Apple Embraces Dark Side, Book Camp Kicks Butt, Intel 90% Dual-Core by Year End, and More

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2006.05.04

This Week's Macintel News

. 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 iPod News Review.

Macintel News

• Has Apple Embraced the Dark Side?
• Dual-Boot Enabler from Apple Kicks Butt
• Some Thoughts and a First Look: Windows on Macintel
• Parallels Workstation Reaches Beta 6

Intel News

• 90% of Intel Cores to Be Duo by Year End
• Intel to Offer New Architecture Every 2 Years

Macintel News

Has Apple Embraced the Dark Side?

Mail on Sunday's Rob Waugh reports:

"It's bold of Apple to let its computers run software from a rival firm that holds 97 percent of the market - but as soon as you start up Boot Camp, it begins to look like a very sharp move.

"Mac aficionado actor Stephen Fry recently voiced what many think of its rival: 'God rot Windows and all its ugly, clunky, badly designed horror.'

"Now, though, Apple has just released Boot Camp, a free download for its newest Macs, which lets you install Windows XP and run Windows software without disturbing your existing Mac OS X Tiger operating system, applications or files....

"Installation is painless, and after you've skipped past a couple of dire-sounding Windows warnings, the MS 'Start' button pops up.

"From that point, it is awe inspiring."

Link: Has Apple Embraced the Dark Side?

Dual-Boot Enabler from Apple Kicks Butt

InformationWeek Desktop Pipeline's Richard Hoffman says:

"Apple Computer's switch to Intel CPUs for its new desktops and laptops brought up a fascinating question: Can the Intel-based Macs run Windows operating systems and software natively? Indeed they can, thanks to the beta release of Boot Camp, a free dual-boot enabler designed to let users install Windows XP on Intel-based Macs. Apple says dual-boot capability will be built into Leopard, the next major release of its OS X operating system.

"I ran Boot Camp on a new iMac with a 2-GHz Intel Core Duo processor and installed Windows XP Pro almost without a hitch - so smoothly you'd hardly know Boot Camp was beta software. Just be sure not to choose anything other than the C: partition to install Windows to, as you could instantly wipe out your OS X partition accidentally. I then ran a full range of Windows software, including Office, Visio, Outlook, Photoshop, and graphics-intensive games."

Link: Dual-Boot Enabler from Apple Kicks Butt

Some Thoughts and a First Look: Windows on Macintel

Mac Companion's Ted Bade says:

"Most dedicated Mac users have at one time or another wanted to run a program that is only available for Windows. It might be a silly game, a utility program that would appeal only to some people, or piece of specialty software. It's not that we are dissatisfied with what is available for Mac OS X, but there is a special little need, interest, or curiosity.

"Up until Apple released the Intel-based Macs, there were very limited options. You could purchase a Windows-based machine and use it for those special needs, but that solution was for people willing to part with the cash for the hardware and who had a place to put it. Emulation programs, such as Virtual PC were another solution. They are a lot cheaper then hardware, but you always get a speed hit with emulation. Programs run dreadfully slow; don't even try to play a game in emulation! But it was good enough for many purposes.

"When Apple announced the Intel-based Macs, many people realized that getting Windows and thus Windows-based applications to run on these new machines was a possibility. A person with an Intel Mac would have the best of both worlds. You could live and work in the safe and easy to use Macintosh environment, with the ability to run those specialty apps when needed. But because this wasn't emulation, but actual hardware, you don't get the emulation speed hit. Also, since you were going to buy a new Mac anyway, there is no cost of extra hardware to consider. What could be a better solution?"

Link: Windows on an Intel Macintosh - Some Thoughts and a First Look

Parallels Workstation Reaches Beta 6

PR: Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta 6 for Mac OS X is Now Available!

Parallels Workstation is not simply a "dual-boot" solution; rather, it empowers users the ability to use Windows, Linux, and any other operating system at the same time as Mac OS X, enabling users to enjoy the comfort of their Mac OS X desktop while still being able to use critical applications from other OSes.

New in version 2.1b6:

• USB fixes (more devices supported: PDA, scanner, etc.)
• Shared Folders fixes (added support for guest Windows 2000)
• Network improvements: host-only networking
• Custom video resolutions support added
• Image Tool introduced
• Auto update introduced
• Kernel panic in virtual memory manager fixed
• Shutdown in full screen mode hang fixed
• Virtual disk sync() problem with Linux guests fixed

Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta 6 for Mac OS X offers users a number of important features, including:

• Broad OS Support: Use any version of Windows (3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP, 2003), any Linux distribution, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation, or MS-DOS in secure virtual machines running alongside Mac OS X.
• Great Performance: Driven by full support for dual-core processors and Intel Virtualization Technology (included in almost every new Intel-powered Mac), virtual machines created using Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta 6 offer near-native performance and rock-solid stability.
• Unmatched Ease of Use: Download the program and install it with a single click. Build a virtual machine in seconds using helpful wizards. Configure virtual machines using a simple web-inspired interface.
• Works on any Intel-powered Mac: Any Intel Powered Macintosh running OS X 10.4.4 or higher is compatible with Parallels Workstation 2.1.

NB: Please update Parallels Tools for guest Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 installed in previous betas! To do so boot guest OS and click on menu VM->Install Parallels Tools.

Participate in this important Beta program! Get your copy of Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta 6 for Mac OS X now.

Link: Parallels Workstation

Intel News

90% of Intel Cores to Be Duo by Year End

The Register's Tony Smith reports:

"Intel will begin producing more dual-core chips than single-core parts this quarter, the chip giant has revealed. Indeed, by the end of 2006, 90 per cent of the mobile CPUs it produces will be dual-core chips, rather more than the company previously forecast."

Link: Intel: 90% of Cores to Be Duo by Year End

Intel to Offer New Architecture Every 2 Years

The Register's Tony Smith reports:

"Roadmap Intel will ship 'Conroe' in July and 'Merom' in August, CEO Paul Otellini said yesterday, illustrating his announcement with a slide using the icon of new buddy Apple's iCal application to indicate the ship dates.

"Both CPUs are the first, respectively, desktop and notebook incarnations of Intel's upcoming performance-per-Watt targeting next-generation microarchitecture. 'Woodcrest', the server chip based on the same technology, will ship first, Otellini revealed, in June. It's in the server space that the company feels most vulnerable to AMD, and it's looking to the claimed 3x performance boost Woodcrest gives over a 2.8 GHz Xeon DP to start winning business back from Opteron."

Link: Intel to Offer New Architecture Every Two Years