Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2006.06.01
This Week's Macintel 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.
Should Apple Postpone the Mac Pro?
Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl writes:
"This may seem like a radical idea, but the conventional wisdom,
such as it is, states that Apple will announce an Intel-based
professional desktop Mac during the WWDC in August. That is, along
with Leopard and perhaps a second generation Intel-based model or
two. This would complete the transition to Intel, assuming the
Xserve is part of the program."
- Link:
Should Apple Postpone the Power Mac Replacement?
New Intel Roadmap Reveals Conroe 'Solo', Mobile
Plans
Ars Technica's Jon Hannibal Stokes reports:
"In Q207, budget box builders are going to have quite a few nice
options from Intel, if the latest roadmap from the company is any
guide. The roadmap, turned up by Daily Tech, shows a 'Conroe-L,'
described as a single-core version of Conroe aimed at the low end.
Conroe-L will probably be joined in the low end by the last
remnants of the Pentium 4 and Celeron D lines, from which Intel
will try to squeeze the very last drops of revenue before finally
putting Netburst out to pasture.
"I hold out high hopes for all of the single-core versions of
Core 2 that Intel will release, including Conroe-L. As I've pointed
out in my coverage of Core 2, the new architecture is a
single-threaded monster, and a single-core version of it should be
quite capable for a variety of mid-range to low-end tasks. I think
Apple in particular, a company with much experience exploiting
low-end processors by putting them into innovative enclosures,
could do some nice things with Conroe-L . . . [queue the
Apple media center speculation]."
- Link: New Intel
Roadmap Reveals Conroe 'Solo', Mobile Plans
Intel Relentlessly Pursues Cutting Edge
AP Technology Writer Dan Goodin reports:
"The glass-encased room inside Intel Corp.'s microchip factory
here, with its shiny, metallic surfaces and frigid air, is a world
away from the blistering sun and brown earth outside. An army of
robots suspended from the vast ceiling glide from one
refrigerator-sized machine to the next. Their cargo: thousands of
12-inch silicon platters that form the raw material for Intel's
most sophisticated computer microprocessor to date.
"Inside this chip fabrication plant on the outskirts of Phoenix,
engineers clad in what look like space suits are six months into a
dramatic overhaul that could determine Intel's future as it faces
its stiffest competition in more than a decade.
"Intel closed the factory, officially known as Fab 12, for 18
months and spent $2 billion to retool it with more than 800
machines that follow a new manufacturing recipe cooked up more than
four years ago and is already in place at a plant in Oregon. By
year's end, the process will be up and running in a total of four
fabs."
- Link: Intel
Relentlessly Pursues Cutting Edge
Ebook Helps Mac Users Install and Run
Windows
Macintosh users interested in expanding the capabilities of
their Intel-based Macs can now find the practical advice they need
to install Windows on a Mac with the 104-page "Take Control of
Running Windows on a Mac." The ebook was written by installation
expert Joe Kissell, whose ebooks on upgrading to new versions of
Mac OS X have set the standard for answering the real-world
questions and concerns that users have when contemplating a major
system update. "Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac" looks in
detail at all the possibilities, including the virtualization
software Parallels
Desktop and Q, along with Apple's dual-boot
solution, Boot Camp. For each option, Kissell provides step-by-step
instructions for installing the software and for installing
Windows, and he goes further by explaining how to make mice and
keywords behave properly, share files between the Mac and Windows,
and avoid Windows malware. He also explains the various ways of
acquiring Windows, a topic made confusing by Microsoft's numerous
licensing options and activation mechanism.
With Apple's release of Boot Camp, which lets you boot an
Intel-based Mac in Windows XP, the Mac community has been abuzz
with questions about installing Windows on a Mac, whether via Boot
Camp or virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop and Q.
Now, turn to installation expert Joe Kissell for the answers. Joe
examines why you might want to use a Mac to run Windows, helps you
pick the best option for running Windows in your situation, and
gives detailed, real-world steps for installing Boot Camp,
Parallels Desktop, or Q on an Intel Mac. The ebook also explains
how to make mice and keyboards work properly, share files across
platforms, avoid Windows viruses and malware, and more. An appendix
looks briefly at solutions for running Windows on PowerPC-based
Macs.
Includes a coupon worth $10 off Parallels Desktop, rendering the
ebook free!
Read this ebook to learn the answers to questions such as:
- Is Windows faster in Boot Camp than in Parallels Desktop?
- What can I do if my Windows CD doesn't contain SP2?
- How can I use my Bluetooth keyboard and one-button mouse in
Boot Camp?
- Why does Parallels Desktop on my Mac mini complain about VT-x
being disabled, and what can I do about it?
- What techniques can I use to avoid viruses and spyware in
Windows?
Book Info
- 104 pages
- Version 1.0
- Published 26-May-06
- 2.6 MB download
- ISBN: 1-933671-15-7
- Free 24-page PDF sample
About the Author
Joe Kissell has written numerous books about the Macintosh,
including 50 Fast Mac OS X Techniques and many best-selling
Take Control ebooks. He's also a frequent contributor to Macworld
magazine and previously spent ten years in the Mac software
industry.
The ebook costs $10 and comes with a coupon worth $10 off the
price of Parallels Desktop, rendering the book free for readers who
want to use the highly regarded virtualization software to run
Windows.
- "Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac" by Joe Kissell
- PDF format,
- 104 pages,
- free 24-page sample available
- Publication date: May 26, 2006
- Price: $10, with $10-off coupon for Parallels Desktop
Macintel Power on Self Test RAM Error
Codes
An updated Apple Knowledge Base article says:
"Intel-based Macs such as the iMac (Early 2006), Mac mini (Early
2006), and MacBook Pro rely on a combination of tones and blinking
LEDs to display Power On Self Test (POST) error codes.
"If the computer detects no SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random
Access Memory, also referred to as RAM) or the RAM installed does
not meet the appropriate specifications, the screen will remain
black but the power LED on the front of the computer will blink
once per second to signal the error. This error condition may be
due to physically damaged RAM, installing the incorrect type of
RAM, or not having RAM installed.
"Some RAM may appear to pass the Power-On-Self-Test (POST) but
still cannot be used by the operating system. In this case, the
computer will display a gray screen, sound three tones and blink
the power LED on the front of the computer three times, pause, and
repeat the blinking until the computer is turned off.
"The solution to both of these situations is to first re-seat
the memory and test the computer again. If the memory fails the
POST test again, try memory that has been verified to work
correctly on another system (i.e., 'known-good' ) or order new
memory from the Apple Store."
- Link: Intel-based
Mac Power on Self Test RAM Error Codes
