News for Friday, 10 November 2006

Intel should make official the existence of their 4 core Xeon on next November 12th.
According to their latest information, there should be at least 4 sorts.
- Xeon E5310 1.6 GHz, FSB1066 and 8 Mo L2 cache for $455
- Xeon E5320 1.86 GHz, FSB1066 and 8 Mo L2 cache for $690
- Xeon E5345 2.33 GHz, FSB1333 and 8 Mo L2 cache for $851
- Xeon X5355 2.66 GHz, FSB1333 and 8 Mo L2 cache for $1,172
You'll notice there's no 3 GHz model. Yet given this tariff chart, Apple could propose those CPUs as an option, an for instance an Octo Xeon 2.66 GHz would be barely more expensive than the current 3 GHz model. This machine would be interesting for those using applications that are well optimized for this type of architecture.
Beware though, according to Intel a CPU with 4 Xeon 2.66 GHz dissipates 120W, which is (logically enough) twice as much as a 2.66 GHz dual core Xeon, and still quite more than a 3 GHz model, that dissipates 80W.

Our friends from Kodawarisan draw our attention on an issue: at least some of the iPod shuffle Rev 2 won't fully load, even after many hours on the dock.
If you own one of those iPods, please let us know of your experiences on the dedicated topic.

The well-known application Hardware Monitor has been updated to version 4.0.
In addition to the added support for a large number of new temperature sensors of Intel-based Macs, the new version brings impressive information for Mac Pro owners:
- CPU/cores sensors
- GPU sensors
- drive bay sensors
- FB-DIMM sensors
- etc.
On a Mac Pro you will get more than 30 parameters displayed on a real-time manner. We consider this application as a "must have" if you want to get maximum information from your computer, and its price remains rather low (7€ without VAT).

According to internal sources from 20th Century Fox, the well-known Cinema company could have found an agreement with Apple, allowing the Major to propose part of its movie catalog to consumers via the iTunes Store.
If this information turns to be true, it will significantly increase the current movie offer on iTunes Store, in addition to the ones from Disney and Pixar, both companies being now only one and linked to Steve Jobs too.
Among Fox catalog, one will find the famous Star Wars saga.