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Macworld: Intel-based Macs built for speed
January 10, 2006 -
CES 2006: Gadget glitz in Vegas
January 9, 2006 -
It's Intel inside for Apple's Mac
June 6, 2005
(continued from previous page)
for the iPod. Most rival MP3 players already offer FM radio as a standard feature.
Aside from those media tidbits, Tuesday's announcements were focused on the new generation of consumer software, much of which has been seemingly inspired by the success of podcasting and is designed to help Mac users distribute movies, photos and audio more easily over the Net.
Jobs spent considerable time demonstrating the new version of iPhoto, which includes a "photocasting" feature that lets people create online photo albums. Other people can subscribe to these albums, just as they do today with blogs or podcasts, and have new photos downloaded automatically to their own computers.
The new iPhoto is faster and can now handle up to 250,000 photos--10 times the prior limit, he added.
The GarageBand music-production software has also been updated to include a podcasting studio, which streamlines the process of making a radiolike show and posting it online.
As expected, the software suite's biggest addition was iWeb, which allows users to make their own Web sites, complete with audio, video and photos drawn from the company's other applications, in just a few minutes. The entire software suite will keep its $79 price tag and will come free on new Mac computers.
"It's a giant new release," Jobs said, talking about the new iLife '06 suite. "It's going to propel us even further ahead of anything else in the world.
The company's consumer applications, including iLife, will run natively on the new Intel processors starting immediately, as well as on the Power PC chip. Professional audio, video and photo applications will be updated in March, and customers will be able to buy a "crossgrade," or new version of the existing software, for $49, he said.
Most other applications will run smoothly by using the translation software called Rosetta, which will come with every new Intel-based Mac, he said. Microsoft's Office will be one of those applications.
Microsoft Mac Business Unit General Manager Roz Ho joined Jobs onstage to say that the software powerhouse is moving ahead to create an Intel-based version of Office. She announced a deal between Apple and Microsoft under which Microsoft will continue creating new versions of Office for Mac for a minimum of five years.
The "commitment should leave no doubt in your mind that we're here to stay, and we're in it for the long term," Ho said.
The quick release of the Intel-based products has left some developers, who expected a few more months before release, scrambling to transfer their own applications over to an Intel-compatible version. Code written specifically for that hardware will typically run faster than software written for the PowerPC chips, but using the Rosetta translation software.
Some of the largest developers have already done considerable work, and are nearly ready to release product. An Adobe spokesman said their Photoshop application would have to wait until the next scheduled update (which doesn't have a date attached yet), but their new Lightroom software will be released in Intel-compatible version sometime in the next few months.
"We think it's great that Apple was able to get this ahead of schedule," said Kevin Connor, Adobe's senior director of product management for digital imaging. "We've already got (Lightroom) running in house on Intel based Macs. We've been waiting until they ship to post it, and now this will let us get that out too."
Other developers are starting to release Intel-based versions of their products too, but they hadn't been warned of the change in the release schedule, Jobs said.
Video: Jobs shows off the MacBook Pro
Apple CEO debuts an Intel-based laptop that he says is four to five times faster than the PowerBook G4.
Leaving no doubt that Apple would launch a marketing blitz around the Intel-based machines, Jobs showed off a new advertisement introducing the products. Reminiscent of the "1984" commercial that touted the first Macintosh computer, it painted the new line of products as a liberation for the Intel chip itself.
For years, the Intel chip has been "trapped inside PCs--dull little boxes, dutifully performing dull little tasks," the ad says. "Starting today, the Intel chip will be set free, and get to live life inside a Mac."
As is often the case, some of the wildest predictions about potential products turned out to be off the mark, including rumors that Apple would have a plasma television with a built-in Mac computer. The company also did not update the Mac Mini or iBook with Intel chips, as many enthusiast sites predicted.
See more CNET content tagged:
Steve Jobs, Apple iMac, Apple Computer, transition, Intel
AMD is the fastest.
The system is dual core, but 2 cores != 2x speed. I know PowerPC has lost some ground but only a couple years ago they were claiming to be faster.
Were the last couple years THAT bad for PPC?
Nope, sounds like marketing math to me.
Please try to understand the difference between "speed attained" and work performed?, anyone who has seriously looked at the different cpu architectures that are continuously involved in this argument will tell you that ?THESE ARE MYTHS?. Intel?s architecture excels at speed. AMD?s architecture excels at work and the PowerPC architecture excels at both, while not leading at either.
Steve Jobs is doing what he does best, selling ice to Eskimos.
The whole point of a dual-core processor is the ability to
multitask. Given, Intel is speed-drunk and AMD is more or a
number-cruncher (hence more gamer-used), but at this point,
the dual-core technology promises a better POWER than before,
specifically because the work is now split, and not sequential.
Just look at the Xbox360 for an example of a multi-core
processor working better than the previous.
However I write this with a grain of salt: The Intel duo-core has
not yet been proven as far as its ability. The theory is sound,
the power is there, but all this is lab-tested, or other controlled-
state. We shall wait and see, but my predicition is that Pixar, ILM
and other Mac-based, power-hungry and demanding industry.
hyperbole. I just bought a G5 iMac ten days ago, and now Apple
says the new G5 is "twice as fast and twice as amazing." Should I
feel burned?
- A built-in webcam
- A built-in mic
- Built in stereo speakers
- Integrated remote system
- Built in wireless (Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11g)
- Mac OS 10.4
get back to me.
- 17" High Quality LCD - $300
- Web Camera, closest in quality is a Logitech QuickCam® for Notebooks Pro - $99
- Windows XP Pro (really you need Longhorn which may ship this year or next) - $200
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 plus Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 - $149
- You'll Need MS Office for Outlook 2003 which is the closest to Apple's Mail, Contacts, and Calendar, the Outlook Express isn't in the same class.
- You'll need to add Nero for DVD burning - $79
The above items are now over $800 in additions to your Windows based system.
Add on the speakers, microphone, and a host of missing hardware and software and you'll spend another $300+.
So when we sit down at the compare table, a new iMac will cost $1299. Your system to be similar for software and hardware will cost close to $200 -- and you'll have to spend another $200 for the Windows Vista update in 10-12 months to catch up to where the Mac is now. Apple will be ahead further with Mac OS 10.5.
u kno.. laptops are much more expensive than dektops
besides, your getting apples incredible innovation - such as the optical in and out and the magnetic power cord (truly genius)
like anything in life, you get what you pay for. But they do also
offer great value - Apple is offering consumers this machine with a
flat screen built in, built in iSight camera, as well as the brilliant
iLife software. With new dual core processing for the same price as
the outgoing model - it is a great deal! If you want cheap as chips,
wait for the new Mac Mini, which is really the only comparable
thing to your PC!
2) i-games idea downloadable games for your game consoles way lower ditribution costs and packaging. It is a no brainer Put BOB(likes robert) kondrk on it!
And M$ does it again, snatches defeat from the jaws of victory!
*rolls eyes*
None of the big 3 (US) cell phone carriers offers data cards in this format. Will they? Given their active neglect of Mac users, until Dell (or maybe HP) owners start demanding ExpressCard it isn't gonna happen.
"But there aren't any peripherals for it!" Sure enough, in a few
months there were.
Apple had WiFi on Macs a year befor the next manufacturer
(Dell) did.
They pioneered Firewire. (Well, okay, so that hasn't bee as
successful.)
The list goes on and on and on. Nobody drives new hardware/
software adoption like Apple does. Their impact on the industry
is way out of proportion with their market share. And that will
likely continue (except in music where they eat everyone's
lunch.)
The only think Bill Gates has over Apple is his's a better
philanthropist than Steve Jobs by a long shot.
While the majority of modern operation system (except XP Home) support two processors, and therefore dual core chips, Last I checked, unless you were running server applications or high end (much higher than the adverage user will ever run) aapplications, the vast majority of software out there does not take advantage of anything beyond the first processor.
While eventually multi-core processos look like they will become standard, right how, how many people have programs that actually use that second core?
In a year, when a hot new game come out that requires a multiple processor system, they may grow in popularity with programers, but untill then, the adverage user is not going to see much differance between a single and a dual core chip of the same clock speed. FOr now, they are great for marketing to people who don't know what they are listening to and a reason to add several hundered dollars to the price of a computer.
For the time being, because the idea of a multi-processor in the adverage computer is still new, who actually makes software to put that second core to use? So this "screaming mechine" will only be slightly facter than a single core mechine of the same clock speed to the adverage user. Marketing math is at it again.
years now. In fact, given the processor-intensive high-end apps
(Final Cut Pro, iDVD, Aperture, Motion, etc.), I'm sure many of
Apple's apps are built from the ground up to run on to cores.
Of course, that's assuming the OSX kernel doesn't handle the
threading to begin with.
What you said may be true of Windoze programs.. MacOSX has as a
core technology Symetrical Multiprocessing. PowerMacs have been
dual-processor for 4 or 5 years. Many programs worked with
multiprocessing before OSX, but all programs work that way with X.
Sorry you windoze users have been left so far behind!
in OS X. Even Unreal Tournament 2004 unloads the audio to a
second processor to speed up the rest fo the program.
Photoshop is somewhat multi-processor aware. After Effects
from Adobe is especially multi-processor aware. It actually can
use all four cores in the new Quad Mac G5. Reports are it churns
out the fastest numbers any personal computer has even spit
out.
There are quite a few other Mac apps that are multi-processor
aware. Quite a few aren't. So your point is partially correct. But
hardly as correct as you think.
Where you will see the multi-core development is from the game industry. Each of the new game consoles provide multiple cores in order to increase overall system performance. The game market is forcing app developers to start thinking on a multi-core method for their programs.
I've said this over a year ago, and those who scoffed at my prediction are seeing it come true now. :)
PowerPC by dropping "Power" from its brands but MacBook Pro?!
How about iBook Pro? There could be iBooks and iBook Pro models.
Just my $0.02. All in all, I'm impressed. Saving my pennies.
translates as "flambouyant homosexual" in UK.
Lets try to be realistic about things here. Even though I'm sure both the new iMac and the Mac Book Pro (clunk) are better than their PPC-based predecessors, especially the laptop, the performance increases clearly have as much to do with the supporting technology as with the CPUs, if not more. PCIx over AGP - no contest. Slower video processor vs a faster one - 'no duh' there. Serial ATA over Parallel ATA - another big improvement. And (at least with the MBPro) FSB speeds that can't even be compared to the earlier model. All of that could have been incorporated into any Mac laptop, including a G4 based one, at any point, going back for the last 2 years.
Now, out of curiosity, I went to the site of the company (Freescale) that makes the G4. How many people realize that they too have a dual core CPU, with the same general clockspeeds as CoreDuo, and FSB support that is just as fast as this new Intel CPU too? Check it: http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?nodeId=0162468rH3bTdG7249
If the old G4 is any indication, they'll be pretty power efficient too.
So what? So why make a lateral move in performance and power efficiency, especially when - if moving to x86 is a good idea for some other reason - AMD is available? The new FX-60 is dual core, probably the most efficient desktop CPU ever, and a REAL "screamer" to boot. I'll be putting my money on AMD to surpass Intel even in the mobile space soon. As for PPC ... I don't claim to be an expert, but I do know that PA Semiconductor is reportedly bringing to market a mobile class, 64bit dual core CPU that promises to be very impressive, IBM has a 4+ghz Power6 in the pipeline for '06-07 that has Altivec on it (no one but Apple would compel them to add that, so I guess that lays to rest the idea IBM didn't care about them), and Cell is the most forward thinking CPU design I've ever seen or heard of.
All in all, this move to Intel seems supremely pointless to me. Question for Apple/Jobs: If second best is a worthy enough goal now, why bother with the charade? Just sell the company to Intel and be done with it.
New Year's gift to myself two weeks ago. I went to several Mac
stores before buying my new iMac online with a 1.5 GB/500 HD
for $2,100+.
I kept asking sale people in the MAC stores if they will have a
new version of the iMac and they kept telling me that it is the
Mac Mini and the iBook that will be the first ones to change to
the new Intel Dual Core. So I bought the iMac thinking that I
have at least a year--since the version I bought just came out a
few months ago.
Anyway, it's not even two weeks and I have an obsolete unit. I
went to check the price for a 2.0 GB/500 HD iMac and it's
actually cheaper than what I have!
Apple should have a trade-in program for the hundreds of
thousands like me who bought iMacs in the last, say, two
months or so.
Anybody else out there with the same experience?
known that Apple always announces new products at shows like
this. And no one tells the sales people what the corporation is
going to do, unless the sales people are locked into not telling
the public. So, your surprise shouldn't have been that much of a
surprise.
And the Intel iMac actually is $100 more than what you paid.
And right now, I think that I'd tend to appreciate the proven G5
performance, without Rosetta, slowing down my apps. In all
probability, the G5 may be as fast as the Intel Mac on non-
universal binary software. And if not as fast, it won't be all that
much slower.
Go for the swap, if it's important. Relax and go with the G5 iMac
if you want proven Mac performance.
Depends on what you are working with presently...
Also, being on the bleeding edge vs. the cutting edge has it's benefits & detriments...
Try AppleCare or your nearest Apple Retail Store to see if they will exchange it...
I purchased the iMac G5 with built in video camera & Front Row for the Holidays too & I was predicting the Macintel Portables only for the MacWorld keynote...
I'm still happy.
the tragic mistake of buying Mac's popular fruit desktops,
blackberry, blueberry, snow, etc. Only to be crushed to learned a
month later that the new edition iMacs with a multitude of
improvements arrived and was selling for the same proce I paid
not six weeks before and that my machine was now effectively
being sold for like $1,000.00 less. This is a real Machievelian
strategy Mac has been doing for years now. Strategically
DUMPING old units on the cusp of the new arrivals to maximaize
profits before the unveiling. I learned my lesson the hard way,
and almost gave up my lifelong loyalty to Macs because I felt
shortchanged, duped and treated like a fool. If they had any
integrity beyond the modern day obssession with profit over
customer loyalty and support, they would have done the decent
thing and lowered the prices on units they well knew would be
old news after the New year's bells finished ringing. Now, I have
learned to wait until after the annual Mac show, when Mr. Jobs
(who received a piece of my mind via the Classic mode of
comunication: a hard copy letter) unviels his new tricks of the
trade to make people buy buy buy. They refused to refund my
money. I think you have like thirty days from date of purchase
depending on where you bought your machine to return it.
Otherwise, live and learn. I am on the verge of buying their new
MACBOOK PRO, but I just KNOW the Firewire 800 they took out
of the configuration and the DVD burning speeds will soon be
sold, my guess is by summer or fall latest, so I might just sit on
my good hard earned cash until this happens. Fool me once,
etc. etc.
- Apples accomplishments after 30 years...
- by 757addict January 6, 2007 7:17 PM PST
- With the move to Intel processors and Bootcamp Apple has finally realized its goal of catching up Microsoft and copying its product (think New Coke)...
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