No Sub-$1,000 'Books, Core Duo Overclocked to 3.8 GHz, Another Windows on Mac Contender, and More
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Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB $ 82 / 4GB $128 / 8GB $256 - Click to Maximize your Macs...
Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2006.05.18
This Week's Macintel News
This week Gene Steinberg notes the passing of the last sub-$1,000 'Book - perhaps only temporarily. One user has pushes a Core Duo chip to 3.8 GHz, and Pioneer Press notes a third player in the Windows-on-Mac game. 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 desktops news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered in The iPod News Review.
- The End of the $999 iBook
- Core Duo Successfully Overclocked to 3.8 GHz
- Macintel: Two Computers in One
- Despite Scurrying to Market, Apple Got Intel Right
- PCs and Macs Start to Converge
- Intel Talks Up 'Centrino 4' for Small PCs
The End of the $999 iBook
Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, writes
"Call me an optimist, but I think Apple has done an excellent job transitioning its notebook computers to Intel processors. Yes, I know some of you readers remain upset that the earliest production runs of the MacBook Pro weren't quite as reliable as you hoped. But all in all, Apple has done what some might regard as a near-impossible feat, which is to move most Macs to a totally new processor architecture within months, way ahead of what many expected when the maneuver was first announced nearly a year ago."
Core Duo Successfully Overclocked to 3.8 GHz
Dr. Macenstein says:
"Faithful Macenstein reader rico has turned us on to a posting over at Cooling Masters which claims to have successfully over-clocked a Core Duo (T2600) chip to as high as 3.8 GHz. (Or at least we think that's what it says. |it's in French, and we have enough trouble reading benchmarks in English.)....
"Now, we all know Apple is waiting for the new Core 2 Duo chips before releasing a new PowerMac, but what I am hoping is this experiment implies that perhaps the Core 2 Duos will be shipping around the 3+ GHz range when they DO arrive...."
Macintel: Two Computers in One
Pioneer Press's Julio Ojeda-Zapata says:
"Until recently, you faced a stark choice when picking a home computer - you bought either a Windows PC or a Macintosh.
"The popular PCs guarantee you will have access to a vast software library, but the computers' antiquated Windows XP operating system is infamous for its security failings. The PCs offered by top makers wouldn't win sexiness awards, either.
"Apple Computer's Macs, by comparison, are attractive machines with a state-of-the-art operating system and slick software for mainstream tasks. But Apple's meager market share has meant slim software pickings elsewhere.
"Now, you no longer have to choose. Just buy a Macintosh."
Includes comparison profiles of Apple Boot Camp, Parallels Workstation, and Codeweavers Crossover Mac.
Despite Scurrying to Market, Apple Got Intel Right
InfoWorld's Tom Yager says:
"The Intel-based iMac is impossibly energy- and space-efficient, giving far more than it takes in both regards. Pushed to the performance red line and with the monitor cranked to full brightness, iMac never consumed more than 95 watts of power - one-third to half what a comparable desktop with a high-quality 20-inch LCD panel would use.
"Apple's first Intel-based Macs, iMac and MacBook Pro, were born into a position of advantage. OS X Tiger, a loyal base of customers and developers, firm ownership of high-margin specialty markets, and high regard in the mainstream have turned everything Apple's touched - at least since the Titanium PowerBook G4 - into gold.
"These advantages did not guarantee Apple or its customers smooth sailing from PowerPC to Intel. Despite gaping holes in its Intel rollout strategy - holes that Apple is attempting to spackle with speed and nerve - Apple managed to hit a home run and a double in its first two Intel at-bats."
PCs and Macs Start to Converge
The BBC's Chris Long reports:
"Apple's Boot Camp has changed the course of the PC/Mac war
"In 1859 Charles Darwin published The Origin of the Species. In it he described the way he thought life had developed on Earth. He called it 'survival of the fittest'.
"One hundred and fifty years later, that concept continues to cause a stir around the world.
"After watching the little local difficulty between Apple and Microsoft that has been bubbling under for the last 25 odd years I suggest a new chapter to Darwin's book: 'If you can't beat them, join them'.
"With a seriously innovative approach to computing and a user base that lives to embrace those innovations, Apple was able to deliver its own funky front end.
"Microsoft could only play catch up: not only did it not manufacture the hardware, but the hardware was not built to treat graphics in the same way.
"The personal computer was finding it hard to match the Mac's pictures.
"But still, the PC market exploded. There are now nearly a billion desktop computers being used these days and only 3% or so of those are Apple Macs.
"The computer market has evolved. We can now see PCs running beta versions of the new Microsoft Windows, Vista. Some thought it was game over, then it all changed.
"With the next evolution we had an Apple computer with an Intel processor and a brand new version of OS X, the Mac operating system, to run on it."
Intel Talks Up 'Centrino 4' for Small PCs
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Taiwanese manufacturers of small form-factor PCs have re-iterated Intel's scheme to pitch 'Santa Rosa', the next version of the chip maker's Centrino platform, as the basis for future compact desktop and living room PCs.
"According to a DigiTimes report, Intel has of late been pushing Santa Rosa's suitability for SFF PCs. Certainly, leaked Intel presentation slides have claimed Santa Rosa will "enable form-factor innovation" in the desktop PC market, as we reported back in April."
Recent Mac News Reviews
- Macs Gain Ground in August, Consumers Most Likely to Buy Macs, LaCie USB Speakers, and More, 09.05. Also migrating Time Machine to a new drive and two new keyboards from Logitech.
- First 3 Million Mac Quarter, Skinny on Mac mini Pricing, Mac-like gOS, and More, 08.29. More plan to buy Apple products than ever before, complete reset can fix MobileMac synch problems, Apple boosting computer and smartphone share, and more.
- Apple's Record Customer Satisfaction, Consequences of Bad RAM, iMac Carry Case, and More, 08.22. Also MobileMe users getting another 60 days of free service, Mac vs. PC pricing, Intel releases USB 3.0 specification, SyncMate synchs Pocket PCs and Macs, and more.
- Mac Prices in Context, Macs Best for Microsoft Office, Macs Surge in Education, and More, 08.15. Also Macs becoming standard in the enterprise, Linux on old Macs, Gmail feels your pain, BurnAgain FS software for rewritable discs, and more.
- More in the
- Mac of the Day: Centris 650, Feb. 1993 - The replacement for the Quadra 700 has room for an internal CD-ROM.
- List of the Day: Old Mac MP covers 604-based multiprocessor Macs and clones.
- September 7 in LEM history: 98: Banner exchanges - 00: Tips from the Mac manager - Getting a Mac job - 01: Apple and the gray market - Repositioning the 'Books - 04: Tray loading iMac a good choice for OS X? - Pismo CPU upgrades - 06: Mac mini value equation - Setting up a Mac Classic II - Putting the Intel transition in perspective - 07: Region free DVD viewing, - My Newton - Solving Mac disk and hardware problems - 2 apps every MacBook should have
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Anticipation: New iPods Now, New Macs Later, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.05. The season of new iPods is at hand, but new Macs may wait until 2009.
- Buy a MacBook Now or Wait?, MacBook touch Patents, Samsung X360 Takes on MBA, and More, The 'Book Review, 09.05. Also 20 years of portable Macs, data backup and preservation, universal U-Charge battery charger for Mac 'Books, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05. Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
- Source of iPhone 3G Problems, Army Uses iPods as Field Translators, Gains with Business, and More, iNews Review, 09.05. Also UK bans iPhone ad as 'misleading', iPhone password easy to bypass, GM to offer radios with USB in 2009 models, weather tracking software, and more.
- Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
- Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
- Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700.
- Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this.
- Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
- Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
- 11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03. The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
- Save Internet Radio, USB and Hard Drives, Hardware Manufacturers vs. Linux, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.03. Also Mac won't book after cleaning, newer versions of OS X improve wake from sleep, downgrading to OS 8.6, unreadable pages on Low End Mac, and more.
- Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
- Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
- Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
- More links in our archive.
<go to the Macintel Report index>
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