News for Friday, 22 September 2006

We just learnt about the MacBook Pro stock of a French gross reseller. He has no more 2.16 GHz machines. He only has 2 GHz models, and there's a rebate on them.
So if you wish to conclude a renewal is at hand, we don't need to push you in this direction, you said it yourself :)

Apple has released a Security Update 2006-005. It is available via the software update panel or Apple Download website. It concerns all Macs running Mac OS X 10.3.9 or 10.4.7.
This update fixes potential security flaws when using Airport.
For additional information: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798-en
An AirPort Update 2006-001 has been released simultaneously (info):

The AirPort Update 2006-001 improves AirPort reliability on Macintosh computers.

Intel, by releasing Core 2 processors, has taken back the lead in its battle against AMD. On its side, AMD being unable to compete on the performance level, has decreased the price of its CPU, while launching a new initiative, named Torrenza

Through the Torrenza Initiative, the AMD64 computing platform is opened for industry-wide innovation, such as connecting non-AMD accelerators to AMD64 systems via HyperTransport technology links. Torrenza supports a range of integration innovations from interconnections leveraging HyperTransport, to co-processors accessing HyperTransport, to plug-in co-processors that directly harness the speed and communications delivered by HyperTransport.

Within the recent months, AMD has acquired ATI while getting strong partnership with Dell. If AMD can attract significant top tier manufacturers wishing to develop their own CPUs or task-specific processors, it might well be a good point for the Texas-based company in its never-ending battle against Intel. So far there is no rumor of such offer from the Santa-Clara’s giant, only rumors concerns Intel strengthening its position in the 3D GPU market by strongly improving its GPU offer.

As a consequence of the on-going war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, media and burner manufacturers are rather hesitating to take position for one side or the other.
So, 18x burning speed was developed to provide a marketing feature for launching new DVD burner models. Plextor was the first one to release such burner; now all major manufacturers are able to provide such burner.
Media manufacturers have then developed 18x certified DVD media, even though the current good quality 16x media are probably fine too. CMC and Ritek have already announced that production volumes of 18x certified DVD media will be lower than the expected market request, paving the way for significant price difference between 18x and 16x media.
Do not panic, 20x DVD burner is around the corner...

We won't talk any more of Zune daily than we do of the iPod.
Yet according to Microsoft France, Zune won't be available in France before at least one year, whereas it shall be released in other countries by the end of the year.
The reason to that is its ability to share music between players of the same brand, directly via Wi-Fi. This function is really not well seen among Majors.
Notice that Microsoft could deal a very hard blow to their partners by implementing new DRMs. As is done in the iPod/iTunes Store pair, they would be compatible only with the new Microsoft online service, and not with other ones. This might make this player success even more hypothetical.

A new version of Stuffit, one of the most used softwares on the Mac is at last available.
Stuffit 11 is now coded in Universal binaries and brings new functionalities as well as a better integration to OS X.
http://www.stuffit.com

According to The Inquirer, Hector Ruiz, CEO of AMD, declared Apple might install AMD chips in their Mac, if they don't want to be hostages of Intel.
If it is likely that Apple will keep a technological follow-up about AMD, so they can react if there's a problem, it is unlikely we'll see those CPUs in our machines.
After Dell that used to be Intel's favorite, Apple became the brand's flagship. The very aggressive tarif of Intel CPU based Mac is a proof of that.
Moreover, AMD is now a step behind. Apple would have no good reason, that we know of, to change their current strategy.

Ludomac tested a MacPro equipped with a Radeon X1900 XT with very demanding games, Doom 3 and UT 2004.
To sum up, this card proved veru superior to the original 7300, and the gap widened with higher resolutions.
One may still notice that the 7300 outperforms the X1900 XT at low and medium resolutions under UT 2004, probably thanks to a better optimization.
Of course, the MacPro is far beyond every other tested machines.
http://www.ludomac.com/article.php?id=367
[Upd. by kalomir]
Yet this sample doesn't include the 24" iMac as of yet.
Barefeats does
And this looks very promising, the 7600 GT equipped, 2.33 GHz 24" iMac besting the... 3 GHz MacPro with a 7300 at higher resolutions!
And is only 10 frames behind this same machine with a X1900 XT at 1920 x 1200 resolution, under Quake 4. It seems Apple finally made an iMac for gamers.