Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2006.05.25
This Week's Macintel News
"Did Apple make the right move switching from PowerPC to Intel?"
That's been the topic of debate since June 6, 2005, the day Steve
Jobs announced that Apple would make the transition. Although the
Intel conversion is proceeding ahead of schedule and has been
widely applauded, people love playing the "what if?" game.
This week's top news has been an efficient 2 GHz dual-core
PowerPC processor being developed by PA Semi (which Ashlee Vance
calls a "superstar chip start-up") that could have meant 2 GHz
dual-core PowerBooks sometime in 2007. With Intel announcing 2.33
GHz Core Duo for June, 2.0 GHz next year sounds like too little,
too late.
Speaking of which, Intel's Core Solo and Core Duo prices are
being slashed this week, and we strongly suspect we'll see speed
bumped iMacs and Mac minis within the coming weeks. The new 2.33
GHz Duo has the same price as the current 2.16 GHz. Likewise, the
2.16 GHz Duo drops to the price of the 2.0 GHz chip, 2.0 GHz to the
1.83 GHz price, and that to the 1.66 GHz price. At the bottom, an
updated 1.66 GHz Core Duo and a new 1.83 GHz Core Solo share the
same price as the just discontinued 1.66 GHz Core Solo.
Given the choice of 1.83 GHz Core Solo or 1.66 GHz Core Duo at
the same price, we'd love to see Apple use the dual-core chip in
the entry-level Mac mini. dk
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.
Apple Shunned Chip Start-up for Intel
The Register's Ashlee Vance says:
"Did Apple make a mistake by switching to Intel? We may never
know, but Apple had more options than has been previously reported,
The Register can exclusively reveal.
"A chip start-up that created a high performance, low power
processor compatible with existing Mac software had been working
closely with the computer company for many months.
"Apple was looking for a new chip supplier largely because it
was struggling to find a decent part for its key laptop line. IBM
could not deliver the right performance per watt characteristics
needed for slim, powerful kit and was struggling to produce chips
as efficiently as Apple would like.
"PA Semi - a maker of low-power Power processors - formed a
tight relationship with Apple - one meant to result in it
delivering chips for Apple's notebook line and possibly desktops.
The two companies shared software engineering work, trying to see
how Apple's applications could be ported onto PA Semi's silicon.
When word leaked out that Apple had signed on with Intel, it
shocked the PA Semi staff, according to multiple sources.
"'PA Semi was counting on that deal,' said one source. 'They had
lots of guys walking around in a daze when Apple went to Intel.
They had no idea that would actually happen.'"
Editor's note: PA Semi's first CPU won't begin sampling until 3Q
2006 and won't ship in volume until sometime in 2007. The low power
(7W vs. 21-25 for Core Duo) 2 GHz dual-core PowerPC processor
is too late to help Apple, which has been stuck at 1.67 GHz on the
G4 and 2.5 GHz (with significant cooling) on the G5. dk
- Link: Apple
Shunned Superstar Chip Start-up for Intel
Core Solo and Core Duo Price Cuts
DigiTimes' Monica Chen and Carrie Yu report:
"Intel will lower prices of three Core Duo dual-core processor
models by up to a third on May 28, according to sources. Prices for
the T2400, T2500 and T2600 processors will be lowered from US$294,
US$423 and US$637 per thousand units to US$241, US$294 and US$423,
respectively, with the T2300 currently priced at US$241 per
thousand units to be replaced by the T2300E at US$209, the sources
said. Intel Taiwan declined to comment on unannounced
information.
"Taiwan-based notebook makers suggested that the plan was caused
by weaker-than-expected demand and new competing products, such as
the low-power AM2 and Turion 64 X2 processors from AMD. In
addition, the price cut will help make room for the upcoming Merom
(Core 2 Duo) processor (to be launched in August), the makers
said."
Editor's note: We believe these price reductions are already
built into the speed bumped
MacBook Pro models released last week. According to this
article, the 1.66 GHz Core Solo is being replaced by a 1.83 GHz
part, and a 2.33 GHz Core Duo is available for the first time. Our
guess: Speed bumped iMacs and Mac minis. dk
- Link: Intel to Fend
Off AMD Low-power Challenge with May 28 Price Cuts of Core
Duo
MacBook Puts Apple on Track for Upside
Forbes' Maya Roney says:
"Apple Computer's new MacBook, with its competitive price and
timely launch, could bring about fiscal third-quarter upside,
according to American Technology Research.
"'MacBook is shipping one to two months ahead of our checks,'
wrote analyst Shaw Wu in a research note. 'We thus have a higher
degree of confidence that Apple is on track to hit the upper-end,
if not exceed, its guidance.'"
"The analyst finds the timing important as it is well ahead of
the back-to-school buying season that starts in July. He believes
the MacBook will become the second highest volume Mac behind iMac,
and possibly even make a run as the top-selling Mac."
- Link:
MacBook Surprise Puts Apple on Track for Upside
Taking the Macintel Plunge: Guide to Getting
Started
PCMag's Cisco Cheng says:
"A year ago, the thought of spending my hard-earned money on a
Mac was laughable. The components were slower, specifically the G4
and G5 processors, than those found on Windows PCs. Also, the idea
of abandoning my native Windows language and adopting OS X was
unsettling. How things have changed: Over the past few months,
Apple laptops and desktops have gotten Intel makeovers, so now it
runs just as fast as any Windows-based PC. The bigger news is that
Apple is sanctioning the coexistence of Windows XP on a Mac-Intel.
I'd say those are two compelling reasons to go out and get a
Mac.
"If you're a first time computer buyer or if you're like me - a
Windows user thinking of making the switch - a Mac-Intel is looking
very attractive right now. In addition to the faster, more capable,
Intel processors, Apple computers are less prone - not completely
immune, as Apple might have you think - to virus attacks. (The bulk
of virus attacks are mainly targeted towards Windows.)"
Editor's note: The bulk of virus attacks (90%+) are aimed at
Windows, and most of the rest are after various flavors of *nix. To
date there have been a total of five that target OS X, only
two of them have made it beyond the lab, and neither has been
widespread. dk
- Link: Taking the
Mac-Intel Plunge: Guide to Getting You Started
Intel to Take PCs Virtual
eWeek's John G. Spooner and Matt Hines report:
"Intel is eyeing a plan to use software to boost a PC's ability
to fight hackers, talk on the phone and even capture television
programs in the future.
"The chip maker, which launched its security- and
manageability-focused vPro brand on April 24, is contemplating a
standard method for adding virtual appliances-purpose-built
software applications that run on top of their own miniature
operating systems inside virtualized partitions-to PCs, an Intel
executive said."
- Link: Intel to Take
PCs Virtual
Startup Key Combinations for Intel-based
Macs
A new Apple Knowledge Base article says:
"These are the startup key combinations you can use on
Intel-based Macs:
"Keystroke/Description
- Press C during startup - Start up from a bootable CD or DVD,
such as the Mac OS X Install disc that came with the computer.
- Press D during startup - Start up in Apple Hardware Test (AHT),
if the Install DVD 1 is in the computer.
- Press Option-Command-P-R until you hear two beeps - Reset
NVRAM
- Press Option during startup - Starts into Startup Manager,
where you can select a Mac OS X volume to start from. Note: Press N
to make the the first bootable Network volume appear as well.
- Press Eject, F12, or hold the mouse (/trackpad) button - Ejects
any removable media, such as an optical disc.
- Press N during startup - Attempt to start up from a compatible
network server (NetBoot).
- Press T during startup - Start up in FireWire Target Disk
mode.
- Press Shift during startup - Start up in Safe Boot mode and
temporarily disable login items.
- Press Command-V during startup - Start up in Verbose mode.
- Press Command-S during startup - Start up in Single-User
mode.
- Press Option-N during startup - Start from a NetBoot server
using the default boot image."
- Link: Startup Key
Combinations for Intel-based Macs
