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Wednesday, January 04, 2006

The Steve Jobs Show

Continued from page 1

By Daniel Turner
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Others have gathered clues from Intel's product roadmap. The chip maker is due to ship its newest processor, code-named Yonah, in the first quarter of 2006. The company says Yonah will enable a leap in performance and power efficiency for notebook computers. And performance per watt is exactly what Jobs pointed to when he explained the decision to move to Intel last June.

Given glowing (but anonymous) reports from programmers who have access to early developer-only, Intel-based Macs, it seems a strong bet that new Intel-based Mac notebooks will leapfrog the performance of existing models. And some observers hope for Intel-based Mac notebooks to be cheaper than existing models, depending on their specs. Throw in years of pent-up demand for high-performance Mac laptops -- more than a few people who have long dreamt of a PowerBook G5 -- and it means that Intel-based Macs could become the new, sexy king of the hill.

The rumor site AppleInsider.com recently reported that "reliable sources" told the site Apple plans to be one of the first or even the first company to produce laptops based on Yonah. Another Apple rumor site, ThinkSecret.com, however, notes that NEC and Dell have already announced plans for Yonah-based notebooks, with Dell hoping for a February launch.

One potential roadblock in an early Apple launch could be the availability of software. Although Jobs revealed at the developer conference in June that Apple has long had an Intel-based version of the Mac OS X operating system running in back rooms, existing software wouldn't "just work" with the new setup. A similar problem slowed acceptance of Mac OS X -- many users refused to upgrade until their mission-critical software was available in a native version, even though they could run old applications in Mac OS X's "classic" mode, which emulated the old operating system, albeit with a performance hit.

Bare Bones Software, the developer of the professional text and HTML editor BBEdit, has said the move to software that will run natively on Intel-based Macs has been less difficult for them than the move from OS 9 to Mac OS X. But other companies are facing more significant hurdles. Microsoft, for example, will have to not only port over the 30 million lines of code in Microsoft Office, but also adopt a new development environment (a program used by software writers to assemble other programs) before it can even start. Adobe is in a similar bind.

The lack of native versions of professional software, where performance is critical, could slow adoption of Intel-based Power Macs (the Power Mac line of desktops is targeted at pro users, while iMacs are aimed at consumers). But message boards and some rumor sites are looking toward other Intel offerings, such as the 64-bit Merom and Conroe processors, due out later this year, as potential bases for pro Apple desktops.

Media Mac and New Content Deals

Another persistent rumor is that Apple will release some kind of media-center Mac model, perhaps with TiVo-like personal video recorder capabilities, a built-in iPod dock, or streaming iTunes features. Unlike existing Macs, this model would hook into a home stereo or TV, much like a Windows Media Center PC does.
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Comments

  • Waiting for Pro software for Intel Mac?
    Guest (Bob Chandler) on 01/04/2006 at 12:22 PM
    Posts:
    1
    Most professional Mac users (Designers, video producers, etc.) are pretty happy with current G5 Macs. I think the early adopters will be consumer PC switchers. They are already comfortable with Intel and dont need the pro apps. If the price is right, this could be very big for Apple.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Waiting for Pro software for Intel Mac?
    Guest (Bob Chandler) on 01/04/2006 at 12:22 PM
    Posts:
    1
    Most professional Mac users (Designers, video producers, etc.) are pretty happy with current G5 Macs. I think the early adopters will be consumer PC switchers. They are already comfortable with Intel and dont need the pro apps. If the price is right, this could be very big for Apple.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Go AAPL
    Guest (tom barta) on 01/04/2006 at 12:26 PM
    Posts:
    1
    I am a 1981 grad of MIT, and all I can say is &quotgo Steve&quot. Microsoft has ruled the roost with its awful, insecure, inelegant products for way too long. Apples dismaiisal of Jobs in 1984 under John Sculley will rank as one of the worst tech decisions of all time (along with Time Warner acquiring AOL and Palm, Inc. splitting into two warring factions). Apple is FINALLY recovering from that long Steve-less period.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Go AAPL
    Guest (tom barta) on 01/04/2006 at 12:26 PM
    Posts:
    1
    I am a 1981 grad of MIT, and all I can say is &quotgo Steve&quot. Microsoft has ruled the roost with its awful, insecure, inelegant products for way too long. Apples dismaiisal of Jobs in 1984 under John Sculley will rank as one of the worst tech decisions of all time (along with Time Warner acquiring AOL and Palm, Inc. splitting into two warring factions). Apple is FINALLY recovering from that long Steve-less period.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Only Slightly Inaccurate...
    Guest (john halbig) on 01/04/2006 at 7:21 PM
    Posts:
    1
    Actually, current software WILL &quotjust work&quot, much as 68K based programs could run on the newer PPC processors, and most OS 9 based software worked using &quotclassic&quot mode. Rosetta is the code name for this neat trick, and yes, Ive seen it in action. Sure, you get the usual emulation hit, but thats on FASTER processors. Ive seen situations where applications ran more quickly on an Intel based Mac than on the average iMac G5 cranking at 2 Ghz.

    And yes, that includes PhotoShop and MS Office. Theres also the potential for running Windows apps WITHOUT the emulation hit that make current x86 emulators (like Virtual PC)truly horrific to use.

    John....
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: Only Slightly Inaccurate
      Guest (Dan Turner) on 01/04/2006 at 9:14 PM
      Posts:
      1
      John, you are right about Rosetta being transparent (the speed hit is real, according to developers, though it hasnt been quantified). However, no one has been able to confirm yet that Rosetta will support AltiVec the last confirmed specs state OS X on Intel will support, through Rosetta, emulating up to a G3 processor. Theres also the issue of plug ins: If you get a Universal Binary version of Photoshop, for example, whenever thats available, you need to update all your plug ins at the same time. That is, you can run the Intel version of the app, but not with Power PC versions of the plug ins, and vice versa. For professionals, who often rely on customized plug ins for workflow solutions, everyone has to be on board for it to work.

      Thanks for the note!
      Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: Only Slightly Inaccurate
      Guest (Dan Turner) on 01/04/2006 at 9:14 PM
      Posts:
      1
      John, you are right about Rosetta being transparent (the speed hit is real, according to developers, though it hasnt been quantified). However, no one has been able to confirm yet that Rosetta will support AltiVec the last confirmed specs state OS X on Intel will support, through Rosetta, emulating up to a G3 processor. Theres also the issue of plug ins: If you get a Universal Binary version of Photoshop, for example, whenever thats available, you need to update all your plug ins at the same time. That is, you can run the Intel version of the app, but not with Power PC versions of the plug ins, and vice versa. For professionals, who often rely on customized plug ins for workflow solutions, everyone has to be on board for it to work.

      Thanks for the note!
      Rate this comment: 12345
  • Only Slightly Inaccurate...
    Guest (john halbig) on 01/04/2006 at 7:21 PM
    Posts:
    1
    Actually, current software WILL &quotjust work&quot, much as 68K based programs could run on the newer PPC processors, and most OS 9 based software worked using &quotclassic&quot mode. Rosetta is the code name for this neat trick, and yes, Ive seen it in action. Sure, you get the usual emulation hit, but thats on FASTER processors. Ive seen situations where applications ran more quickly on an Intel based Mac than on the average iMac G5 cranking at 2 Ghz.

    And yes, that includes PhotoShop and MS Office. Theres also the potential for running Windows apps WITHOUT the emulation hit that make current x86 emulators (like Virtual PC)truly horrific to use.

    John....
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Hi Def movie store on the way...
    Guest (KenC) on 01/06/2006 at 6:36 AM
    Posts:
    1
    This press release proves it:

    http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=105456

    Thats a press release that Apple has sued Burst. A little company with some key patents on streaming media tech. This means that what Bob Cringely, at PBS, said was true, if Apple wants to open a streaming movie store, it needs to license from Burst, and apparently it has been in negotiation.

    As for streaming movie trailers, FR doesnt show what bitrate theyre using but its clear that they are below DVD quality. If you go to their movie trailer website:

    http://www.apple.com/trailers/

    Youll see they have about 30 HD trailers. This is a much better indication of whether Apple can stream movies. Ive looked and 480p movies will need a streaming rate of 2Mbps. This is doable on a stable moderately quick cable modem. Add some buffering time, perhaps 15mins, while you pop the popcorn, and you should have no trouble with a 480p movie stream.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Hi Def movie store on the way...
    Guest (KenC) on 01/06/2006 at 6:36 AM
    Posts:
    1
    This press release proves it:

    http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=105456

    Thats a press release that Apple has sued Burst. A little company with some key patents on streaming media tech. This means that what Bob Cringely, at PBS, said was true, if Apple wants to open a streaming movie store, it needs to license from Burst, and apparently it has been in negotiation.

    As for streaming movie trailers, FR doesnt show what bitrate theyre using but its clear that they are below DVD quality. If you go to their movie trailer website:

    http://www.apple.com/trailers/

    Youll see they have about 30 HD trailers. This is a much better indication of whether Apple can stream movies. Ive looked and 480p movies will need a streaming rate of 2Mbps. This is doable on a stable moderately quick cable modem. Add some buffering time, perhaps 15mins, while you pop the popcorn, and you should have no trouble with a 480p movie stream.
    Rate this comment: 12345
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