Apple και σχετικά!!!

[trivialx]

Εδώ που τα lebel σειρά του: Πόσα χρόνια δεν ήταν στα δικαστήρια η Apple με τη Microsoft για τα windows, πως και καλά "έκλεβαν" το feeling που είχε ο χρήστης που μέχρι εκείνη τη στιγμή οι επιλογές του ήταν ή Apple ή DOS! Τελικά το δικαστήριο απεφάνθει πώς δεν μπορείς να κλέψεις το feeling, οπότε νίκησε η Microsoft (και τα windows prevailed). Άμα ανοίξει η αγορά, πέσει η τιμή σε ένα καλό προϊόν, και αυτό γίνει συμβατό με την πλειονότητα των κυκλοφορούντων προϊόντων... Η εκδίκηση της γυφτιάς (μάλλον της μπουρζουαζίας, γιατί στην προκειμένη θεωρώ γύφτο τον Βασιλάκη και από καλό σπίτι το Στέφανο...).

←

Ακριβώς αυτό !!!

[Samarithan]

Γμτ, ψάχνω να βρώ όλα εκείνα τα συγκριτικά που υπήρχαν στο σαιτ της Apple, εκείνα που "κατέρριπταν" το "μύθο" περί ανωτερότητας των Pentium. Εξαφανίστηκαν βεβαίως, μαζί και οι ομιλίες του Jobs που απεδείκνυαν στην πράξη το πόσο μπροστά είναι οι Power PC.

Τεράστια η κωλοτούμπα, τι να λέμε τώρα. Τεράστιο και το ρίσκο της Apple, προβλέπω G5 σε τιμή ibook σε λίγο.

[trivialx]

Apple+Intel news is no reason not to buy a new PowerPC-based Mac today

This article is based on a "MacDailyNews Take" regarding the previously-posted article. Due to the volume of email along the lines of "What do I do now? I was about to buy a Mac," we felt this deserved it's own space.

There is nothing that would stop us from purchasing a new Mac today. For years, software will be shipping as Universal Binary products. Which, simplified, means the CD or DVD contains both PowerPC and Intel versions of the application. For oddball developers (read: not mainstream) that fail to ship Universal Binary applications, Apple's Rosetta will transparently translate the PowerPC-only code of these applications on-the-fly for Intel-based Macs. There would be a performance hit for intensive apps, but any intensive app would offer a Universal Binary anyway. So PowerPC Mac owners will have native software for years and Intel Mac owners will have native software going forward and Rosetta translation for the odd Power-PC-only apps. Due to what we've seen regarding the relative ease of creating Universal Binaries, we'd say that PowerPC-only Mac apps will soon be a thing of the past.

If you need a Mac today or within the next year, hey, you need a Mac, so get it. It's not going to stop working. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard will run on both Intel and PowerPC Macs. Apple's not going to stop PowerPC support for years. In all probability, by the time owning a PowerPC Mac ever becomes even a remote issue, you'll long-ago have purchased a new Intel-based Mac.

What do you think? Will you buy a new Mac in the next 1-2 years or will you try to wait for an Intel-based Mac desktop or portable?

[trivialx]

Microsoft and Dell must have a lot of bricks lying around today

"Make a note of this date, Monday 6 June 2005. It may well become logged in the annals of commercial computing as a turning point for Microsoft and Dell," Jeff Lawson writes for The Inquirer. "Microsoft, the company whose operating system software brings daily GUI crashes and folder locks. Dell, the company that proffers market-stall computers with all the glamour of dishwashers. Enter, Apple."

"Microsoft’s alliance with AMD has brought high-calibre multi-core processors to the PC world and brought it discord with Intel," Lawson writes. "Dell is about to take AMD mainstream. Not that Dell particularly wants to lose its cosy relationship with Intel but it wants to lose customers to AMD vendors even less."

"Apple’s receipts from its 76% dominance of the MP3 market plus Intel’s cash mountain gives them the financial clout to take on Microsoft and Dell. Luckily for the Apple-Intel team, they have superior technology too. Granted, Intel’s latest processors are dogs but the main event is eighteen months out, when Microsoft ships Longhorn, so Intel have the interim to get their act together. The next revision of Mac OS X, named Leopard, will be launched then too. Expect to see games running on x86 Leopard as fast as on x86 Longhorn: no need for gamers to run Windows," Lawson writes. "Eighteen months and counting. Eighteen months and the choice will be simple: buy a solid operating system running on a PC designed by the coolest computer company ever or buy something of dubious ancestry out of a car boot. Time for fickle investors to repopulate stock portfolios. Time to think different!"

[trivialx]

Enderle: IBM leaked Apple+Intel story to the media

"Given IBM was the beneficiary of the leaks we believe they are the most likely to have leaked the story and over the next several years will apply similar, and often increasing, opinion on this move in the hope that Apple will reverse its decision," Rob Enderle theorizes for Technology Pundits.

Enderle scribbles, "With financial pressure increasing on Apple to execute and a likely sharp decline in Apple hardware sales prior to the new hardware hitting the shelves coupled with an already noted sharp decline in iPod sales..."

Enderle continues, "Apple will be under an unprecedented amount of pressure to reverse itself but, given the lack of trust that was likely created by this move, that reversal, if it happens, will probably have an extremely limited result."

"Regardless of that, over the next two years IBM is likely to place its considerable resources on forcing Apple to reconsider and reverse its decision. This type of approach will probably not have the desired effect if IBM is sourced as the instigator of this pressure. Intel will have to move to block this if they want to retain Apple and, of the x86 vendors, they remain the most powerful and arguably the most capable of doing this," Enderle writes. "The battle between IBM and Intel for the hearts and minds of the Apple faithful will not only be interesting, it, for once, places Apple on Intel’s side."

[ioan]

To keynote του meeting έγινε σε Pentium 4 3,6GHz. Δηλαδή: PRESCOTT mod 560, Socket 775, παραγωγή cpu 90nm, multi, 18x, bus 800 MHz, cache 1MB, Hyperthread.

Δεν ήταν καν Extreme Edition 840...

Ας αφήσουμε στην άκρη το G5. Είναι πολύ πιό καλές cpu αυτές που κάνει η ΑΜD. H σειρά 64bit άφησε πίσω την Ιntel, η οποία δε μπορεί καν να χρησιμοποιήσει το όνομα 64bit γιατί © AMD.

Η συμφωνία με την Apple δίνει οξυγόνο στην Intel. Mα βάζει τις βάσεις για ανταγωνισμό, όχι τόσο με τη Microsoft, όσο με την ίδια την AMD. H Μicrosoft θα έχει μόνο κέρδος από την όλη διαδικασία.

Το πλέον κερδοφόρο τμήμα της Microsoft for Μac θα ενωθεί με τους υπόλοιπους κατεβάζοντας και το κόστος. Η εξέλιξη του virtual pc θα μπεί οριστικά στην κατάψυξη (αν και κάτι μου λέει, πως Rosetta είναι το virtual pc, ίσως με τους driver video επιτέλους). Θα σταματήσει να πετάει λεφτά σε θεωρητικά επικίνδυνους για την Apple αντιπάλους, όπως το http://www.pegasosppc.com/ Θα δεί επιτέλους το όνειρο πραγματικότητα. Όλοι θα μπορούν να τρέξουν windows. Εννοείται πως η εξέλιξη του G5 συνεχίζεται, αποκλειστικά για server solutions και xbox2, πάλι με χαμόγελα της Microsoft.

Αυτή τη φορά πιστεύω πως η επιλογή ήταν βιαστική. Το χρονοδιάγραμμα της Μοτοrola/Freescale μιλάει ξεκάθαρα για τη δημιουργία 3GHz PPC.

Aντί να βάλει altivec στο G3, πίεσε για G4. Αντί να περιμένει το τέλος του κύκλου, πίεσε για G5. Τώρα πιέζει την Intel. Η οποία είχε μείνει πίσω από την AMD.

Καλό είναι να έχει κανείς όραμα... έτσι όμως μοιάζει να έχει χαθεί η επαφή με την πραγματικότητα.

Ας μην ξεχνάμε άλλωστε πως η επιτυχία του macosx βασίζεται και στον κόσμο linux. Aν μπεί σε αναταγωνισμό και μαζί τους, κλείνοντας ακόμα περισσότερο το software του, η ταύτιση με τη microsoft θα είναι σίγουρη.

Τέλος, όλοι στην Apple προσπαθούν να πείσουν πως οι PPC που υπάρχουν τώρα και για ένα χρόνο αξίζουν τον κόπο. Το θέμα είναι πως τα τελευταία 2 χρόνια, κάνει update στα model κάθε 6 μήνες. Δηλαδή, σε 2 updates θα έρθουν τα πρώτα mac x86. Ο μέσος χρήστης θέλει το computer να διαρκέσει 3 χρόνια, ειδικά όταν ξοδεύει αρκετά. To συμπέρασμα είναι εύλογο...

Η τιμή βέβαια δεν πρόκειται να πέσει. Η εξέλιξη των PPC θα συνεχισθεί, οπότε και τα μηχανήματα της Apple θα γίνουν περιζήτητα. Σε αυτό βασίζεται η Apple για να μην αντιμετωπίσει προβλήματα στη διάρκεια της μεταβατικής περιόδου. Το θέμα είναι πως αυτή η λογική αφορά κυρίως το 2nd hand market. Ποιοί θα πάνε πρώτοι; Μονάχα εταιρίες, που το είχαν προγραμματίσει. Οι ιδιώτες θα μείνουν έξω. Έτσι θα διατηρήσει ένα ελάχιστο μερίδιο αγοράς.

Είμαι αρκετά σίγουρος πως θα στηριχθεί στο iPod για τα επόμενα 2 εξάμηνα. Ίσως να βγεί το πρώτο iPod Video...

YΓ

Always IMHO

[ioan]

Αυτό το διάβασα μόλις τώρα:

Since the end of last year, relationship between Apple and IBM are bad, very bad... Apple considers IBM as the new Motorola. IBM has been facing huge problems with the PPC975, lately renamed 976 then 980 that has been continuously postponed.

The 970MP processor project has been launch to avoid a big gap and a abnormal delay between processor update. But it would have been ready only by beginning of 2006 at the earliest, while IBM is still facing problems to manufacture the PPC970FX in large volume.

Concerning the PowerBookG5, all developments have been stopped. The reason: no way to manufacture PPC970GX necessary to answer both requirements for mobility and battery lifespan. In addition, they could not setup an efficient cooling system as well as a corresponding battery.

IBM has also decided to drop the PPC750VX which was designed to replace the G4 in entry-level computers.

Apple, as confirmed by Steve jobs, had planned this "Just in case" possibility with Intel processor option. Due to IBM problems for development or manufacturing PowerPC, Apple has activated Marklar project, and we are just starting to see who deep this project goes.

Μα... το παρασκήνιο θα είναι πάντα μυστικό.

[ioan]

Είναι FAKE... μα όχι μακριά από την πραγματικότητα.

[Samarithan]

Ενδιαφέρουσες απόψεις. Προσωπικά κουράστηκα να το σκέφτομαι το θέμα. Πολλά μπορούν να ειπωθούν ακόμη για το άν τελικά η στροφη 180 μοιρών έγινε προς το συμφέρον του καταναλωτή, αλλά τέλος πάντων. Ας ελπίσουμε να πάνε τα πράγματα καλά για την Apple και να μην καταλήξει σε άλλο ένα φιάσκο η όλη ιστορία.

Επειδή είδα επίσης πως κάποια παιδιά σκέφτονταν να αγοράσουν Mac, τους συμβουλεύω να παρατηρούν τις τιμές και αν τελικά πέσουν να μη διστάσουν να αγοράσουν. Είναι πολύ καλός υπολογιστής και σίγουρα σαν εργαλείο δουλειάς έχει ακόμα 2-3 χρόνια μπροστά του. Μιλάω για τον G4. Ο G5 ίσως να έχει και παραπάνω. Θα δείξει.

[trivialx]

Intel Mac Benchmarks

Individuals attending Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference have submitted Xbench benchmark results from Apple's Pentium 4-based Power Mac systems. The benchmarks do not reflect native performance of the 3.6GHz systems, however, but rather provide an indication of how PowerPC-compiled applications will run under Rosetta on Intel-based systems.

Rosetta is the name of Apple's technology that seamlessly converts PowerPC code to Intel code on the fly. It is designed so that applications that are not available as universal binaries for both PowerPC and Intel systems can still run on Apple's Intel Macs. During the WWDC keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated several PowerPC applications running with Rosetta, including Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop. Very fast systems, Jobs said, will be able to take advantage of Rosetta without the user even noticing, although preliminary benchmarks suggest otherwise.

Overall, the Intel Mac are scoring between 65 and 70 with Xbench, a far cry from the 200+ scores higher-end G5 systems reach. The CPU test is landing in the high teens compared with scores of 100 to 200 for G5 systems, but that appears to be primarily due to lackluster FPU scores. According to a recent Macworld story, Rosetta does not support AltiVec instructions, which substanties the results. The GCD Loop score for the Intel Mac, part of the CPU test, is a respectable 110, compared to dual-2.5GHz G5 Macs that score about 140.

The Intel Mac performed substantially less well than the dual-2.5GHz G5 at Thread test, scoring an 82 compared to 225. In the Computation Thread test the Intel Mac scored a respectable 110 compared to 155 in the G5, but the G5 blew the doors of the Intel Mac in the Lock Contention test, scoring a 420 to the Intel Mac's 66.

The Memory Test tells a similar story: overall the Intel Mac scored a 214 to the G5's 378, but the Intel Mac actually exceeded the G5's Stream Memory Test: 351 to 319. The G5 trounces the Intel Mac at the system memory test, however, scoring a 464 while the Intel Mac musters a 154.

The Intel Mac scored a 125 on the Interface Test, compared to a 380 for the G5.

The Intel Mac scored well in both the Quartz graphics and OpenGL graphics tests?almost matching or exceeding dual-2.5GHz G5 score?although it's unknown which video card is powering the system. There has been some speculation that Apple's emracement of Intel processors will also allow the company to take advantage of off-the-shelf PC video cards.

The Intel Macs are running Mac OS X 10.4.1 8B1025.

[ioan]

Intel Mac Benchmarks

...although it's unknown which video card is powering the system. There has been some speculation that Apple's emracement of Intel processors will also allow the company to take advantage of off-the-shelf PC video cards...

←

Δεν εξαρτάται από τη cpu, μα από το firmware που χρησιμοποιεί η Apple. Aν απελευθερώσει τα rom (ή πάψει να χρησιμοποιεί τα μυστικά δικά της) τότε κανείς θα μπορεί να χρησιμοποιεί ακριβώς τα ίδια components με pc.

Για παράδειγμα η ΑΤΙ Radeon 9600 Μac edition κοστίζει όσο μια 9800 Pro PC edition. Η ΑΤΙ Radeon 9600 PC edition κοστίζει όσο η ATI Radeon 8800 Mac edition. Πολλοί πήραν την 9600 για PC, κατέβασαν το firmware από το internet και flashed την κάρτα γραφικών. Το firmware που κατέβασαν είναι από κάποιους που είχαν ήδη τη Μac edition, οπότε και αρκούσε μια αντιγραφή. Το μόνο αξιοπερίεργο της όλης υπόθεσης είναι πως για να κάνει flash στο firmware της κάρτας γραφικών ήταν απαραίτητο ένα pc... Έτσι πολλοί πήραν ATI Radeon 9600 για το powermac τους, χρησιμοποιώντας εκείνη των pc, ξοδεύοντας πολύ λιγότερο από τη mac edition.

To ίδιο συμβαίνει και με άλλα components.

Στο imac G4 έχω βάλει ένα κλειδάκι ΒΤ. Η mac edition έχει 45 ευρώ και είναι της D Link. Πήρα το ίδιο κλειδάκι για PC (D Link πάντα) στα 20 ευρώ. Η τεχνολογία Blue Tooth είναι μέσα στο macosx, οπότε και όλα τα κλειδάκια BT αναγνωρίζονται δίχως driver, δίχως κόπο. Μόνο όμως το κλειδάκι της mac edition ή το εσωτερικό chip (BT incorporated) επιτρέπουν τη λειτουργία του wake up on external BT device. Μου χρειάζεται γιατί έχω keyboard και mouse ΒΤ. Κατέβασα λοιπόν το τελευταίο firmware update, oπότε και το flashed από το macosx (δε χρειάζεται pc αυτή τη φορά). Από τότε έγινε mac edition... πλήρωσα μισά λεφτά όμως. Η ειρωνία είναι πως αυτό το firmware το δίνει η ίδια η Αpple

Aυτά είναι παραδείγματα που υπογραμμίζουν τo πόσο δεν έχουν σχέση τα κλειστά rom με τη cpu. Απλώς η Apple ίσως θέλει πλέον να αλλάξει πολιτική και χρησιμοποιεί αυτή την πρόφαση.

[trivialx]

Why buy a Dell when Apple 'Macintel' computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows?

With the announcement that Apple will switch from PowerPC to Intel processors in Macs, many have wondered if the new Apple Macintel machines would allow users to run Windows. Probably more have wondered the reverse, if Apple would allow for Mac OS X to run on any old box assembler's PC. CNET's Ina Fried reports:

After Jobs' presentation, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. "That doesn't preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will," he said. "We won't do anything to preclude that." However, Schiller said the company does not plan to let people run Mac OS X on other computer makers' hardware. "We will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac," he said.

...Oh, so one could buy a Mac and run both Windows and Mac OS X or buy a Dell and only be able to run Windows. Muahahahahah! So, can anyone explain why would anyone in their right mind would buy a Dell or any other Wintel box assembler's kit again? This is shaping up to become a "license Mac OS X or die" problem for the Dells of the world. But, what if Steve Jobs doesn't feel like licensing Mac OS X? Checkmate. Is it too early to suggest that Michael Dell shut down the company and give the money back to shareholders?

[ioan]

"Rosetta is designed to translate currently shipping applications that run on a PowerPC with a G3 processor and that are built for Mac OS X.

Rosetta does not run the following:

* Applications built for Mac OS 8 or 9

* Code written specifically for AltiVec

* Code that inserts preferences in the System Preferences pane

* Applications that require a G4 or G5 processor

* Applications that depend on one or more kernel extensions

* Kernel extensions

* Bundled Java applications or Java applications with JNI libraries that can't be translated."

The default compiler for Apple's x86 line will continue to be GCC. Another very blunt statement from the documentation is that "Macintosh computers using Intel microprocessors do not use Open Firmware."

"Apple is doing their best, however, to control excitement about the switch to Intel. Unlike previous major announcements, this one isn't plastered all over the front page of Apple.com. "

[trivialx]

"Apple is doing their best, however, to control excitement about the switch to Intel. Unlike previous major announcements, this one isn't plastered all over the front page of Apple.com. "

←

Όχι μόνο ούτε στην πρώτη ..αλλά πρέπει να ψάξεις καλά-καλά μέσα στο site.

[ioan]

[trivialx]

[Samarithan]

..Oh, so one could buy a Mac and run both Windows and Mac OS X or buy a Dell and only be able to run Windows. Muahahahahah! So, can anyone explain why would anyone in their right mind would buy a Dell or any other Wintel box assembler's kit again?

Κάποιοι φανατικοί αρχίζουν και χάνουν τη μπάλα, μου φαίνεται...

[ioan]

Είναι αληθινό!!!

[KonstantinosMD]

     

←

θέλω να ελπίζω ότι αυτό το έκτρωμά είναι ενας συμβιβασμός μέχρι να βγουν νέες μητρικές κτλ κτλ....

[ioan]

Υπήρχε τρόπος να βάλει G5 σε PowerBook...

[ioan]

Αρχίζουν να δημοσιεύονται και τα benchmark.

Το XBench είναι το πιό γνωστό benchmark στον κόσμο mac http://xbench.com/

[ioan]

Open firmware σίγουρα δε θα υπάρχει στα Macintel. Το ΒIOS θα ήταν ένα βήμα πίσω. Υπάρχει όμως και το επόμενο βήμα...

progect EFI by Intel (Extensible Firmware Interface)

The EFI specification defines a new model for the interface between operating systems and platform firmware. The interface consists of data tables that contain platform-related information, plus boot and runtime service calls that are available to the operating system and its loader. Together, these provide a standard environment for booting an operating system and running pre-boot applications.

[trivialx]

June 9, 2005

What the Apple Plan To Switch to Intel Chips Means for Consumers

By WALTER S. MOSSBERG

The war in Iraq rages on, the European Union is fraying and North Korea may have nuclear weapons. But if you read the business and technology news this past week, all of that seemed to pale before an event variously described as seismic, epic and stunning: Apple Computer has decided to adopt processors made by Intel for its future Macintosh computers.

There's a reason this was big news in the computer world. For decades, Intel's chips have been tightly linked to the software of Apple's archrival, Microsoft, and Apple has touted as superior the IBM PowerPC chips that powered the Mac. Plus, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, probably the most charismatic business leader in America, attracts attention for anything he does, even though his Macintosh has a tiny share of the PC market.

But what does Apple's move mean for the average consumer, who just wants the best computer for the job?

In the long term, the change will strengthen Apple and the Mac, which is good news for anyone devoted to that platform or considering switching to it. That's because Intel's processors and other chips will give Apple more options than IBM's products could for building Macs that run faster and cooler, and have longer battery life. The first Intel-based Mac is due in spring 2006.

Even consumers who use Microsoft Windows, which runs on the vast majority of computers, will benefit, because the Mac's impact on the industry is vastly greater than its market share. Apple is the most innovative major computer maker, and the only one largely dedicated to serving consumers instead of large corporate customers. Almost everything it does is later copied by the Windows PC makers, so keeping Apple strong and innovating is good for Windows users, too.

In the short run, however, the chip changeover should make little difference to average consumers. For all but the techiest techies, changing the processor in these machines will be a nonevent, sort of like changing the engine in next year's Lexus cars. As long as the new engine is at least as fast and smooth as its predecessor, few drivers would notice or care.

What makes a Mac a Mac isn't the processor under the hood. It's Apple's elegant operating system, OS X, which won't see major changes for 18 months, and the company's stylish hardware designs, which it will continue to produce. When you peer at the screen of the first Intel-based Mac, it will look just like today's PowerPC Macs, only it should run faster.

Of course, if Apple fails to execute the switch well or the Intel processors don't meet expectations, the Mac could be in trouble. And users would lose if too many third-party software developers decline to spend the money and time to convert their products so they run on the Intel chips.

Here are answers to a few common questions I've received about the switch.

Should people hold off buying a Mac that uses the IBM PowerPC processor, which Apple will soon abandon, and wait for the new Intel Macs?

No. If you need a new computer and the Mac was the right choice for you last week, it's still the right choice. Today's PowerPC Macs are, in my view, the best consumer computers on the market, and Apple plans to roll out additional PowerPC models this year.

Plus, all new software for the Mac will continue to run on PowerPC models for at least a few more years, the likely life of any Mac you buy now. That's because Apple has created a tool for software developers that easily creates "universal" programs capable of being run on either the PowerPC or Intel models.

Now that Apple will be using the same processor as Dell, H-P and other competitors, will people be able to run the Mac operating system on these non-Apple machines?

Unless some hacker does a masterful job, the answer is no. Apple intends to keep its operating system and hardware tied tightly together. The new Intel-based versions of the Mac's OS X operating system will be designed so that they cannot run on non-Apple hardware, and Apple has no plans to license OS X to other PC makers.

Will users be able to install and run Microsoft Windows on the new Intel-based Macs?

Apple's official position is that it won't block the use of Windows on its new machines. Unofficially, however, the company says people won't be able to just buy a copy of Windows XP and install it on an Intel-based Mac. That's because Apple is unlikely to build in all the standard under-the-hood hardware pieces that Windows is designed to mate with. And it won't supply any special software called "drivers" to help Windows use the unique under-the-hood hardware Apple will use.

However, I expect some third-party company to supply the missing drivers and otherwise make it possible to run Windows on an Intel-based Mac. Microsoft itself might even do this. That would allow Mac users to run Windows programs that lack Mac equivalents at speeds comparable to a Windows computer's.

Will Mac prices fall due to the switch to Intel?

There's no way to tell now, but I doubt it. Apple's lower volumes, higher quality and unusual designs will likely keep it out of the very basement of the market.

[ioan]

Intel's dual-core "Yonah" chip could carry PowerBooks beyond 2GHz

A higher-performance, dual-core version of Intel's Pentium M processor due early next year is a likely candidate to boost Apple's PowerBook line of notebook computers beyond the 2GHz milestone.

The chip, code-named "Yonah," is due to begin showing up in Windows-based systems in the first quarter of 2006 -- a few months before Apple is expected to roll-out its first Intel-based Macs.

Initially, dual-core versions of Yonah will be available in four flavors, ranging from 1.66GHz to 2.16GHz, each with a 667MHz front side bus. A single core 1.66GHz version of Yonah is also reportedly in the works.

Yonah will also represent Intel’s transition from 90nm technology to a 65nm process and is expected to become the gemstone of Napa -- the company's dual-core notebook platform and third generation Centrino bundle. However, the chip will be approximately 70% smaller than the original Centrino chip set, requiring significantly less board space.

Another major feature of Yonah is Digital Media Boost, a dual-part update delivering improvements to the chips SSE instructions for multimedia and Floating Point unit. Together, Intel says the updates will improve everything from digital photo manipulation to video editing, gaming, and music.

Yonah will also sport a new shared memory 2MB level 2 cache, dubbed "Smart Cache," which will keep data in close proximity to the processor cores for faster access. This feature is a prime component of Yonah's enhanced power management because it allows a single core to access the chip's entire memory cache when the other core is switched off.

It's believed that 32-bit Yonah chip will also be used in compact Apple desktop design, like the Mac mini

[trivialx]

Γίνεται χαμός στα απανταχού φόρα για αυτόν τον επεξεργαστή ..

Δεν ακούγεται άσχημα για τα νέα φορητά μηλαράκια.

Επίσης the chip will be approximately 70% smaller than the original Centrino chip set, requiring significantly less board space. ...Είναι σαν να λέει είμαι για το powerbook!!!