Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2006.03.23
This Week's Macintel News
Gene Steinberg has some common sense thoughts on Rosetta
performance - if you're replacing an older Mac, it may be every bit
as fast as what you're used to. And Digit takes a look at
forthcoming Intel CPUs and their expected impact on the Mac.
But the big news is the hack that lets Macintel owners install
and boot into Windows XP. We're happy with OS X ourselves, but
there there are some Windows apps with no equivalent on the Mac.
The biggest drawback we've heard about is that the Macs may
overheat, since WinXP has no support for their cooling fans.
All this and more in this week's news roundup.
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 Macintel Transition
Windows on Macintel
The Macintel Transition
Realistic Thinking about Rosetta
Performance
Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, says:
"In the past, processor emulation has gotten a bad rap for good
reasons. Consider Microsoft's Virtual PC for the Mac, which
epitomizes languid performance. But if you think it's bad, try some
of the other PC emulators, even the ones that are loudly proclaimed
as Universal binaries fully compatible with MacIntels. Of course,
way back in the days when Apple switched to the PowerPC, its
emulation performance for older 680x0 software also turned a fast
Mac into a slug. In those days, it took years for the software to
catch up, and, no, I don't believe it was a key factor in Apple's
lost market share."
- Link: Before
You Buy a MacIntel: A Rosetta Performance Update
Intel to Shape Mac Future
Digit's Laurianne McLaughlin reports:
"Now Apple's made its switch to Intel chips, the Intel Developer
Forum is big news for most computer users. Digit got the lowdown on
what Intel's latest developments could mean for the Mac.
"The Intel Developer Forum is awash with product codenames and
technology-speak that only a select few can understand. But at the
Spring 2006 session in San Francisco, there were a few hints at
what could be in store for Apple's portables and desktops....
"For Apple users, that could mean power-efficient notebooks in
the second half of this year, and desktop PCs with quad-core
processors in early 2007....
"Lower-power, dual-core chips also got their moment in the
Developer Forum spotlight, as Intel revealed more details regarding
three long-awaited products: Merom for mobile computers, Conroe for
desktop PCs, and Woodcrest for servers. All are based on Intel's
new Core micro-architecture....
"The new chips will be manufactured using 65-nanometer
technology, a process improvement that lets Intel make smaller
chips that draw less power - perhaps 30 per cent less than today's
comparable chips, Intel says. Intel plans to roll out 45-nanometer
technology in 2007, which should be even more efficient, the
company revealed last week.
"Power-efficient chips have two big implications for Apple. It
gives the company room to make highly creative notebook designs in
late 2006, while raising the possibility of making an ultra-mobile
PC - a tiny machine that's smaller than a notebook but bigger and
more functional than a PDA."
- Link: Intel
Sends Mac to the Future
Windows on Macintel
Website Reports Dual-boot Macintel Success
eWeek's John G. Spooner reports:
"Computer enthusiasts are reporting the creation of a method for
booting Windows on one of Apple Computer's newest Macs.
"The Onmac.net Web site reported on March 16 that it has come up
with a method for booting Microsoft's Windows XP alongside Apple's
Mac OS X on Apple's Intel processor-based Macs, which began
rolling out earlier this year."
- Link: Web Site
Reports Dual-Boot Intel Mac Success
Macintel Runs Windows XP
Forbes' Maya Roney reports:
"For PC dependents with Mac cravings - and software-deprived Mac
users - Apple Computer's transition to Intel chips ignited dreams
of a day when Mac and PC hardware and software could exist
interchangeably in one blissful technological paradise.
"That day may come sooner than expected, now that two California
techies who go by the handles 'narf' and 'blanka' have become the
first to succeed in loading Microsoft Windows XP onto an Intel Mac
in a contest organized by Mac-enthusiast Colin Nederkoorn.
"Nederkoorn, a Houston-based ship broker, needed both a Mac
operating system to design presentations on the job and Microsoft
Outlook for his work e-mail. So, he figured he would donate $100 of
his own money to anyone who could create his dream product.
Five-hundred donors joined him in the effort, with the most
generous pledging $1,111 to reach a final prize sum of
$13,840....
"And the contest's juicy incentive got impressive results.
According to Nederkoorn, you simply turn on your computer and press
the up key to see an Apple OS logo, or the down key to see a
Windows logo. Then you choose whichever system you desire at the
time."
- Link:
Mac, Meet Windows
Code to Run XP on Mac May Become Open
Source
The San Jose Mercury News's Dean Takahashi reports:
"A couple of amateur programmers have managed to do what Apple
Computer didn't want them to: get Microsoft's Windows operating
system to run on the Macintosh.
"The two unidentified programmers, known as 'narf2006' and
'blanka,' won an unofficial online contest organized by Colin
Nederkoorn, a 23-year-old employee of a shipping company in Austin,
Texas.
"Nederkoorn's Web site said the winners' code had been tested
and was available for downloading at www.onmac.net . He said he
expected they would make it available as open source software.
"He said he expected they would make it available as open source
software."
- Link: Code to Run XP on
Mac May Become Open Source
Step by Step Video Shows How to Install Windows
XP on Macintel
This video is a step by step narrated tutorial showing how to
install Windows XP on an Intel Mac.
- Link: Step
by Step Video Showing How to Install Windows XP on an Intel
Mac
