Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by
Dan Knight
- 2005.06.17
This Week's Apple and Desktop Mac News
PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review. iPod
news is covered in The iNews Review.
News & Opinion
Switching to Intel
Products and Services
News & Opinion
Linux Developers Defecting to Mac OS X?
macsimumnews.com's Dennis Sellers reports:
"Lots of Java developers are eyeing the Mac and Mac OS X very
favorably. However, there's an even more potent and contentious
schism brewing in the computing universe, Roger Voss, a developer
who uses Java for middle-ware and C# .NET for rich client
enterprise distributed software.
"'Lots of folks that have been fairly bullish for Linux are
defecting to Mac OS X,' he told Macsimum News. 'We still see
Linux as quite good as a server operating system, but we've become
completely disillusioned with Linux as ever becoming a viable
desktop OS worthy of standing toe-to-toe with Windows. There's
simply no disputing that Mac OS X is clearly the superior
graphical user interface (GUI) OS that has some Unix-inspired
heritage underneath the hood. The Linux GUIs are not even in the
same league....
"'Frankly the Linux zealots are stewing from a bad case of
jealousy and envy,' Voss says. 'The fact that a proprietary GUI OS
is so vastly superior to any open-software/free-software GUI
attempts is a reality they can't cope with very gracefully.'"
Mac Users Get New Storage Options
Storage Pipeline reports:
"IT professionals who rely on Apple Macintosh for any of their
storage, backup or recovery got a few new options this week to
improve speed and management.
"Maxtor Corp.'s newly unveiled OneTouch II drive has a FireWire
800 interface that delivers up to 800 megabits per second of data
transfer. Users can can connect the drive to their systems using
the FireWire 800, FireWire 400 or USB 2.0 interface to quickly
transfer and store high-resolution graphics, digital audio and
video and dense multimedia files."
Switching to Intel
Macintel Desktops a Triple Threat?
eWeek's John G. Spooner says:
"Apple won't stand in the way of people who want to run Windows
on its forthcoming Intel-processor Macs. But whether or not users
will be able to run Windows directly on the machines is still a
mystery.
"While Apple developers initially looked upon Apple's choice to
move to Intel processors with mixed feelings, the ability of the
new Macs to also run Windows&emdash;a practice long since
adopted by some Mac users who run virtualization software such as
Microsoft Virtual PC&emdash;may be the fulcrum for the company
to gain some new customers, ranging from computer enthusiasts to
businesses.
"So far Apple hasn't discouraged the idea of running Windows on
its forthcoming Intel gear. Meanwhile, Microsoft, sources familiar
with the company's plans said, is considering how and whether to
support Windows on the forthcoming Apple hardware as well....
"That raises the possibility of companies or individuals
creating dual-boot Mac OS/Windows machines in the future. However,
many of the details of what it will take to allow Windows to
operate directly on "Mactel" hardware, including Apple's specific
choices of Intel hardware and its software driver model, are still
shrouded in secrecy."
First Intel Macs Likely to House Dual-Core
Chip
Tom's Hardware's Wolfgang Gruener says:
"The decision to abandon the PowerPC architecture as the heart
of Mac hardware does not sit well with many Apple users, even if
Jobs delivered a somewhat convincing performance to justify the
switch. According to Jobs, Apple intends to get the 'best'
computers to their customers and IBM apparently was not able to
offer the right mix out of speed and power consumption in its
processor roadmap. While it has not been specified by Apple, which
Intel chips will be used for the new 'Mactels', sources told Tom's
Hardware Guide that it is most likely that the company will jump on
the next generation Pentium M processor - the Yonah chip.
"Yonah is currently heavily promoted by Intel - for example
during its recent Mobility Day or the Mobile and Wireless World
Conference - as the company's first 65nm dual-core chip. The
processor is planned to enter production in Q4 of this year and
will become commercially available in Q1 of 2006. According to
Intel, Yonah will bring significantly more performance, especially
in multimedia and multitasking environments, and keep power
consumption at the level of today's Pentium M processor. Clock
speeds have not been revealed, however, demonstrated Yonah
notebooks currently integrate a 2.0 GHz chip.
"The fact that Yonah is aiming primarily at notebooks will not
keep Apple from using the chip across its product line, at least
until the release of 'Conroe', a desktop processor that is expected
to cut down power consumption from the current Pentium 4/Pentium D
generation...."
Intel Shifts Pentium 4 to 64 Bits
ExtremeTech reports:
"Intel shifted the majority of its Pentium 4 processors to
64-bit capability over the weekend.
"Intel quietly introduced the Intel 5x1 series, which shifts the
existing 775-pin, 32-bit Pentium 4 line - known as the 5xx series -
to 64-bit memory addressing."
BuildYourOwnMac.com Launched
PR: "Now that Apple has announced that they are moving to
Intel, it looks like we may finally have the possibility to do
something we have only dreamed about up until now: putting together
our own Macintosh computers, free from the constraints that Apple
puts on their customers, while still be able to support the Mac
platform and enjoy its unique benefits....
"The purpose of this web site is to be a central location for
sharing information about putting together your own x86-based
Macintosh. This includes both building a machine from the ground up
(our preferred method), or buying an existing PC and installing Mac
OS X on it."
Products and Services
Intel Pentium Upgrade for G4 Cube
theinquirer.net's Paul Hales reports:
"A KOREAN FIRM U-Power was reported to be offering an
alternative upgrade path for Power Macintosh G4 Cube users. Instead
of the usual G4 PowerPC Chip why not join with Jobs and share his
penchant for all things Intel by slipping a Pentium M in your shiny
Cube.
"The U-Power upgrade features 1.5 or 1.8 GHz versions of Intel's
Pentium-M and is not designed for folk wanting to run Mac software.
Instead, a spokesman told website Danaquarium, the product is aimed
at PC users who may be wooed by the stylish G4 Cube and thus
consumed with a desire to dump their beige PC box."
danaquarium.com reports:
"U-Power - a boutique PC manufacturer from Korea - is set to
release an accelerator designed for the Power Macintosh G4 Cube.
Unlike previous upgrades the PCube doesn't contain a G4 - or indeed
any other PowerPC Chip - but brings Pentium-M power to Apple's
venerable Cube.
"U-Power's US spokesman Rudy Keppelmeyer explains that the PCube
upgrade is designed not for conventional Mac users, instead aims
for those PC users who admire the G4 Cube's design but don't want
to run PowerPC software such as Mac OS, Mac OS X or
Linux....
"Both upgrades will be available early next month, priced at
$US399 and $US449 respectively. A 2.13 GHz version is planned by
late Summer."
OWC Announces Line of Aluminum FireWire/USB
Solutions
PR: Other World Computing (OWC) has announced another
addition to its popular line of Mercury Elite external storage
solutions - the Elite-AL Pro series.
These new drives, in capacities of 80- to 800 GB and priced from
$129.99, use the same Oxford-based bridge solutions as the existing
Mercury Elite line, except in a new modern, all-aluminum case.
"You get a hot new look but with the same cool performance and
reliability you've come to expect from our Elites; it doesn't get
any better than that," said Larry O'Connor, president of OWC.
"We've seen a lot of requests for a design that matches up to
Apple's aluminum style and our new Elite-AL Pro is our answer to
that."
Four versions of the drives are immediately available:
- Mercury Elite-AL Pro FireWire 400 + USB2 Combo Solutions in
capacities of 80- to 400GB with prices starting at $129.99
- Mercury Elite-AL Pro FireWire 800/400 Solutions in capacities
of 80- to 400GB with prices starting at $149.99
- Mercury Elite-AL Pro FireWire 800/400 + USB2 Combo Solutions in
capacities of 80- to 400GB with prices starting at $159.99
- Mercury Elite-AL Pro FireWire 800/400 RAID Solutions in
capacities of 160- to 800GB with prices starting at $249.99
"These drives are sleek, fast and totally plug-and-play,"
O'Connor said. "They are perfect for the most demanding audio/video
work, music creation, data storage and more. These drives have also
received Dantz/EMC Retrospect Backup Certification for our
customers' full confidence when it comes to the safety of their
stored data."
All Elite-AL Pro models are covered by a two-year warranty and
include Dantz/EMC Retrospect Backup, Intech Hard Disk SpeedTools
and all connecting cables. The drives also are compatible with
Apple OS X 10.1 and later (including 'Tiger'), Windows 98SE
and later, in addition to Linux. Apple OS X 10.2.8 or later or
Windows 2000 or later are required for FireWire 800
performance.
Red Hat's Newest Fedora Supports Macs
CNET News.com's Stephen Shankland reports:
"Red Hat has released Fedora Core 4, a free version of Linux the
company is using to advance virtualization, programming tools and
other software at the frontier of open-source development....
"....the new Fedora works on machines with Power processors,
such as the PowerPC G4 in Apple Computer's Mac Mini. In years
ahead, those systems could become harder to find as Apple moves to
Intel processors, though many IBM servers use chips in the Power
family. Fedora Core 4 also runs on 32-bit and 64-bit chips, such as
Intel's Xeon and Advanced Micro Devices' Athlon 64."
ConvertX PVR for Mac Enhanced with DivX
Capture
PR: Plextor Corp., a leading developer and manufacturer
of high-performance digital media equipment, has announced the
availability of real-time hardware-based DivX video encoding on the
ConvertX Personal Video Recorder for the Macintosh with Elgato's
EyeTV 1.8.1 software.
Previously available to ConvertX PVR PC users only,
hardware-based DivX video encoding is now available to Macintosh
users using EyeTV 1.7.2 software. EyeTV 1.8.1 is a free
comprehensive update for current ConvertX PVR for the Mac owners,
and is available for download from Elgato. ConvertX PVR for the
Macintosh hardware has always supported DivX capture, and now the
EyeTV software upgrade makes this feature accessible to Macintosh
users.
"Plextor's ConvertX PVR was the first high quality, low cost USB
2.0 solution for the Mac market when it was introduced in November
of 2004," said Dirk Peters, director of marketing, Plextor. "Now we
have made the product even more feature-rich by adding real-time
DivX capture support through the award winning EyeTV Software
package from Elgato."
"DivX video technology on the ConvertX PVR opens up new
opportunities for Macintosh users by letting them record even more
TV shows and movies on their Macs using DivX's high quality and low
file size compression technology," said Bill Holmes, Vice President
of Consumer Electronics at DivX, Inc. "Not only can users store
more on their hard disk, but they can also fit more video on a CD
or DVD and play back their videos on small handheld devices such as
personal digital assistants, personal video players, or mobile
phones."
Patent-pending DivX video technology offers DVD-quality at three
times greater compression than MPEG-2 files, enabling full length
films to easily fit on a CD or be delivered over broadband
connections. With the Plextor ConvertX PVR and Elgato EyeTV
software, users can also edit DivX files and timeshift in the DivX
format. In 2004, DivXNetworks certified ConvertX PVRs. Products
that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous quality
and compatibility testing program to ensure interoperability,
security, and visual quality. In addition to DivX technology, the
ConvertX PVR for the Macintosh also supports hardware-based MPEG-1,
MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 video capture and compression.
System requirements:
Mac OS X Compatible Mac CPU; Mac OS X 10.1.5 or above operating
system; 20 MB free space for software installation; QuickTime 6;
USB connection. Roxio Toast 6 Titanium is recommended for CD or DVD
creation.
Plextor's ConvertX Personal Video Recorder for Mac is shipping
immediately with Elgato EyeTV 1.8.1 software. ConvertX PVR for Mac
has a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $229.00 USD.
EyeTV 1.8.1 is a free update for current ConvertX PVR for the Mac
owners, and is available for download from http://www.Elgato.com.
Windows Compatibility Software CD is $49 and can be ordered from
Plextor by calling 510-440-2000.
ThermographX CPU Temperature Monitoring
Utility
PR: ThermographX monitors the internal temperature of
your PowerBook or modern Macintosh, utilizing the thermal sensors
built into the computer. It provides real-time measurementas as
well as historical graphs for plotting long-term temperature
trends. ThermographX also can display a customizable dock icon for
easy monitoring of your system performance. ThermographX also
incorporates user-submitted measurements, so you can compare your
system's measurements against those of other users.
ThermographX:
- Records maximum and minimum temperatures.
- Shows temperature records over time, using a zoomable display
so you can analyze short-term or long-term.
- Shows individual sensor temperatures on models that have
them.
- Graphs customer-submitted temperature results for comparison
with your own system.
ThermographX is compatible with many recent Macintosh
models. It is known to provide accurate sensor readings on
these models:
- 12" & 17" PowerBook G4.
- "Aluminum" 15" PowerBook G4.
- "Mirror Door" G4 (see note #2 below).
- Power Macintosh G5.
- iBook G4.
- G4 Cube (see note #2 below).
- iMac G4 & G5.
Note #1 : Motorola's MPC7450CE/D Rev 5 errata indicates "The
thermal assist unit (TAU) is no longer supported on the MPC7450,
MPC7451, or MPC7441.". Because of this, you will not be able to
measure the junction temperature on any system with these
processors. At current, this includes the "Gigabit" PowerBook G4
and the "2001 Quicksilver" G4's.
Note #2 : Mac OS X 10.3.5 eliminates compatibility with some
older Mac's, like the G4 Cube.
New in this version:
- Added measurements for 2GHz iMac G5.
- Updated with latest user-submitted temperature
measurements.
System requirements:
Mac OS X 10.2.4 or higher (Panther compatible); requires a
Macintosh with compatible thermal sensors (so far, these have been
found on the iBook G4, Aluminum 12", 15" and 17" PowerBooks, the
"mirror-door" G4 and the G5, and some G3 PowerBooks and G4 Cube
models).
ThermographX is $7 shareware.
Desktop Mac
Deals
Low End Mac updates the following price trackers every two
weeks:
For deals on laptops, see our Best PowerBook G4 Deals,
Best iBook G4 Deals,
and Best iBook G3
Deals. For deals on iPods, see our Best iPod Deals.
