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New Mac Laptops Coming - Projection
Intel Nudges Centrino 2 Debut Back
Intel To Use Centrino 2 "Montevina" To Promote Solid-state Drives
Aluminum Keyboard Loses Its Luster
Political Storm In Argentina Over A MacBook Air
10 Things We Miss From OS 9
Why Mac Cloning Today Wouldn't Be Like Mac Cloning Ten Years Ago
Windows XP bests OS X in RIA test on Intel
Atom Dual-core Confirmed, Uses Just 8W?
Apple Mac Popular
Rumor: Tablet Mac Coming This Fall
NAND Flash Demand Remains Weak Despite Apple Orders
MacBook Holds Its Own Against Dell and HP Notebook Pricing
Border Officials May Seize iPods Under Trade Deal
How To Right Click On A Mac Notebook
Why My Disk And CPU Are Busy Without Me
Rumor Mill: What's Just Around The Bend From Apple
The Apple Of The Future
SeeFile 4.5 DAM Software For Sharing, Replaces FTP
AMD To Launch 'Puma' Laptop Platform Next Month
New Mac Laptops Coming - Projection
AlleyInsider's Peter Kafka says Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster thinks Steve Jobs will show off the new iPhone OS, the 3G iPhone and new laptops ("60% chance" for WWDC, "80% chance" by end summer....
[Editor's note: Not likely by WWDC for new laptops. Intel has shifted the Montevina release back to the end of June (see report below), and I can't imagine a new laptop release without Montevina)
For the full report visit here:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/5/piper_60_chance_of_3g_iphone_june_9_aapl_
Intel Nudges Centrino 2 Debut Back
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
Intel's next major Centrino revamp - dubbed 'Centrino 2' - isn't coming until the end of June, and not this month, as the company's executives have stated in the past.
According to whispers coming out of Taiwan's notebook manufacturers, the chip giant will release the X9100, T9600, T9400, P9500, P8600 and P8400 'Montevina'-oriented processors in that post-Computex timeframe....
They're all dual-core, and they'll all be fabbed at 45nm.
The 'P' chips have a maximum power draw of 25W, the 'T's 35W....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/21/intel_mobile_roadmap/
Intel To Use Centrino 2 "Montevina" To Promote Solid-state Drives
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
Intel will offer to bundle its promised solid-state drives with its upcoming Centrino 2 platform, it has been claimed. The plan is being portrayed as a bid to push SSDs into the mainstream.
Today, SSDs generally command a significant premium over the price of equivalent notebooks fitted with a hard drive. Quite how far Intel will use the bundle approach to drive down the cost of implementing SSDs remains to be seen.
Centrino 2 - codenamed 'Montevina' - is due to debut late June, according to industry moles. Back in March, Intel executive Troy Winslow said the chip giant would ship 80GB and 160GB 2.5in- and 1.8in-format SSDs in Q2, so the timing of both product types could easily coincide.... That makes the 1.8in model a logical update for Apple's MacBook Air ....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/23/intel_centrino_2_ssd_push/
Aluminum Keyboard Loses Its Luster
Macworld's Jonathan Seff says:
When Apple first released the aluminum iMac in August 2007, I wrote in my review that:
"In some ways, I think the keyboard design is more of a triumph than the iMac itself.. and I highly suggest giving it a chance before writing it off as being too different."....
Recently, I replaced my aging dual-processor Power Mac G5 tower with latest generation of 24-inch iMac. And on the whole, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. But I think I may have changed my mind - the one aspect that doesn’t leave me completely satisfied is that keyboard.
For the full commentary, click here.
http://www.macworld.com/article/133603/2008/05/imackeyboard.html
Political Storm In Argentina Over A MacBook Air
Huibert reports:
Several Argentinean newspapers have reported on a MacBook Air gifted by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim to Argentina's president Cristina Kirchner. This is apparently creating a large controversy as the product is perceived as a luxury item. As a result, the presidency will create a public official gift registry to avoid any suspicions of corruption....
What really surprises me is to see how Apple products have become a symbol of luxury recently.... At Banorte, one of the large Mexican banks, and probably the fastest growing one, there are only two Mac users. However, those users have a lot of weight as they are the CEO and the Director of Marketing.
What does that mean for the future of the Mac in large companies? Well, it means that the IT staff has no option but to learn how to use those computers and support them. That opens a new market for Apple. It also means that it is becoming harder for IT departments to adopt solutions that exclude the Mac....
For the full report visit here:
http://huibert-aalbers.com/blog/archives/241
10 Things We Miss From OS 9
MacLife's Michael Simon says:
For millions of post-iPod Mac users, OS X is the alpha and omega of the Apple desktop. Unlike Microsoft - which has basically kept the same arrangement and appearance for its task bar and icons despite updating the overall feel of Windows over the last decade or so - Apple took its OS in a completely new direction back in 2001 and has never looked back, integrating a new processor architecture and building a revolutionary mobile platform around its sleek engine and slick curves....
But those of us who remember OS 9.2 will recall with varying degrees of fondness the last serious update to Classic, which added some 50 new features to OS 8.6 to create what Steve Jobs hailed as "the best Internet operating system ever."
And while the OS X experience is vastly superior to its predecessor, there are still a few nostalgic elements that we longtime Mac fans will always have a soft spot for:
WindowShade
Happy Mac
Desktop Tabs
VoicePrint
Themes
Print Window
Internet Explorer
Bomb
Clarus the Dogcow
Coffee Breaks
Desktop Stickies
You can check it out at:
http://www.maclife.com/article/os_9_memories
Reliving The Clone Wars
Macworld's Rik Myslewski says Psystar's efforts have rekindled Mac clone talk - but don't expect Apple to join in
....last month's emergence of Psystar—a company offering to sell PCs capable of running Mac OS X - has rekindled memories of the days when Apple's own machines weren't the only hardware capable of running the Mac operating system. Because of that, we thought we'd take a look back at the Mac clone era, examining their rise and fall - and why we're unlikely to see the re-emergence of any sanctioned clones any time soon.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.macworld.com/article/133598/2008/05/macclones.html?lsrc=top_1
Why Mac Cloning Today Wouldn't Be Like Mac Cloning Ten Years Ago
Technovia says:
On May 6, 1998, however, the rebuilding began with the announcement of the Bondi Blue iMac, the machine that would begin Apple's resounding comeback. Since then Apple has seen its stock soar as it released Mac OS X, made billions from the iPod, and switched from PowerPC processors to chips built by Intel.
It's the move to Intel chips that has opened the door for a company like Psystar to offer its OS X-compatible PC. And it's also led some observers to suggest that Apple might again institute a licensing program. Michael Dell of Dell Computers has personally expressed interest in making OS X–compatible systems.
The chances of that happening? Slim to none, given the impact of Mac clones on Apple's bottom line the last time around."
There's one minor issue with a lot of these analyses of why Apple was right to pull the plug on the clone market: they miss the most fundamental point of all.
Apple was losing sales because its machines were crap.....
Today, things are somewhat different. Apple's range of machines has never been stronger. Its machines are winning it market share, because they are great designs....
For the full commentary visit here:
http://technovia.co.uk/2008/05/why-mac-cloning.html
Windows XP bests OS X in RIA test on Intel
The Register's Phil Manchester reports:
A benchmark test for rich internet application (RIA) frameworks claims Apple's OS X lags Microsoft's Windows XP on Intel when rendering HTML, being just over half as fast.
Sean Christmann, an experience architect at user interface specialist EffectiveUI, released the GUIMark benchmark following concerns over the lack of a proper test to compare RIA frameworks and technologies such as Adobe Systems' Flex and Flash, Java's Swing, Microsoft's Silverlight and good, old HTML.
Christmann, an experienced user interface designer who led the development team for eBay's Desktop, tested a range of RIA frameworks on an Intel-based MacBook Pro under Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.5 and found that XP consistently outperformed OS X.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/05/23/ria_benchmarks/
Atom Dual-core Confirmed, Uses Just 8W?
Electronista reports:
Intel's rumored Atom 300 dual-core chip is authentic and will quickly appear soon, Fudzilla claims in a new but seemingly authentic leak. While less ambitions than the 1.87GHz chip originally suggested in one version of Intel's roadmap, the 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor should otherwise represent twice the theoretical performance with each physical core adding Hyperthreading support...
"....the extra core isn't believed to boost power consumption above eight watts, or just a fraction of the power use of Intel's normal portable chips and significantly less than its low-voltage models.....
For the full report, visit:
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/05/26/atom.dual.core.leak/
Apple Mac Popular
The Sunday Times' Greg Gordon reports:
Macdreamy computers mix good looks and ease
The coolest computer category is a new feature of this year’s Generation Next survey, and youngsters declared the Apple Mac as their favourite...
RJ van Spaandonk, executive director at the Core Group, which represents Apple in South Africa, says Macs are popular because the design is beautiful and they work straight out of the box.
“In the old days, people grew up having to have some knowledge of how to set up PCs to get them to do what they wanted them to do — a lot of configuration was required."
For the full report, visit:
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Hardware/3896.html
Rumor: Tablet Mac Coming This Fall
The Apple Core's Jason D. O'Grady says:
I don't often publish first hand rumors, but today I've something special for you, if you like tablets that is.
A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year. Most likely in the September or October time frame. It will run the full Mac OS X and have a slot loading SuperDrive, an "iPhone-type" GPS chip and an Intel Core Duo processor, presumably Intel's Atom.
For the full report visit here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1786
NAND Flash Demand Remains Weak Despite Apple Orders
DIGITIMES' Josephine Lien and Joseph Tsai report:
Although Apple has recently started to order high-capacity NAND flash chips from Samsung Electronics, which is expected to boost the order volume of high-capacity NAND flash in June and July, recent market demand has not picked up following the news, with not any a drop in pricing, but also demand at the spot market also remaining weak, according to sources at downstream makers.
In the past, when Apple started to order NAND flash it would spur demand across the whole market, but this has not been observed this year.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20080522PD216.html
MacBook Holds Its Own Against Dell and HP Notebook Pricing
Low End Mac's Frank Fox says:
In round two of my look at Macintosh pricing, we'll see how Apple compares in the $1,000 to $1,500 price range for laptops. If you didn't read the first article, Mac Pro Beats HP and Dell at Their Own Game: Price, we are comparing Apple against HP and Dell models with similar specifications. We agree that the other guys will sell you something for much less - but you are also getting much less.
When I started on this round of Mac versus PC price comparisons, I thought my head was going to explode. I had to use duct tape wrapped around my head to keep it in one piece so I could finish. The number of seemingly meaningless choices was overwhelming.
Let's look at what we have to compare for laptop computers. This time we'll pick on HP first; since HP swallowed Compaq, they seem to have extra choices.
Apple: MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro
HP Compaq: 8510p, 8710p, 8510w, 9710w, 6720s, 6820s, 6515b, 6715b, 6510b, 6710b, 6910p, 2133 Mini-Note PC, 2510p, 2710p, C700T, dv6700z, dv6700t,V6700TX, dv2700t, tx2000z, dv9700z, dv9700t, Pavilion HDX Entertainment Notebook, plus two Special Edition models, and one Artist Edition
Apple has three laptop choices while HP has 14 different business models and 9 (more or less) different home models. Add all the possible custom configurations, and it makes a small army of decisions a shopper has to make. All that just to find your next laptop within one company's website. Now multiply this for every brand you want to look at.
For the full report visit here:
http://lowendmac.com/ed/fox/08ff/macbook-vs-dell-hp.html
Border Officials May Seize iPods Under Trade Deal
The Ottawa Citizen's Vito Pilieci reports:
The federal government is secretly negotiating a copyright agreement that could make some information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal.
Called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the new plan would see Canada join other countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, to form an international coalition against copyright infringement.....
The deal would create an international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that "infringes" on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies.....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=536951
How To Right Click On A Mac Notebook
Macsupport says:
If you have just moved over to the Macintosh platform you have probably realized there is no apparent right-click button located on Apple notebook computers. Rest assured there is a right-click feature, it justs takes a few simple steps and then you can start right-clicking easily.
You can check it out at:
http://www.macsupport.ca/2008/05/24/how-to-right-click-on-a-mac-notebook/
Why My Disk And CPU Are Busy Without Me
I'm off at the beach this weekend with the family so I brought the trusty MacBook along. Overnight I closed the lid, putting the MacBook to sleep, and not long after I opened it this morning iStat menu was showing a lot of CPU activity and I could hear the disk thrashing a bit. I wasn't running anything other than Safari at the time so I became curious; what was causing the machine to work all of a sudden?
When I looked at iStat it was showing that the find process was using 75% of my CPU activity. But what was find and why was it working now?
For the full commentary visit here:
http://www.davidalison.com/
Rumor Mill: What's Just Around The Bend From Apple
The Apple Core's Jason D. O'Grady says:
It time for a Friday rumor roundup and if it seems like most of the rumors are iPhone-related, that's because they are. Today I'll start off with a couple that aren't iPhone rumors.
LED Screens in all MacBooks by 2009
Apple investing in WiMax
Mobile iTunes
iPhone
For the full commentary visit here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1780
The Apple Of The Future
Macworld's Dan Moren reports:
During the last several weeks, I've been rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from start to finish. While the TV show has held up well for the most part in the 15 years since it premiered, I was struck by a peculiar thought when I recently watched a time travel episode that saw several characters transported to Earth in the year 2024. Technology that was - from the perspective of TV show writers in 1995 - futuristic ended up looking, well, primitive compared to what we take for granted today. That's how much things have changed in just over a decade.
It's not that surprising, either. Our vision of the future is constantly in flux, informed by our perception of the present. In the 1950s, the future was full of jet packs and flying cars. In the 1990s, we thought everything in 2024 would be LEDs and CRT monitors.
So I'm guessing that Forrester Research's recent report painting a picture of the Apple of 2013 will look just as archaic five years from now.....
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macworld.com/article/133600/2008/05/apple2013.html
SeeFile 4.5 DAM Software For Sharing, Replaces FTP
MacNN reports:
SeeFile this week announced the latest version of its digital asset management (DAM) software: SeeFile 4.5, due next week, reduces the cost of deploying a graphical replacement for FTP servers, the company claims. The latest version offers improved performance on Mac OS X 10.5, automatic User Expiration for temporary access, the ability to share any volume or folder visible by OS, superior management of metadata fields, better support for video file formats, and support for a wide range of camera RAW formats.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/05/24/seefile.45.dam.software/
AMD To Launch 'Puma' Laptop Platform Next Month
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
Intel may be gearing up to release Centrino 2, but let's not forget its arch-rival, AMD, is to release a notebook platform of its own, codenamed 'Puma'. The cat will be let out of the bag at Computex, in Taipei on 3 June.
So what's AMD going to announce? Puma comprises a new (ish) processor, 'Griffin', and AMD's 780M chipset. Griffin is a dual-core part based around a couple of old Turion 'K8'A-class cores. Unlike existing Turion chips, Griffin was design specifically for laptops and so features extra, mobile-friendly circuitry for better power management.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/23/amd_puma_june/
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