Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2005.08.11
This Week's Mac-on-Intel News
Low End
Mac has standardized on Macintel as our official informal label
for the forthcoming OS X-on-Intel Macintosh computers, although
you'll probably find just as many people calling them "Mactels".
Whatever we call them, Apple's decision to switch to Intel CPUs
means we live in very interesting times.
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.
The Trusted Computing Controversy
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Tech Developments
The Trusted Computing Controversy
The hottest topic on the Mac Web this past week has been the
inclusion of a Trusted Computing chip in Apple's Intel-based
developer systems. Bear in mind that Apple has not stated whether
this chip will be in shipping Macintel systems or whether OS X
will use such a chip to lock down the computer. dk
Apple Adopts Controversial Security Chip
vnunet.com's Tom Sanders says:
"Developer preview models of Apple's forthcoming Intel-powered
computer contain a security chip that has come under fire for its
ability to compromise the privacy of users.
"Apple recently started shipping Developer Transition Kits that
help developers test and prepare software for the switch to the
Intel-powered computers next year. The kit contains a version of OS
X for Intel, and a Mac computer featuring an Intel processor.
"The computer features a security chip called the Trusted
Platform Module (TPM), an open industry standard governed by the
not-for-profit Trusted Computing Group which develops security
standards.
"The chip's inclusion with the Apple hardware does not come as a
complete surprise. It has been previously suggested that Apple
could use the TPM to prevent computer users installing the
OS X operating system on a non-Mac computer."
Security Chips in Macintels
bestsyndication.com's Dan Wilson reports:
"Apple started shipping Developer Transition Kits to help
developers create software that will run on the new Macs that will
be using the Intel Processor Chips. These computers contained a
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security chip. These chips will be
used to prevent software developed for Apple from being used on
non-Apple Machines.
"Apple has been using IBM made processors for their Macs, but
next year they will be switching to Intel. It is hoped the TPM chip
will prevent users from installing Apple's operating system
(OS X for the Intel) it on other Intel machines.
"The chips have previously been installed on HP and IBM machines
to provide a secure way to store passwords or encrypted data for
the Enterprise Market. The chips will block a thieves access to a
hard drive even if the hard drive is swapped out to another
machine. It will also prevent thieves from booting a system from
the Floppy Drive."
Apple Sneaks in Security Chip
The Inquirer's Nick Farrell reports:
"Apple has worked out a way to prevent their customers
downloading the company's new Intel-based operating system into
cheaper and uglier PCs.
"Jobs Mob boffins have installed a Trusted Platform Module made
by Infineon Technologies to prevent the operating system being used
on anything that is not re-assuringly expensive and has an Apple
trademark.
"The chip has been found in an Intel-fitted PowerMac sent to
members of its Apple Developer Connection to have a look at.
According to CNET, the PowerMac came with a that contains a digital
signature necessary in order to install the Mac OSX operating
system onto the box.
"It seems that Apple is trying to prevent the spread of its
operating system onto PCs and keep it just for its reassuringly
expensive but jolly nice to look at machines."
DRM Chip in Macintels Worries Developers
CNET News.com's Michael Singer reports:
"A chip needed to install Mac OS for x86 could be used for more
than just allowing the operating system to be installed
"Apple fans are upset over a security chip found in a special
x86-based PowerMac - a chip designed to prevent people from loading
the company's new Intel-based OS onto non-Apple machines. Apple
supplied the Intel-fitted PowerMac to members of its Apple
Developer Connection. The PowerMac includes a microcontroller known
as the TPM that contains a digital signature necessary in order to
install the Mac OS X operating system onto the box."
Apple's DRM Move: The Work of a Ulysses?
Open for Business Editor-in-Chief, Timothy R. Butler says:
"Word came out earlier this week that Apple's Mac OS X on Intel
developer kits depend on TCPA, still often known by its old name,
Palladium. While Odysseus is long since dead, it is easy to see why
Apple may be fearful of piracy as it moves to the x86 platform. The
question is: exactly how does this impact the end user? That is not
exactly clear just yet.
"For several years now, I have been saying it was inevitable:
TCPA had to be adopted by both Macs and PCs. If for no other reason
than that Microsoft's push toward it will eventually require it; if
you need a TCPA chip to talk to Microsoft platforms in the future,
even if Apple had remained on the PowerPC, it would have been led
into adopting this eventually. No computer is an island, so when
the bell of 'security' tolls for Windows PCs, it will inevitably
toll for others as well."
DRM or Not? No Big Deal!
Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, writes:
"For the past 21 years, nobody has disputed the fact that the
Mac operating system was designed to run strictly on Macs. Or on
computers licensed to do so by Apple Computer. Despite that
oh-so-obvious fact of life, and loads of screw-ups along the way,
the company has managed to somehow survive and, of late,
prosper."
Link: DRM or
Not? Big Deal!
News, Analysis, and Opinion
Will Intel Developments Affect Future
Macs?
Macsimum News' Dennis Sellers says:
"There have been new developments in the Intel world regarding
memory and that may or may not affect Apple in the months ahead.
The affect of the developments on future Mac and Apple products
depends on which Intel processors Apple uses and what other Intel
technologies our favorite computer maker decides to use (if
any)."
OS X on the Brink
PC Mag's John C. Dvorak says:
"As each day passes, we are confronted with more and more
gossipy prognostications regarding Apple and its move to the x86
platform. A few weeks ago there was some site claiming that Apple
was actually going to get a custom x86 chip designed specifically
for the Mac OS, to make it impossible for the OS to gravitate
toward white boxes. That may have been the progenitor of the notion
that Apple is going to use Intel's 'trusted computing' platform
hardware to lock down the OS. This would be fun to watch, since it
would constitute a disaster for the company, as nobody in their
right mind wants to be locked down by trusted-computing anything.
But what if the whole idea is a scam - a twisted scheme?"
Apple's Macintel Business Model
Macsimum News' Dennis Sellers says:
"As I noted in our Aug. 3 and July 25 musings, there's a fairly
common belief that Apple will eventually allow Mac OS X to run on
all Intel-based hardware and evolve into a software company.
"If Apple ever did actually allow other hardware manufacturers
to offer Mac OS X on their systems, I still believe that the
company would continue make stylish, cutting edge Macs. In fact, I
believe the company has more, not less, hardware in mind for the
months and years ahead - but that's food for another column.
However, Macsimum News reader Mark Hanley (a self-professed 'Cocoa'
fan and embedded software developer) offered some thoughts and a
cool graphic I had to share with you:
"Apple's business model has always been 'sell hardware.' They
bundle software to make it more attractive, but sell hardware.
iTunes is free - to sell iPods. When it comes to server apps,
WebObjects and its ilk are free - to sell xServes. The Mac mini has
more value in its bundled software than the hardware is worth.
Hanley's point: Apple's business model gives it a unique advantage
over its PC rivals: Microsoft doesn't doesn't sell PCs, and Dell
and friends don't write software."
Macintels Fail the 'Smell Test'
Applelust's Joe C. Carson says:
"Unless you have been living under a rock or in a cave high in
the Himalayan mountains, I am sure that you have heard about the
shock generated when Apple announced that it was leaving PowerPC
and getting in bed with Intel. What I find even more interesting
are the reasons given for the switch... and then how the story
started changing when the first version didn't quite fly right.
"If you have ever been a fan of police reality shows you might
be aware of something that real world police detectives call the
'Smell Test'. This means that once the stories are given by
principals involved in a Dastardly Deed, the detectives check to
see how the story holds up against verifiable facts and how
consistently the stories are maintained. If there are discrepancies
or the stories start to change, then they are considered to have
failed the 'Smell Test'. That is exactly what has happened over the
past month in the Switch To Intel Caper. In fact, the odor was so
rank that I couldn't help but notice that someone (or multiple
someones...) were being a bit less than truthful."
Lest We Forget!
Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, writes:
"A little over two months ago, the Mac universe turned upside
down and we're still debating the impact. For years, we were told
that Intel was our enemy, part of the villainous Wintel gang that
meant us ill, that the processors Apple bought from Freescale
Semiconductor and IBM were far superior. Year after year, at
Macworld keynotes, we'd see how PC boxes with Intel Inside would be
beaten to a pulp when confronted by the most powerful Power Mac
available."
Tech Developments
'Yonah' to Supersede 'Dothan' in
2006
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Intel's 65nm dual-core Pentium M successor, codenamed 'Yonah',
will ship at 1.67, 1.84, 2.0 and 2.17 GHz when it debuts early next
year, the latest company roadmaps to be made public reveal.
"The four dual-core incarnations will be accompanied by just one
2MB L2 single-core version of the part, as Intel had already
announced, clocked at 1.67 GHz....
"Q1 2006 will also see the arrival of the x38 and x48, dual-core
low-voltage parts, clocked at 1.50 and 1.67 GHz, respectively. Come
Q3 2006, and Intel will introduce the 1.84 GHz x58, alongside the
2.34 GHz x60, and the 1.84 GHz 766, the latter based on the
single-core Yonah."
Intel Phasing Out Slower Celeron M
Chips
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Intel has scheduled the 1.3 GHz Celeron M 350J and the 1 GHz
ultra-low voltage Celeron M 373 for termination, company documents
seen by The Register reveal.
"It's the usual story of demand shifting to higher-performance
products. Last month, Intel introduced the 1.6 GHz Celeron M 380,
and cut the prices of the 370 and 360J. It was only a matter of
time before the 350J, now the same price as the 1.4 GHz 360J, was
given the boot."
Intel Phasing Out Low-end Chipsets
CNET News.com's Michael Singer reports:
"Intel will phase out production of three low-end chipsets for
desktop PCs in favor of selling its higher-end and Centrino-based
products, CNET News.com has learned.
"The move, expected to take place by the end of August, could
delay shipments of low-end PCs from various manufacturers for a
couple of months.
"Sources close to the chipmaking giant's dealings confirmed
reports that Intel would shutter production of its 910GL, 915GL and
915PL chipsets. The three microcontrollers that help feed the main
brain of Pentium 4 and Celeron D chips were expected to make up
about 20 percent of Intel's desktop chipset supply in the second
half of this year."
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.
