Apple plans to expand iPhone OS to more platforms
Apple is planning to leverage its work in transforming Mac OS X to work on other devices—most specifically the iPhone—to power “new platforms,” according to a recent job posting. Those platforms will also be powered by “custom silicon,” like Apple’s A4 processor that powers the iPad.
As first discovered by Computerworld, Apple is looking for a full-time engineering manager to oversee “platform bring-up,” with the Core Platform team, part of Apple’s Core OS group. Such a manager would be responsible for low-level architecture, hardware drivers, firmware, and platform security for iPhone OS on “a range of hardware platforms, including iPhone & iPod.” The manager will also coordinate the software team with hardware and custom silicon teams in developing and prototyping new platforms.
Candidates for the position are expected to have experience with kernel, driver, and firmware development for Unix-based systems as well as an understanding of system-on-a-chip design. Experience with ARM-based SoC’s is preferred, of course—that’s the platform currently used in the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as Apple’s Time Capsule base station (among others).
TiPB suggests that Apple should massage iPhone OS to power a future revision of the Apple TV—though it already runs an OS X derivative, so perhaps they are merely suggesting making the UI more iPhone-like and capable of multitouch input. (We still prefer using the Remote iPhone app, however). It would be nice, though, if Apple offered Apple TV apps that let users access other online content like Netflix or Hulu. Computerworld also speculates that Apple may move its custom chips and iPhone OS upward to products like a future MacBook Air, Mac mini, or even a lower-power, ARM-based server.
Regardless of what specific products result from the effort, it only makes sense for Apple to leverage the architecture as widely as possible given the investment the company has made in developing Mac OS X and iPhone OS. When Steve Jobs revealed that Apple was moving to x86 processors after years of using PowerPC, he said that OS X was always intended to be “platform independent.”
Nehalem Mac Pros take 20% performance hit when playing audio
Apple’s latest Mac Pro, jammed with multicore Nehalem-based Xeon processors, is designed to be a computing beast with power to spare for the most demanding tasks. Since the current Mac Pros became available in October of 2009, though, numerous users have reported a glitch, which appears to be related to audio processing, that causes those Xeons to run much hotter than expected. The problem also saps a surprising amount of performance as well.
It turns out that the most recent revisions of the Mac Pro—”Early 2009″ as well as “Late 2009″ models—exhibit very unusual behavior when playing any source of audio. The problem manifests as what has been described as excessive increases in power use and processor core heat when playing songs in iTunes, watching videos via Quicktime, or even when keeping USB or FireWire-based audio interfaces plugged in and active. While hardware monitors only report a small percentage of processor use, it can still cause performance decreases of up to 20 percent for other tasks.
While PC market rebounds, Apple slips into 5th place in US
Early estimates for fourth-quarter PC sales are in, painting a much rosier picture than the past several quarters. Even Dell, which had a significant drop in market share for 2009, managed to turn in a slight increase in unit shipments for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, HP moves into the top spot in the US, while Apple, despite showing an increase in units shipped, moved down to number five. Dell also took a hit worldwide, being bumped from the number two spot by Acer.
In the US, PC shipments were up 25 percent for the quarter, and about 6 percent overall for the entire year. That contrasts sharply with the doom and gloom expected for the year as an effect of the recession, with huge holiday sales preventing the year from ending on a sour note.
Intel’s MacBook Pro update slip: what to expect
Desktop versions of Intel’s next-gen processor architecture have made appearances in the top-end iMac models, but we shouldn’t have a long wait for mobile versions to show up in Apple’s portable line. A sales promotion for Intel retailers offers a chance to win a MacBook Pro featuring a Core i5 processor during the month of January, though such a machine does not currently exist in Apple’s lineup.
Promotional materials sent this week to members of the Intel Retail Edge Program, which gives technical information and sales incentives to retail employees, describes a contest which features 2 MacBook Pros as the top prize. “Pass this month’s trainings for 2 chances to win one of 2 MacBook Pro laptops with the accelerated response of an Intel Core i5 processor,” the promotion reads. The materials were sent to multiple countries—including France, Spain, and the UK—suggesting that the error wasn’t merely a typo.
Rumor: Apple to include new i7-980X in upcoming Mac Pro
Regardless of recent updates to the Mac Pro line, rumors are circulating that Apple could be upgrading its pro line of desktops early next year with faster processors that sport more cores and consume less power. The information was allegedly leaked from Intel, and the new processors (codenamed Gulftown) will reportedly make use of six cores on a 32nm die with 12MB of L3 cache per chip. Currently, Apple’s high-end machine offers only four cores per processor with 8MB of L3 cache.
According to AppleInsider, the i7980X will start at a clock speed of 3.33GHz, which happens to be the clock speed of the fastest quad-core processor you can currently order in a Mac Pro. The i7-980X will supposedly replace the i7-975 in the Extreme tier of Apple’s three-tier system. According to the roadmap, the processor will see a launch in the first quarter of 2010.
Speculation has arisen that Apple may work with Intel to be the first company to use the new processor and, if you ask us, the timing seems right. The speed bumps to the Mac Pro line earlier this month were done quietly, leading us to believe the increase in clock speed is merely a stop-gap before a larger overhaul. A March rollout would certainly put a NAMM release into the realm of possibility. More cores and perhaps Blu-Ray would definitely appeal to the audio/visual crowd too. It seems likely Apple already has samples of the processor and is in the testing process.
The i7-980X would not only mean better performance for consumers, but also lower power consumption, allowing Apple to make further strides toward being a greener company. It would potentially mean smaller machines, less fan noise, and smaller heat sinks due to the lower power consumption and heat output. It seems only likely that the same processors will eventually go into the Xserve line where these same improvements are even more important.
A review of the iMac 27" Core 2 Duo: yep, it’s still an iMac
Though users in general—and Mac users in particular—are quickly moving to a notebook-dominated world, Apple’s iconic iMac remains a strong seller in the desktop market. And for good reason: aside from the obvious portability offered by a notebook, the sleek machine offers more bang for your buck than a mobile, but without any of the ugliness that typically comes with a desktop machine. Apple’s latest iMac offerings continue this trend by refining the cosmetic aspects of the machine and adding just enough new stuff on the inside to make things interesting.
It has been just over two years since Apple last revamped the iMac’s design, and the refinements are largely worth it. The new iMac now comes in three processor flavors and two screen options. The stock processor options are either the 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (the same processor offered in the last-generation iMacs, but with faster configurations) or a 2.66GHz Intel Core i5 (the first quad-core option to come to the iMac), and you can get a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 as a build-to-order option. For the display, the 21″ iMac has now morphed into the 21.5″ (to accommodate a 16:9 aspect ratio), and the high-end option is now 27″.
A second look at the Nvidia Quadro FX 4800 Mac Edition
For anyone who does 3D graphics, the high-end NVIDIA Quadro cards are the shiniest of red bicycles. At the top-end, they’ve got more memory than most gaming cards, but they’ve got a price to match their premium features. At $1799 retail, the Quadro FX 4800 Mac Edition is over $1300 more than the 1GB Geforce GTX 285 and is the only Quadro option available to Mac users. Considering the lack of reviews by 3D professionals who know how to test the card, that’s an expensive leap of faith that a potential customer would have to make. As someone who bought a Quadro FX 5600 for one of my older Mac Pros and Maya, that leap turned out to be quite an expensive letdown. So we thought we’d take another look at the faster Quadro FX 4800 to see if much has changed.
One thing has changed since then: NVIDIA has taken over official support of the Quadro cards and the drivers. Previously, the Quadro was supported by Apple, and while it was obvious NVIDIA had a hand in driver development, it was anyone’s guess as to who was responsible for the lackluster speed. Since the Quadro cards are all about drivers, giving NVIDIA some time to get the Quadro up to speed on the Linux and Windows sides seemed only fair.
Apple Magic Mouse drivers arrive for Windows
So you spent $70 on the Apple Magic Mouse and then you realized it would only work with your Mac. Never fear! Apple last month posted Bluetooth Update 1.0 for Windows, which improves the performance of the Apple Bluetooth devices when running Windows XP and Windows Vista on a Mac computer using Boot Camp. Inside are the goods you need: Magic Mouse drivers for Windows even if you aren’t using Boot Camp.
Apple accused of manipulating NAND flash prices
Industry insiders say that Apple is using ethically dubious means to secure lower prices for NAND flash memory chips, used mainly in its iPod and iPhone devices. The practice is said to artificially deflate flash prices, casing harm to the NAND industry as a whole.
According to The Korea Times, Apple is asking for larger volumes from its suppliers, like Samsung and Hynix, than it actually ends up buying. This causes multiple suppliers to ramp up production in anticipation of large orders, inflating supply and driving prices down. This gets Apple a really great price—padding its healthy margins—but leaves manufacturers with a glut of flash chips.
Hacked Darwin kernel available for 10.6.2 on Atom netbooks
First the 10.6.2 update to Snow Leopard wasn’t compatible with Intel Atom processors. Then it was. Then it wasn’t again when it was finally released to the masses. Fortunately for the netbook-loving Mac OS X fans out there, the OSx86 scene is only too happy to offer a patched version of mach_kernel to enable booting 10.6.2 on netbooks once more.
The kernel is the deep-down part of Mac OS X that generally handles direct communication between the OS and hardware. Speculation swirled that Apple was actively trying to keep Mac OS X from being installed on inexpensive Atom-based netbooks. However, chances are it was more likely a result of optimizations that didn’t take into account Atom processors, since Apple doesn’t use them in any shipping products.
