Intel comes to the Mac in two laptop and desktop...
Melanie McDonald
Back in November of 2005, Forbes magazine online was predicting an “Apple surprise” at the January 2006 MacWorld Expo, the annual gathering of Macintosh geeks, true believers, and IT gurus. The rustle then was that Apple would beat its June 2006 deadline by announcing new Macs with Intel chips the first of the new year.
According to the Forbes story, “The move to Intel microprocessors marks a tectonic shift for Apple. It's been ten years since the company's last microprocessor transition, the PowerPC, which was developed through an alliance of Apple, IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ) and Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ). An early transition to Intel could guarantee Apple a more reliable, cost-effective supply of chips.
“ Also, removing the strict hardware-software ties of the Mac could reach a whole new market of users who want to use either a Mac operating system with an Intel processor or Windows on a Mac machine.” [http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/11/11/apple-macintosh-intel-cx_mr-1114apple.html]
And so it has come to pass.
Since 1994 Apple has used IBM PowerPC processors after partnering with Motorola to use the680x0 processors earlier in the decade. And the current move to Intel, who holds dominant market share for PC processors, had Apple supporters debating what some argue is the “PC’ing of the Macintosh.”
Even before MacWorld, the Apple website (http://www.apple.com) was heralding the entrance of a new laptop, MacBook, and a new iMac with Intel chips.
According to Apple, “Intel Core Duo is the first chip built using Intel’s groundbreaking 65-nanometer process — resulting in transistors so small, you could fit a hundred inside a single human cell. With smaller distances for electrons to travel, and two processors designed to share resources and conserve power, Intel Core Duo achieves higher levels of performance as it uses fewer watts.”
Way back in 2003 computer guru John Dvorak, in PCmag.com predicted the shift to Intel:
“Apple has been concerned about Motorola dragging its heels in the processor wars and failing to achieve clock speeds that are even half of what AMD and Intel are achieving. Apple has attempted to rationalize clock-speed issues, but the company knows that it cannot do this forever. Worse is the feud between Motorola and Apple, which began after Apple suddenly pulled the plug on the license it gave Motorola to clone the Mac.
“ Change is good. Apple has a unique ability to get away with changing processors radically. It has used the 6502, then the 68K, and now the PowerPC. Each transition happened almost flawlessly. On the PC side of the fence, no Z-80 maker survived even the transition to the 8080. Apple has also cultivated a fanatical following, who have long since accepted the fact that Apple eschews long-term backward compatibility. The legacy concept does not hold the power over Apple users that it does in the PC universe.”
The industry scuttlebutt is that the Intel chip and the speed it makes possible in high end Macs can only enhance Apple’s surge in the PC market. But major questions remain in two areas: running existing software with the new chips and the degree to which the transition can provide Mac users with a seamless step further into the PC world without sacrificing those elements that have made the Mac unique for its intuitive interface.
A test and review of the Intel Core Duo Processor in the January 18 issue of MacWorld finds faster than the Power PC models when running native software, but the speed was less than that advertised by Apple. An excellent FAQ on the Intel chips can be found in the January 12 issue of Macworld. A daily review of topics that rise to the top in the MacFixit (macfixit.com) featured articles suggests that would-be purchasers of either of the two new Intel models would be wise to wait for the second generation Intel machines.
As any Macintosh user will recall, significant operating system changes (OS 6, 9, and 10) and certainly segues from one chipmaker to another will create bumps on the user highway even as they make for speed and greater innovation by Apple. As always, the key word seems to be patience, and the key preparation for the change is a bit of research and listening to what those who take the plunge quickly say about their experiences.
McDonald, president and CEO of MacTutor & Services in Southern Pines, is an apple authorized service provider whose business includes technical and networking services as well as system and software tutoring and design consulting. She can be reached at 910.246.2150 or mobbs@pinehurst.net.
