's next-generation, power-optimized
micro-architecture, will offer dramatically improved performance
and greatly reduced power consumption.
64-bit Intel Xeon processors with 2 MB L2 cache at
operating speeds of 3.80 GHz and 2.80 GHz are available now for
$851 and $198, respectively, in 1,000-unit quantities. The 64-bit
Intel Xeon processor LV 3 GHz is priced at $519 in 1,000-unit
quantities. And the 64-bit Intel Xeon processor MV 3.20 GHz is
priced at $487 in 1,000 unit quantities.
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.
