Australian Personal Computer: Will Intel-based Apple Macs be able to run Windows? Apple says they’re not doing anything to prevent it. Their Macs will use an Extensible Firmware Interface, which replaces the BIOS, and Windows Vista will support EFI.
Would be pretty cool to have the lovely Apple design for your hardware, plus the lovely Apple OS, but be able to boot into Windows when compatibility was needed.
Blogger Russell Beattie stirs up a hornet’s nest by declaring he’s thinking of switching back from Mac to Windows.
Reports are coming in that the new very groovy iPod Nano’s screen scratches rather too easily, so bad in some cases that the images get distorted.
Hot on the heels of the flawed (badly, for some people) iTunes 5.0, Apple has released iTunes 5.0.1.
So, I’ve been using Fedora Core 3 (I really must upgrade to 4) and I’ve noticed that SSL – ie HTTPS – is really slow. Logging into eBay took something like a half hour. I consulted someone who uses FC3 as their primary operating system and his suggestion was to disable the firewall. “but…” I protested. The response was simple: “Stop being such a pussy. You’ve got a firewall in your modem.” And I do.
So I did – Applications | System Settings | Security Level got me to firewall configuration, one option of which was “forgetaboudit”. A reboot of the iptables (iptables is the linux firewall: very sophisticated, very powerful, very fragile, requires a detailed understanding of IP protocols to use correctly) later – either by a command line entry (simple – just enter service iptables restart) or a system reboot (easy to remember, but takes a fair old time – FC boot time is longer than XP’s) and the firewall’s behaviour was changed. Then secure logins went just as fast as straight HTTP, and it was clear that the Red Hat Firewall was the culprit.
Hours of searching the web revealed a suggestion for a change to the configuration file, which I went to implement in a restarted firewall – and it was already there. So, to make Firefox – or any other web browser – do fast SSL when it was going slow – you need to disable, then re-enable the firewall. You can do that by picking Applications | System Settings | Security Level from the menu, disabling the firewall, opening a terminal window and entering service iptables restart, and repeating the process but enabling the firewall this time (ensure you have web turned on).
In FC3 the default firewall install doesn’t like HTTPS. And I thought Windows was freaky. I understand the FC4 doesn’t do this crazy shit.
Interesting to see the gradual spread of Wifi coverage in Australian cities. Shame they’re mostly in McDonalds and Starbucks outlets, which don’t exactly provide the pinnacle food and coffee. But I suppose if you’re sneaky, you should be able to find somewhere offering decent food and drink nearby (or even next door) where you can pick up the coverage.
Fascinating article speculating why Apple really switched from IBM to Intel CPUs.
Smartcards are the answer to public transport ticketing! But, err, what was the question? (from my blog)
Apple has announced Power-PC OS-X applications will run on the future Intel Macs via an emulation layer called Rosetta, developed by some ex-Manchester Uni people. Obviously there has to be a performance hit in doing so, but you’d hope by the time the Intel Macs hit the streets, processor speeds would have come along enough that it’s not very noticeable, at least over today’s Macs.
What may be interesting is how Virtual PC for Mac runs on Intel Macs. An upgraded Intel version I mean, not the PowerPC version under Rosetta!
It now sounds as if the new Macs will have not just chips made by Intel, but chips that are theoretically the x86 we all know and love. If so, and assuming Virtual PC gets a re-write, people who love Macs but have to run a little bit of Windows software may be in for a very pleasant surprise when the new Macs arrive.
Following my post about Apple/Intel rumours it’s now possible to confirm that the rumours are true:
Steve Jobs made it official at the keynote to the Apple World Wide Developers Conference today. Apple will be using Intel CPUs starting June 2006, and a complete transition will be done by 2007. Steve confirmed that for the past 5 years, Mac OS X for Intel has been in development, and Steve even did the whole keynote using an Intel-based system. As for Mac apps, Coca apps will require small tweaks; Carbon apps will require more tweaks; Metrowerks apps need to be recompiled using Xcode (version 2.1 was released today). Developers can then create a “universal binary” that can run on both PowerPC and Intel. Apple will also ship Rosetta, which will allow users to run PowerPC apps on Intel Macs. – MacAddict
The move marks a major shift for Apple, which has long relied on PowerPC chips from IBM to drive its computers. To help with the switch, Apple also announced the availability of a Developer Transition Kit, consisting of an Intel-based Mac development system along with preview versions of Apple’s software, which will allow developers to prepare versions of their applications which will run on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.
“Our goal is to provide our customers with the best personal computers in the world, and looking ahead Intel has the strongest processor roadmap by far,†said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It’s been ten years since our transition to the PowerPC, and we think Intel’s technology will help us create the best personal computers for the next ten years.â€
“We are thrilled to have the world’s most innovative personal computer company as a customer,†said Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel. “Apple helped found the PC industry and throughout the years has been known for fresh ideas and new approaches. We look forward to providing advanced chip technologies, and to collaborating on new initiatives, to help Apple continue to deliver innovative products for years to come.†MacWorld
The move is being seen as a big gamble for Apple strategy, and a boost to Intel at the expense of IBM.
It ends a decade-long relationship between Apple and IBM, which have recently wrangled over supply problems. BBC News Online
So, it’s official. I guess Mac and PC users can both join in on whether Intel chips are the best. What’s next? Would AMD ever get a look in? Is there any way back for IBM? Ironic, that they are making chips for Microsoft now?
What do you think?
“The rumors floating around for the last few weeks that Apple will turn to Intel processors for future systems are now being moved from the rumor column to the confirmed column, according to some news organizations” – InfoWorld.com
Apple and Intel – the history
“Apple has seriously considered switching to Intel at least twice in its history. One previous project code-named Star Trek actually ported Mac OS 7 to Intel based hardware in 1992. Most recently, internal IBM documents noted that Apple considered switching to Intel but felt it would cause too much trouble:” – MacRumors.com
This time?
Apple is about to announce that it is dropping IBM chips in favour of those made by Intel reports suggest.
The first Apple computers with the Intel chips onboard could appear by mid-2006, technology site CNet reported over the weekend.
The move would mark a big change in Apple strategy, and a boost to Intel at the expense of IBM.
Industry watchers are expecting an announcement by Apple on the deal on Monday at a company conference [World Wide Developer’s Conference]. – BBC News Online
Why?
Why would such a deal come about? Supposedly IBM are not making (or refuse to / cannot make) a wide enough set of chips for Apple’s needs.
Additionally, IBM now has the contract to providing PowerPC chips for Microsoft’s imminent Xbox 360 console, Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation 3 game machine and Nintendo’s future game-playing machine. Apple isn’t their biggest customer.
Likely?
Here’s Jim’s opinion:
Well, the media is just going nuts thanks to a rumor started by ‘analysts’ at the Wall Street journal about Apple possibly using Intel chips in upcoming products, and everyone’s just falling all over themselves buzzing about the possibility. Personally I think that anyone in the media that starts talking about such things should be fired for their incompetence, but here’s my take on all of this.
First of all, nowhere in the original article was the word PROCESSOR mentioned. You know, that really big chip that runs the whole show? Last time I checked, Intel made more than just Pentiums, and Apple has used Intel chips in the past in its products. In fact, at this very moment I’m staring at an Apple multi-port Ethernet card removed from a G4 server, and it has Intel chips all over it.
Personal Opinion
I’m a Mac zealot, and the initial thought of this possibly being true initially made me a little uncomfortable…
…then again, what’s the big deal?
If Apple can get better, lower priced chips elsewhere, then why not? The Mac relies on a lot of industry-standard components for its machines now, a far cry from over a decade ago.
If they were about to announce going into partnership with Microsoft to develop future Mac operating systems, that would be something to really worry about. (It’s never gonna happen, right?)
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this isn’t just some elaborate wind-up. Steve Jobs may well make some form of announcement, it may even involve Intel, but it could well be different to what everyone has been rumouring – we know how the mainstream media have messed things up before, and unfortunately on far more important issues.
Rather than repeat everything that has been said thus far, here are some links that might be useful for further reading:
We’ll wait to see what (if anything) Mr Jobs has to say on the matter.
Here’s a couple of things I’d like to see for Dashboard in future release, at least as an option:
I have to say, though, that with new widgets being coded all the time, I am loving it more and more (it was a bit boring with just the default ones after the initial ‘wow’ factor of the desktop graphics)
Here’s a brief look at some widgets which will be of more use to the geeks / techies.
I mentioned in a previous post that clicking on the ‘More Widgets’ button on the dashboard screen prompts for a username and passowrd. No more. Apple’s Widget site is now open.
At time of writing there appear to be 109 widgets from various authors.
I’ve just downloaded an ‘Air Traffic Control’ widget which scans for nearby AirPort (ie 802.11) sources, and reports on their type and signal strength. It’s a breeze to install – just click on the title, it downloads a zip file which unpacks itself and automatically adds itself to the Dashboard screen. Simply click on the icon and it’s there.
Time to go hunting for some more interesting widgets.
Having reinstalled Norton Antivirus 9.0, I tried booting it up last night and it still came up with an error, although it doesn’t appear to stop it from working.
iSync, on the other hand, had no problem re-syncing to my Palm PDA. I had read reports that one should synchronise the PDA to the Mac before upgrading to Tiger, otherwise the contents of the PDA can be wiped upon trying to sync for the first time under Tiger. No problem for me. I actually sync three machines to my PDA: my work PC, my G4 and my iBook, so I’m pretty synchronised!
I read a blog entry asking who really needs to upgrade to Tiger. It’s all very well stating that there are over 200 new features, but is that enough for the average user to want or need to upgrade?
It got me thinking about who is the most likely to “early adopt” Tiger:
Low-end users: those with lower-spec machines, possibly less money, and with few if any life- or business-critical data on their Mac, will probably not be in a hurry to upgrade, wanting to hold out for as long as possible before upgrading to the new system. They may not even be using 10.3 (or even X of any flavour). I was one of these once: very low-end Mac and no money.
High-end users: those with high-spec machines, probably more money (or business money), who use Macs and their applications as a critical part of their life or business: graphic designers, artists, musicians, publishers – the usual Mac fare. These too may be reluctant to early adopt, for whilst they may have the capital, they cannot afford to take the time or the risk installing a new system which may have idiosyncrasies (bugs) not yet spotted and fixed by a large user base. Whereas downtime for the hobbyist may be annoying, but acceptable, for the business/power-user, it could mean lost business and revenue.
Middle-spec users: Probably quite a diverse bunch of users – so not average – with medium- to high-end equipment and software, financially well-off, and willing to experiment and take technical risks. These are the most likely candidates for investing early in a new operating system release. There is a certain excitement in being among the first people to test new software, even if it carries a risk that things might not work quite the way they did before. They may, or may not, have backup plans if things really go wrong.
I’ll stick my neck out and say that there may be more early adopter types in the Apple Mac camp than in the Windows camp, traditionally because of the types of people more likely to use Macs, because of the ‘mentality’ of a Mac-zealot, that is oft written about, and because we expect Apple (despite some famous cock-ups) to provide good and efficient service to its users.
If there are bugs in Tiger (which there surely are) then you can bet Apple are working with early adopters on finding and fixing them.
Andy’s adventures with Mac OS 10.4 Tiger
Introduction: For what it’s worth, this section will be Andy’s ramblings on being an ‘early adopter’ of Apple’s latest Macintosh operating system. I’ve already written about the London launch, and the fun I had installing Tiger on my DVD. What next?
I don’t consider myself a power user by any means. I have a G3/800 iBook and a G4/775 desktop. The power user would consider them both candidates for ditching and upgrading, but they’re serving me well. Thankfully, Apple are still officially supporting G3s with Tiger, so long as they have FireWire port (I’m not quite sure why this is – I suspect it’s just an easy way to test how old a machine is, though I would’ve though they could use some other aspect of the machine, given that Firewire is only required for some aspects of iChat video conferencing that won’t run on a G3 or low-end G4 in any case.)
I do digital music, digital photography, web design, coding, a few games, general office stuff.
Anyway…
Virus Protection: Since installing Tiger, my Norton Antivirus has thrown up an error every time on startup – however it appears to continue functioning, does LiveUpdates, and I presume it is protecting my system. Dangerous…
Anyway, I’ve reinstalled the software on my G4 so I’ll find out tonight if it is behaving itself now.
Dashboard: Could be seen as a gimmick, but the widgets are quite useful as they stand, and hopefully a lot more, including ones not so geared for the US market, will become available.
Clicking on the ‘More Widgets’ button prompts for a username and password at the Apple site. Not sure if I should have that password? I’m on the lookout for new widgets. Will report them here.
The ‘cool ripple effect’ demonstrated at the launch event I suspect only works on high end Macs with above-average graphics cards. The ‘information flip’ graphic transition works well, but no ripples on my G3 or G4. Ahh well, it still looks darn cool. It is a bit sluggish when it first starts up, possibly owing to the number of Internet sites it tries to connect to in order to get the latest info.