Should Apple Delay Mac Pro?, Intel Core2 Solo, Windows on Mac Ebook, and More

Compiled by Charles Moore and edited by Dan Knight - 2006.06.01

This Week's Macintel 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.

• Should Apple Postpone the Mac Pro?
• New Intel Roadmap Reveals Conroe 'Solo', Mobile Plans
• Intel Relentlessly Pursues Cutting Edge
• Ebook Helps Mac Users Install and Run Windows
• Macintel Power on Self Test RAM Error Codes

Should Apple Postpone the Mac Pro?

Gene Steinberg, the Mac Night Owl writes:

"This may seem like a radical idea, but the conventional wisdom, such as it is, states that Apple will announce an Intel-based professional desktop Mac during the WWDC in August. That is, along with Leopard and perhaps a second generation Intel-based model or two. This would complete the transition to Intel, assuming the Xserve is part of the program."

Link: Should Apple Postpone the Power Mac Replacement?

New Intel Roadmap Reveals Conroe 'Solo', Mobile Plans

Ars Technica's Jon Hannibal Stokes reports:

"In Q207, budget box builders are going to have quite a few nice options from Intel, if the latest roadmap from the company is any guide. The roadmap, turned up by Daily Tech, shows a 'Conroe-L,' described as a single-core version of Conroe aimed at the low end. Conroe-L will probably be joined in the low end by the last remnants of the Pentium 4 and Celeron D lines, from which Intel will try to squeeze the very last drops of revenue before finally putting Netburst out to pasture.

"I hold out high hopes for all of the single-core versions of Core2 that Intel will release, including Conroe-L. As I've pointed out in my coverage of Core2, the new architecture is a single-threaded monster, and a single-core version of it should be quite capable for a variety of mid-range to low-end tasks. I think Apple in particular, a company with much experience exploiting low-end processors by putting them into innovative enclosures, could do some nice things with Conroe-L . . . [queue the Apple media center speculation]."

Link: New Intel Roadmap Reveals Conroe 'Solo', Mobile Plans

Intel Relentlessly Pursues Cutting Edge

AP Technology Writer Dan Goodin reports:

"The glass-encased room inside Intel Corp.'s microchip factory here, with its shiny, metallic surfaces and frigid air, is a world away from the blistering sun and brown earth outside. An army of robots suspended from the vast ceiling glide from one refrigerator-sized machine to the next. Their cargo: thousands of 12-inch silicon platters that form the raw material for Intel's most sophisticated computer microprocessor to date.

"Inside this chip fabrication plant on the outskirts of Phoenix, engineers clad in what look like space suits are six months into a dramatic overhaul that could determine Intel's future as it faces its stiffest competition in more than a decade.

"Intel closed the factory, officially known as Fab 12, for 18 months and spent $2 billion to retool it with more than 800 machines that follow a new manufacturing recipe cooked up more than four years ago and is already in place at a plant in Oregon. By year's end, the process will be up and running in a total of four fabs."

Link: Intel Relentlessly Pursues Cutting Edge

Ebook Helps Mac Users Install and Run Windows

Macintosh users interested in expanding the capabilities of their Intel-based Macs can now find the practical advice they need to install Windows on a Mac with the 104-page "Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac." The ebook was written by installation expert Joe Kissell, whose ebooks on upgrading to new versions of Mac OS X have set the standard for answering the real-world questions and concerns that users have when contemplating a major system update. "Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac" looks in detail at all the possibilities, including the virtualization software Parallels Desktop and Q, along with Apple's dual-boot solution, Boot Camp. For each option, Kissell provides step-by-step instructions for installing the software and for installing Windows, and he goes further by explaining how to make mice and keywords behave properly, share files between the Mac and Windows, and avoid Windows malware. He also explains the various ways of acquiring Windows, a topic made confusing by Microsoft's numerous licensing options and activation mechanism.

With Apple's release of Boot Camp, which lets you boot an Intel-based Mac in Windows XP, the Mac community has been abuzz with questions about installing Windows on a Mac, whether via Boot Camp or virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop and Q. Now, turn to installation expert Joe Kissell for the answers. Joe examines why you might want to use a Mac to run Windows, helps you pick the best option for running Windows in your situation, and gives detailed, real-world steps for installing Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop, or Q on an Intel Mac. The ebook also explains how to make mice and keyboards work properly, share files across platforms, avoid Windows viruses and malware, and more. An appendix looks briefly at solutions for running Windows on PowerPC-based Macs.

Includes a coupon worth $10 off Parallels Desktop, rendering the ebook free!

Read this ebook to learn the answers to questions such as:

• Is Windows faster in Boot Camp than in Parallels Desktop?
• What can I do if my Windows CD doesn't contain SP2?
• How can I use my Bluetooth keyboard and one-button mouse in Boot Camp?
• Why does Parallels Desktop on my Mac mini complain about VT-x being disabled, and what can I do about it?
• What techniques can I use to avoid viruses and spyware in Windows?

Book Info

• 104 pages
• Version 1.0
• Published 26-May-06
• 2.6 MB download
• ISBN: 1-933671-15-7
• Free 24-page PDF sample

About the Author

Joe Kissell has written numerous books about the Macintosh, including 50 Fast Mac OS X Techniques and many best-selling Take Control ebooks. He's also a frequent contributor to Macworld magazine and previously spent ten years in the Mac software industry.

The ebook costs $10 and comes with a coupon worth $10 off the price of Parallels Desktop, rendering the book free for readers who want to use the highly regarded virtualization software to run Windows.

"Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac" by Joe Kissell

PDF format,

104 pages,

free 24-page sample available

Publication date: May 26, 2006

Price: $10, with $10-off coupon for Parallels Desktop

• Link: Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac

Macintel Power on Self Test RAM Error Codes

An updated Apple Knowledge Base article says:

"Intel-based Macs such as the iMac (Early 2006), Mac mini (Early 2006), and MacBook Pro rely on a combination of tones and blinking LEDs to display Power On Self Test (POST) error codes.

"If the computer detects no SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, also referred to as RAM) or the RAM installed does not meet the appropriate specifications, the screen will remain black but the power LED on the front of the computer will blink once per second to signal the error. This error condition may be due to physically damaged RAM, installing the incorrect type of RAM, or not having RAM installed.

"Some RAM may appear to pass the Power-On-Self-Test (POST) but still cannot be used by the operating system. In this case, the computer will display a gray screen, sound three tones and blink the power LED on the front of the computer three times, pause, and repeat the blinking until the computer is turned off.

"The solution to both of these situations is to first re-seat the memory and test the computer again. If the memory fails the POST test again, try memory that has been verified to work correctly on another system (i.e., 'known-good' ) or order new memory from the Apple Store."

Link: Intel-based Mac Power on Self Test RAM Error Codes