No Sub-$1,000 'Books, Core Duo Overclocked to 3.8 GHz, Another Windows on Mac Contender, and More

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2006.05.18

This Week's Macintel News

This week Gene Steinberg notes the passing of the last sub-$1,000 'Book - perhaps only temporarily. One user has pushes a Core Duo chip to 3.8 GHz, and Pioneer Press notes a third player in the Windows-on-Mac game. All this and more in this week's news roundup.

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 iPod News Review.

• The End of the $999 iBook
• Core Duo Successfully Overclocked to 3.8 GHz
• Macintel: Two Computers in One
• Despite Scurrying to Market, Apple Got Intel Right
• PCs and Macs Start to Converge
• Intel Talks Up 'Centrino 4' for Small PCs

The End of the $999 iBook

Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl, writes

"Call me an optimist, but I think Apple has done an excellent job transitioning its notebook computers to Intel processors. Yes, I know some of you readers remain upset that the earliest production runs of the MacBook Pro weren't quite as reliable as you hoped. But all in all, Apple has done what some might regard as a near-impossible feat, which is to move most Macs to a totally new processor architecture within months, way ahead of what many expected when the maneuver was first announced nearly a year ago."

Link: Apple's Notebooks: Is This the End?

Core Duo Successfully Overclocked to 3.8 GHz

Dr. Macenstein says:

"Faithful Macenstein reader rico has turned us on to a posting over at Cooling Masters which claims to have successfully over-clocked a Core Duo (T2600) chip to as high as 3.8 GHz. (Or at least we think that's what it says. |it's in French, and we have enough trouble reading benchmarks in English.)....

"Now, we all know Apple is waiting for the new Core 2 Duo chips before releasing a new PowerMac, but what I am hoping is this experiment implies that perhaps the Core 2 Duos will be shipping around the 3+ GHz range when they DO arrive...."

Link: Core Duo Successfully Over-clocked to 3.8 GHz

Macintel: Two Computers in One

Pioneer Press's Julio Ojeda-Zapata says:

"Until recently, you faced a stark choice when picking a home computer - you bought either a Windows PC or a Macintosh.

"The popular PCs guarantee you will have access to a vast software library, but the computers' antiquated Windows XP operating system is infamous for its security failings. The PCs offered by top makers wouldn't win sexiness awards, either.

"Apple Computer's Macs, by comparison, are attractive machines with a state-of-the-art operating system and slick software for mainstream tasks. But Apple's meager market share has meant slim software pickings elsewhere.

"Now, you no longer have to choose. Just buy a Macintosh."

Includes comparison profiles of Apple Boot Camp, Parallels Workstation, and Codeweavers Crossover Mac.

Link: It's a PC! It's a Mac! It's... Two Computers in One

Despite Scurrying to Market, Apple Got Intel Right

InfoWorld's Tom Yager says:

"The Intel-based iMac is impossibly energy- and space-efficient, giving far more than it takes in both regards. Pushed to the performance red line and with the monitor cranked to full brightness, iMac never consumed more than 95 watts of power - one-third to half what a comparable desktop with a high-quality 20-inch LCD panel would use.

"Apple's first Intel-based Macs, iMac and MacBook Pro, were born into a position of advantage. OS X Tiger, a loyal base of customers and developers, firm ownership of high-margin specialty markets, and high regard in the mainstream have turned everything Apple's touched - at least since the Titanium PowerBook G4 - into gold.

"These advantages did not guarantee Apple or its customers smooth sailing from PowerPC to Intel. Despite gaping holes in its Intel rollout strategy - holes that Apple is attempting to spackle with speed and nerve - Apple managed to hit a home run and a double in its first two Intel at-bats."

Link: Despite the Scurrying to Market, Apple Got Intel Right

PCs and Macs Start to Converge

The BBC's Chris Long reports:

"Apple's Boot Camp has changed the course of the PC/Mac war

"In 1859 Charles Darwin published The Origin of the Species. In it he described the way he thought life had developed on Earth. He called it 'survival of the fittest'.

"One hundred and fifty years later, that concept continues to cause a stir around the world.

"After watching the little local difficulty between Apple and Microsoft that has been bubbling under for the last 25 odd years I suggest a new chapter to Darwin's book: 'If you can't beat them, join them'.

"With a seriously innovative approach to computing and a user base that lives to embrace those innovations, Apple was able to deliver its own funky front end.

"Microsoft could only play catch up: not only did it not manufacture the hardware, but the hardware was not built to treat graphics in the same way.

"The personal computer was finding it hard to match the Mac's pictures.

"But still, the PC market exploded. There are now nearly a billion desktop computers being used these days and only 3% or so of those are Apple Macs.

"The computer market has evolved. We can now see PCs running beta versions of the new Microsoft Windows, Vista. Some thought it was game over, then it all changed.

"With the next evolution we had an Apple computer with an Intel processor and a brand new version of OS X, the Mac operating system, to run on it."

Link: PCs and Macs Start to Converge

Intel Talks Up 'Centrino 4' for Small PCs

The Register's Tony Smith reports:

"Taiwanese manufacturers of small form-factor PCs have re-iterated Intel's scheme to pitch 'Santa Rosa', the next version of the chip maker's Centrino platform, as the basis for future compact desktop and living room PCs.

"According to a DigiTimes report, Intel has of late been pushing Santa Rosa's suitability for SFF PCs. Certainly, leaked Intel presentation slides have claimed Santa Rosa will "enable form-factor innovation" in the desktop PC market, as we reported back in April."

Link: Intel Talks Up 'Centrino 4' for SFF PC Makers