Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2006.07.27
This Week's Macintel News
Gene Steinberg takes a look at the dark side of Boot Camp, the
Land of Windows Voodoo, while a current Windows user is
contemplating Macintel hardware.
On the hardware front, the Core 2 Quad should be out by the end
of the year, and it should be pin-compatible with the Core 2 Duo
processors Intel is rolling out this month and next.
MacFixIt has a tutorial on creating a dual-boot hard drive with
OS X for both PowerPC and Intel Macs.
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.
The Macintel Transition
Tech Tips and Info
Intel News
The Macintel Transition
The Land of Windows Voodoo: The Dark Side of
Boot Camp
Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, writes:
"I've noticed that some Mac dealers are now selling MacIntels
with Windows bundles. Get the full experience of Boot Camp without
having to set it up for yourself. I suppose that sounds convenient,
but the same people who put packages together, such as MacMall,
don't forget to include the Boot Camp public beta terms and
conditions in their catalogs and online sales pages."
- Link:
The Dark Side of Boot Camp
Windows Convert Contemplating Macintel
The Globe and Mail's Paul Lima reports:
"David Boss learned desktop publishing on an Apple Computer
Macintosh, or Mac, provided by his employer in the late 1980s.
However, when he established his own business, Boss Communications
in Mississauga, Ont., in 1996, he bought a Windows-based personal
computer.
"He switched over despite the fact that he liked working on
Macs, because by then, PCs running Windows 95 could handle desktop
publishing and 'they provided greater hardware flexibility, lower
cost and more compatibility with the corporate world.'
"Though he misses the ease of use of his Mac, Mr. Boss likes
Windows XP and plans on upgrading to the new Windows operating
system (OS), Vista, next year. But he is going to wait 'a few
months after it hits the market, after the bugs are sorted
out.'
"In a twist of technological development, however, now that Macs
can be used to run Windows, he is going to 'at least look at' Macs
when he needs a new computer...."
- Link:
Mac Folk Versus the PC Posse (paid subscription required)
Intel to Roll Out Core 2 Quad in Q4
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Intel's quad-core processors 'Kentsfield' and 'Clovertown' may
debut sooner than expected. Originally roadmapped for an H1 2007
introduction, the chips will now appear in Q4 2006, the chip
giant's CEO, Paul Otellini, indicated yesterday.
"In March this year, it emerged that Kentsfield, Intel's
four-core successor to its Core 2 Duo desktop processor, would ship
Q1 2007, narrowing the launch window down from the first-half
timeframe publicly stated by Intel.
"Yesterday, after publishing disappointing Q2 FY2006 results,
Otellini said: 'We're pulling in both the desktop and server
[launch] of the first quad-core processors into the fourth quarter
of this year from the first half of 2007.'"
"Clovertown is expected to be pin-compatible with the recently
released 'Woodcrest' dual-core Xeon DP 5100 family of server
chips."
NOTE: Woodcrest is widely expected to be at the heart of the
forthcoming Power Mac replacement and the Intel-based Xserve. If
Clovertown is pin-compatible, it should be trivial to upgrade from
a dual-core CPU to a quad-core one. dk
- Link: Intel
Speeds Quad-core CPU Roll-out To Q4
Intel to Pushing Dual-core in Turnaround
Bid
eWeek's John G. Spooner writes:
"It could soon be dual-cores in every PC. Intel is redrawing the
lines that separate its PC processors in an effort to architect a
second-half turnaround.
"The chip maker, which suffered processor inventory and pricing
woes that reduced its revenue and profit in the second quarter,
will tout three processor brands.
"It will also accelerate the arrival of its first quad-core
processors to the end of 2006."
- Link: Intel to Tout
Chip Trifecta in Turnaround Bid
Analysts: Coupling of Mac and Intel Pays
Off
eWeek's Scott Ferguson says:
"Apple's big bet on Intel chips is paying off big time.
"That appears to be the consensus of analysts following Apple
Computer's fiscal third-quarter earnings, July 19. The Cupertino,
Calif., company announced its second best quarterly results ever,
with net income of $472 million and earnings of 54 cents a
share."
- Link: Analysts:
Coupling of Mac and Intel Pays Off
Tech Tips and Info
Creating a Dual-Boot (PowerPC and Intel)
Drive
A new MacFixIt tutorial says:
"In order to perform this procedure, you will need an external
FireWire hard drive, as well as copies of Mac OS X for both
Intel-based and PowerPC-based Macs. You will also need access to
both an Intel-based and a PowerPC-based Mac.
"The normal disk formatting scheme you would use for booting an
Intel-based Mac is GUID. For a proper dual-boot device, however, we
cannot use this format. The reason is that there is no way to boot
from a GUID partition on most PowerPC-based Macs (aside from the
very newest G4 and G5 systems).
"So the partition scheme we'll use is APS (Apple Partition
Scheme).
"Just as there is only one table of contents in a book, there is
only one partition table on a hard drive. There is no way to
hybridize the table so that it is legal in both GUID and APS, so
you have to pick one or the other. Since we know that you cannot
boot from a GUID drive on most of the PowerPC Macs, APS is the
format of choice."
- Link: Tutorial:
Creating a Dual-Boot (PowerPC and Intel) Drive
Intel News
Intel Tweaks Core 2 Duo Chipsets
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Intel is to update its desktop Core 2 Duo-friendly P965
chipset, the chip giant informed its customers this week. The
change, which will take the part from version C-1 to C-2, also
affects the 946GZ and 946PL chipsets too, Reg Hardware has
learned.
"Intel didn't state what the changes involve, but it noted all
the updated parts are compatible with existing motherboards, and
neither the C-2 P965 nor the C-2 946PL contain 'design changes'
that warrant re-qualification of the systems they'll sit in. No so
the C-2 946GZ, which will necessitate re-qualification, Intel
said."
- Link:
Intel Tweaks Core 2 Duo Chipsets
Is 'Montecito' Intel's Last Chance for
Itanium?
eWeek's Chris Preimesberger reports:
"News Analysis: Analysts say even though the new-generation
64-bit processors look good on paper, the chip-making giant may be
painting too rosy a market picture for an underperforming product
line.
SAN FRANCISCO - Intel finally has its dual-core Itanium 2 chip
out on the market. The question now becomes whether 'Montecito' is
the technology that will invigorate the architecture, or if it will
become another in a long line of expensive Itanium processors that
yield relatively disappointing results."
- Link: Is
'Montecito' Intel's Second Chance for Itanium?
