Apple announced that they will begin shipping Intel-based Macs
by the end of June 2006 and completely migrate their product line
to Intel CPUs by the end of June 2007. The
Macintel Report examines the impact of that switch as well as
developments in the Intel world.
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. iPod news is
covered in The iNews
Review.
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Tech Developments
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Mac-in-Dell?
IDG News Service's Tom Krazit reports:
"If Apple Computer Inc. ever decides to let its Mac OS X
operating system outside of its confines, the company can count
Dell Inc. founder and chairman Michael Dell as a possible
customer.
"Apple, however, is not keen on striking a deal with the world's
largest PC vendor.
"'Mac OS X will only run on Macs. Apple has no plans to sell Mac
OS X software to run on PCs,' an Apple spokeswoman said in an
e-mail response to questions about Dell."
Dell Will Not Be Licensing OS X
Mac on Intel says:
"As revealed in a recent Fortune article by David Kirkpatrick,
Michael Dell has indicated that he would be interested in bundling
OS X with his PCs.
"So I emailed Michael Dell, now the company's chairman, and
asked if he'd be interested in the Mac OS, assuming that Apple CEO
Steve Jobs ever decides to license it to PC companies. (For now,
Jobs says he won't.)"
A Multiplatform Future for the Mac?
CRN's Russell Redman says:
"Now that the speculation about Apple switching from IBM PowerPC
to Intel chips is over, industry buzz about more platform crossover
for the Macintosh is just beginning.
"Solution providers and analysts said Apple's move to Intel
opens up some intriguing possibilities: Would Intel-based Macs be
able to run Microsoft Windows and Linux? And would the Intel
version of Unix-based Mac OS X - code-named Leopard - be able
to run on non-Apple computers powered by Intel processors?
"The answer to both questions likely will be no, at least in the
short term, VARs and analysts said. But they didn't rule out either
eventuality because of the huge market implications for Apple. Both
scenarios would open the Windows PC space - especially the
lucrative corporate market - to the Mac platform, potentially
lifting Apple's 2 percent to 3 percent computer market share into
the double digits, they said. What's more, if Leopard were
permitted to run on PCs, Apple could reverse its historic decision
to not license its operating system on other manufacturers'
computers."
Apple and Intel, Sitting in a Tree
WebProNews's Trevor Bauknight says:
"For this lifelong Macintosh fanatic, the urge to react to the
news that Apple would be making the switch to Intel processors over
the course of the next year had to be suppressed for a few
weeks.
"I had to calm my nerves and control various emotional reactions
that may have been, well, other than constructive. I hoped to get a
sense of how Apple planned to manage the transition and what it
could mean in the grand scheme of things. I think I've come to
grips with the reality of it, and I think Apple may be giving signs
where it is headed. Fortunately for the Mac heads among us, there's
no reason to think our favorite company has stopped 'thinking
different.'"
MHz Wars Over: Good News for Apple
Macsimum News' Dennis Sellers says:
"Now that Apple is transitioning to Intel chips, the megahertz
wars are over. There are lots of potential speed bumps (no pun
intended) along the way, but there's certainly one major advantage
Apple has in this scenario: the playing field is now level and
Apple can go toe-to-toe with Microsoft and Dell and its other
competitors in the two areas at which it excels: the design of its
hardware and the elegance of its operating system."
Switch to Intel Smart Decision
iSuppli's Matthew Wilkins says:
"Apple Computer's decision to switch its PC and server product
lines from IBM's PowerPC to Intel's x86 microprocessor family is a
smart decision that will allow the company to improve the
competitiveness of its mobile computing products, iSuppli
believes....
"On the positive side, using Intel chipsets makes sense, because
it would reduce costs. On the negative side &endash; depending
on your computer brand persuasion &endash; the use of Intel
chipsets could make the Macintosh less of a Mac and more of a
PC.
"This brings us to one of the most fundamental issues regarding
the Apple platform: What is it that makes a Mac a Mac?"
Macintel Desktops Could Be a Triple-Threat
eWeek's John G Spooner writes:
"Even if full hardware support isn't offered, there's a fallback
position for more enterprising Mactel owners. Virtualization
technology built into Intel chips-desktop Pentium 4 chips will
sport built-in virtualization this year and the Pentium Ms will
gain it next-will allow the machines to be partitioned to run
numerous different types of software at the same time. Thus, there
is no reason the machines couldn't run Windows or Linux and all of
the associated applications on top of Mac OS X."
Intel CPUs in a Mac? Cool
Computer Reseller News' Martin Lynch says:
"Apple's slogan 'Think Different' may seem a bit tarnished,
considering its recent announcement to swap IBM for Intel as it's
future chip supplier.
"After all, when most of the planet uses Intel engines under the
hood how different can you remain? Very, I'd say. Apple has always
stood out on hardware design and its operating system/software. The
chip, after all, is just a chip.
"You don't see Formula 1 fans crying when their team announces
plans to move to bigger, faster engine, do you? We are now two
weeks on from the day that certain Apple diehards refer to as 'the
end of the world'. But two weeks of nail-biting seems to have
transformed itself into a mellower acceptance that it's not all
bad. Apple's switch to the Dark Side is now more a brush with the
Grey Side."
IBM Sheds No Tears for Cheating Apple
The Inquirer's Marc Ninthly says:
"So Apple finally fell to the Dark Side, stabbed its ever-loyal
community in the back, took one-step closer towards the unholy
Wintel alliance? All true if you believe the hysterical Web
outbursts from certain Apple Macolytes over the past fortnight.
"For that minority, Apple's decision has been a betrayal of its
stance as the only true alternative to the Wintel dominance. And,
let truth be told, they liked being the underdogs. Part of some
vastly outnumbered, morally upright rebel alliance versus the evil
empire. OK, that's the last Star Wars reference I promise - still
trying to purge Revenge of the S**t from my system....
"And what about poor IBM, the jilted partner in this sordid
little exchange. Its official statement was quite banal - isn't it
always - and spokespeople have had their lips stitched by legal. I
know, because my requests for interviews have been met by polite
yet, nonetheless, firm replies of "Bugger off - please".
Intel Transition May Cool Mac Sales
Macworld's Philip Michaels reports:
"Apple's decision to replace PowerPC chips with processors from
Intel may have long-term benefits for both the company and its
customers. But the processor switch could potentially hurt
near-term hardware sales, if the attitudes of those surveyed in the
Macworld Reader Panel are any indication of what Mac users are
thinking.
"Asked how Apple's decision to change chip suppliers could
affect their decision to buy a new Mac in the next 12 months, a
third of the 414 panelists surveyed by market-research firm Karlin
Associates said they would be less likely to make that
purchase."
Tech Developments
Intel Integrates WiFi with CPU
ExtremeTech's Mark Hachman reports:
"Intel will present a paper Friday that will demonstrate its
progress toward integrating the current Wi-Fi technologies with the
next-generation 802.11n protocol.
At the 2005 VLSI Symposium on Circuits in Kyoto, Japan, Intel
executives will present two papers, one on integrating a 2.4/5-GHz
WLAN as well as a second on a 90-nm filter chain. Intel speakers
will show off photographs of a prototype chip."
IDG News Service's Tom Krazit reports:
"Researchers at Intel have figured out how to integrate all the
elements needed to connect to wireless local area networks into a
compact package.
"Many companies have already built Wi-Fi chips that support the
802.11a/b/g standards, but those products require several other
chips built onto the motherboard in order to connect to wireless
networks.
"Intel has now integrated components such as power amplifiers
onto a single piece of silicon. It has also built connections from
the amplifiers to external radio antennas on a single transceiver
package, connections that used to be made with multiple pieces of
silicon located outside the package, said Howard High, an Intel
spokesman. A transceiver is a chip that can both transmit and
receive signals."
More Mac 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. iPod news is
covered in The iNews
Review.
