MacInSchool

Intel

• Intel: Itanium pilot program takes off, Yahoo/ZDNet, 11/22 [Win98 Central]. Intel may finally have 20 Itanium systems built. Commercial Itanium computers may be out by mid-2001. See Itanium or Itanic? for our thoughts on the chip.
• Intel: Intel's top 10 sneakiest moves & screwups, Glenn Lortscher, Tuplay, 11/21. Bonus: Intel recalls Pentium 4! The article covers recent problems, completely ignoring the infamous Pentium Math Bug of 1994 which resulted in Intel recalling every Pentium ever made. In fact, a quick Sherlock search for "Pentium" and "bug" shows every version of the Pentium has been subject to at least one recall.
• P4: Intel introduces Pentium 4 chip, Yahoo/Reuters, 11/20. Starting at 1.4 GHz, Intel projects P4 will reach 10 GHz within five years. Motorola, are you listening?
• P4: Intel's new Pentium 4 processor, Tom's Hardware Guide, 11/20. "Whatever Pentium 4 is right now, it is certainly not the greatest and best performing processor in the world."
• P4: Pentium 4 ships: A disappointment at 1.5 GHz, PC World, 11/20. "In PCWorld.com tests, the new chip barely keeps pace with the 1-GHz PIIIs used for comparison, and it even fell behind these older systems on some measures."
• P4: Pentium 4 fails to outpace Athlon, testers say, Cnet, 11/20. "On a number of benchmark tests, the first version of Pentium 4 underscores Athlon and even the Pentium III."
• P4: Pentium 04. New chip, old problems, MacWeek, 11/20. "The PIII design is running out of steam rapidly, but Intel's slavish devotion to ever-increasing clock speeds has resulted in some trade-offs that will disappoint the raw speed addicts."
• Microsoft bites it on 64-bit microprocessors, Slashdot, 8/26. Seems Microsoft can't get Windows working on either the 64-bit Alpha or Intel's forthcoming 64-bit Merced CPU.
• Intel delays release of mobile Pentium III, ZDNet, 8/4. Unlike the G3 used in Macs, portable Wintel machines need a special version of the Pentium III.
• Apple gains despite low-cost competition, Cnet, 7/22. "For the month of June, Apple Computer maintained its No. 3 ranking in the retail and mail-order market with strong sales of the iMac...." And, by the way, the iMac was #1 in June.
• Do you really need the fastest processor?, Detroit Free Press, 7/18. "Consider a Macintosh, which has that smart PowerPC processor inside. I prefer my Mac to all of my PCs...." (also see How fast is fast?)
• What's in a number?, Applelinks, 5/5
  "Why should I pay over a thousand dollars for a 266 speed [iMac] when I can get a PC at 350 for less?"
• When to buy a PC, MacKiDo, 5/3
  "If you don't touch anything, and just use the machine as a turnkey solution, they work fine."
• Bell tolls for the humble PC, The Age,4/17
  "...in the professional area Apple's high-end G3 Macintoshes have reclaimed much of the ground they earlier lost to Wintel machines and Windows NT."
• For Dell, the Pentium II is dead, Cnet, 4/9
• Do you need a Pentium III?, Jerry Pournelle, Byte.com, 4/12
  "The question is why you would need a Pentium III to begin with."
  Okay, Mac users don't - but it's still good reading.
• Intel's 64-bit Merced: Software Matters, Byte.com, 4/12
  "Compiler software [not just hardware!] will play a critical role in the performance of IA-64 microprocessors."
• G3 vs. Pentium III, PC Magazine, 3/26
  G3/400 handily beats P III/500 in FileMaker tests and all but one Photoshop tests, but P III wins Microsoft Word tests.
• Pentium III hits 500, "provides marginal improvements under existing software," ZDNet, 2/23
• Pentium is not RISC, MacKiDo, 2/17
• Windows 98 can't recognize Pentium III, Cnet, 2/10
• Mac OS worthy, but underhyped (Windows 98 worthless, but overhyped), NouveauGeek, CBS MarketWatch
• Mac OS for Intel a bad idea, osOpinion, 12/30
• From the dark side: The USB Debacle, PC Magazine
• G3 servers, NT killers, selling fast, MacCentral
• Cheap (sub-$1K) PCs are no bargain, CNNfn
• Schools embrace Mac for simple reason: cost, Arizona Central
• Andy Grove, Intel chairman, loves his iMac, Time
• Pentium v. PowerPC, MacKiDo
• Problems with Intel's Xeon CPU and 450NX chip set, overview of Intel processor design, Macintosh Evolution
• Mac Evolution compares the G3 and Pentium II in integer (SPECint95) and floating point (SPECfp) performance
• Pentium II, PowerPC, and Merced, Mac Opinion
• What's wrong with Merced, Microprocessor Report
• Intel inside? Business buyers don't really care, ZDNet
• Intel Secrets by Robert Collins