The Macintel Report

Boot Camp Means Windows Voodoo, Core 2 Quad Due in Q4, Creating a PowerPC/Intel Boot Drive, and More

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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 desktops 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?

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