The Macintel Report

OS X 'to Fly' on Intel, Intel OS X Catches Up to PowerPC Version, Dell on Apple, and More

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 8GB kit $286 / 4GB kit $143 / 2GB kit $93 -- Free shipping available. LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: Top Quality Memory for Faster Mac Performance 1GB/2GB/4GB Kits from $23.99/$47.99/$94.99 Expert Support, Free Installation Videos & Guides, Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty - www.MacSales.com

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

Charles Moore - 2005.11.10

This Week's Macintel News

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 desktops news is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod news is covered in The iPod News Review.

Mac OS X 'to Fly' on Intel

Gene Steinberg says:

"I don't like to depend on what rumor sites say, although they are sometimes right. And when Mac developers violate their nondisclosure agreements with Apple and tell you things they shouldn't be discussing, you want to both listen and tell them to keep their mouths shut. What a dilemma!

"But one fact is emerging from the hushed discussions, and that is you will see a very different user experience when you buy the first MacIntels, even the Mac mini. For one thing, the operating system will seem to have, as one technology writer has suggested, 'afterburners.' It'll fly in places where it now seems to run out of steam. No, it's not just because Intel processors will be faster, and they will of course. But why should this be so? Why should moving Mac OS X away from its 'native' processor to a new one suddenly yield such a surprising speed gain? Well, if you can believe what some are saying, and it makes perfect sense, Mac OS X is really better optimized for Intel, and that getting it to run in a satisfactory fashion on the PowerPC required a lot of work under-the-hood. That's why, for example, Mac OS 10.0 was so sluggish."

Link: Mac OS X on Intel Revisited

OS X for Intel on Par with OS X for PowerPC

PCPro's Simon Aughton says:

"The version of OS X that Apple is developing in preparation for its transition to Intel hardware has caught up with the publicly available version for its Power PC-based Macs.

"OSx86 Project reports that: 'This marks the first time that Apple has released a copy of the OS for the Developer Transition Kits which is identical to the PPC version.'

"The website adds that this reflects the change in emphasis within Apple's engineering resources toward the Intel (x86) version of OS X.

"The latest x86 version is said to have much stronger security controls than before, designed to prevent the software from being hacked to run on non-Apple hardware."

Link: Apple's Intel-ready OS X on a Par with Power PC-based Range

OS X for Intel Catches Up with Its Older Brother

osx86project.org's Mashugly says:

"Hot on the heels of a 10.4.1 'update' which pulled parts from an uncracked 10.4.3 OSx86 to improve the already cracked version, we've received confirmed reports that the full OS X 10.4.3 installation DVD has been leaked via bittorrent. Although the TPM restrictions are still protecting the OS as of this writing, the word on the street is that hackers have already begun dissecting Apple's new security measures. We are told that the TPM protections in 10.4.3 are significantly stronger, indicating that Apple has used the previous two releases to refine their mechanism for hardware control."

Link: Intel OS X Finally Catches Up with Its Older Brother

Apple Looks Set to Announce New Intel 'Books in First Half of 2006

businessreview's Stuart Lauchlan says:

"To date Apple has only said that the first Intel-based Macintosh systems will appear by the middle of 2006, but it now looks as though they'll debut at MacWorld in San Francisco in the New Year.

"Apple announced in June 2005 at the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco that it will over the next two years be transferring to Intel chips for its Apple computer range. As well as the Intel models, there will be a design overhaul. A new 15in widescreen model will be first and have a much thinner design than current models and will come with an iSight web camera similar to that found in the new iMac. An updated 17in widescreen PowerBook will appear a few months later with an iBook appearing around April/May in America."

Link: Apple Looks Set to Announce New PowerBooks and iBooks with the Intel Chipset in the First Half of Next Year

Speaking of Things Michael Dell Said About Apple

BusinessWeek's Arik Hesseldahl says:

"...while I'm thinking of Michael Dell, something else he said about Apple . . . came to mind following Apple's release last week of a new round of PowerMac G5 and PowerBook portable computers. It occurs to me that the next round of Macs due next year should be the first to sport Intel Microprocessors.

"When asked about Apple's switch to Intel over the summer, Dell conceded in an interview he'd be interested in selling computers under his own brand that run Apple's Mac OS X. Of course Apple hasn't issued any licenses for the Mac OS - at least not since the mid-1990s when you could buy Mac-clones from outfits like Power Computing and Umax - so there's little hope of a Dell running OS X anytime soon.

"I don't know that I would want to buy a Dell machine running the Mac OS, but I certainly would buy - and indeed pay extra for - a Mac that boots to both the Mac OS and Windows, and runs both natively without compromising on performance....

"Give me two computers - one a Mac, the other Windows - crammed into a single box, and operating off a single monitor, and I'll be pretty happy...."

Link: And Speaking of Things Michael Dell Said About Apple

Building the $200 OSx86 Mac

i-hacked.com's hevnsnt says:

"With the OSx86 (OSX Tiger for Intel chipsets) leak, hundreds of people have been attempting to install OSx86 on their home computers. Some are having great luck, while others are finding that their hardware is not compatible, and it just won't install. In the following article I will discuss how to build a Intel based computer that comes very closely to meeting the specs of the OSx86 Development machines. We will discuss exactly WHAT hardware you want, WHERE to find the software, and HOW to install it. Meaning that with a little magic, this complete walkthrough will have you installing OSx86 on a $200 Intel machine using the OSX install disc, and have everything work great!"

Link: Building the $200 OSx86 Mac

More Mac News

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. iPod news is covered in The iPod News Review.  LEM

Recent Mac News Reviews

Recent Content on Low End Mac

<go to the Macintel Report index>

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.