News for Wednesday, 11 April 2007

Last November, we were reporting about the on-going issue faced by many iMac 24" owners unable to run WinOS via BootCamp. Despite numerous trials and SMC upgrade, it was impossible to use Windows on some iMac 24" despite Apple's claims. Hereafter is the story of Will, one of our readers, who was the unfortunate owner of a BootCamp-incompatible iMac 24".

Here is my recollection of my 24" as I remember them.
I bought my 24" iMac the day it was released (Sep 15, 2006). I spec'ed it out with the following equipments:
2.13 GHz Intel Core2Duo
2gb ram
7600GT graphics
BT Keyboard and Mouse
As soon as it was delivered I reformatted the drive and reinstalled OSX. Afterwards I downloaded and installed BootCamp. Rebooted and installed Windows XP pro without any issues. I then noticed about 6 dead pixels, defective ram, and a screen hum related to the brightness of the screen. So apple care set me up with a replacement computer. I boxed up my original iMac and sent it back. On October 2nd I received iMac #2. I went through my ritual for new computers and wiped the drive and installed the OS from scratch. I installed boot camp and rebooted. This time I got no video from the internal display. After lots of troubleshooting I hooked up my 19" Samsung. After the restart I was able to get into the Windows XP setup via the external monitor only. I finally got windows installed via the external display and decided to poke around. I saw that the windows nVidia drives "saw" the internal monitor but had it set to 640 x 480. I tried to change it to the screens native resolutions but it kept switching back to 640x480. The internal screen was on and getting power because the backlight was on. I could even control the screen brightness via the BootCamp display tool in the system tray. I was defeated. I tried different install CD's. I tried slipstreaming the most up to date nVidia drivers into the Windows install CD. Nothing worked. New versions of boot camp came and went and nothing helped. So during this time the other constant issue I was having, was the screen humming when dimmed. So I packed it up and brought it to the apple store in Woodcliff lake NJ (Tices). The machine was slated to have the LCD replaced. While the genius wrote up the paper work I told him about the BSOD when booting to windows. He became interested and said he would try to get the logic board replaced during the repair. Three days later I picked up the machine. With a new logic board. I got home and I was able to boot right into windows without even having to redo my BootCamp installation. On a side note the iMac still hums.
That’s my story.
Thanks for all your help.

This report demonstrates clearly that the current issue of some iMac 24" with running BootCamp is indeed hardware-based, and not entirely due to any firmware or software compatibility problem.
If one can not determine if the Apple tech only changed the logic board and not other components, the fact that Will could immediately launch BootCamp from scratch without having to repeat the procedure proves that the original software/application installation was fully functional, and only a hardware-related issue was preventing Windows to be displayed on the internal LCD.
So, if you are among the unfortunate iMac24" owners unable to run WinOS on your iMac24” as advertised by Apple, just write a polite letter to the Apple Support and/or Consumer Satisfaction Service for having the problem fixed, or at least the logic board to be exchanged.

Four months ago, we reported about a flaw identified in the digital rights management system (DRM) developed to protect video contents on HD-DVD and Blu-ray.
A DVD security group composed on different companies that developed the Advanced Access Content System, announced yesterday that they found a fix to the current flaw. The AACS LA reports to be working with device makers (Toshiba, Sony, etc.) to deactivate those publicly released keys and refresh them with a new set.
Unlike with the CSS for protecting the DVD, the AACS can be updated when a key is hacked or bypassed, so this protection can be modified at will, or as soon as a breach is identified.
If for standalone HD video players it will be difficult to routinely update the firmware, for HD-DVD or BD player drive found in computers, a play-back software is required and one can force users to upgrade their drives with the last firmware, or via automatic software updates. Corel corp. has already announced that the new HD video DVDs will include updated keys and instructions for older versions of the PC-playback software not to play discs until the software patch has been installed.

Sony offers to replace the default 40GB 2.5" HD in the Vaio G by an optional 32GB SSD (1.8").

By changing the HD to a flash memory-based storage unit, the battery lifetime is 30 minutes longer, and the notebook 50g lighter. Of course, such gains have a price: US$300.
This notebook might be the example of the future Apple subnotebook, with its 12,1" display, its Core Solo ULV (but C2D ULV have just been released by Intel), a digital print reader, and its overall weight of 850g thanks to its carbon fiber-based case.

Our friend Rob ART from Barefeats has tested two Mac Pro models, one being powered by a Dual Core Xeon while the second one is the recently released flagship equipped with Quad Core Xeon (both being clocked at 3.0GHz). Results obtained by Rob confirmed our test published about 2 months ago with a Mac Pro powered by Quad Core Xeon X5355 clocked at 2.66GHz.
In summary, if the 8 cores powered Mac Pro is faster, it is only marginal, as illustrated by the test with Aperture and Photoshop CS3, and the performance gain does not really justify the purchase of the new Mac Pro flagship.
If the raw power provided by the Quad Core Xeon is not fully used, this is mostly due to a hardware and software bottleneck. Among them, the memory bandwidth is not large enough, and with the current the architecture, CPU must go through the motherboard FSB to communicate, a process that massively slow the efficiency of core. In 2008, with the future architecture, Intel will use a Hypertansport-like technology, allowing core to directly communicate between each other; a technology already used in the Dual Core G5...
Direct link to Barefeats article: http://www.barefeats.com/octopro1.html

One of our readers (thanks Cheerful) noticed a recent Technote released by Apple and concerning memory and hard drive options for the 8 Cores Mac Pro. Some parts are compatible with both 4 and 8 Cores Mac Pro, while others are reported to be only compatible with the 4 Cores Mac Pro:

Apple kits compatible with all Mac Pro computers (quad-core and 8-core)
Part Number and description
MA985, 1GB 667MHz DDR2 FB DIMM ECC - 2x512MB
MA986, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 FB DIMM ECC - 2x1GB
MA987, 4GB 667MHz DDR2 FB DIMM ECC - 2x2GB
MA988, 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive for Mac pro
MA989, 750GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive for Mac pro
Apple kits compatible only with quad-core Mac Pro computers
Part Number and description
MA684, 1GB 667MHz DDR2 FB DIMM ECC - 2x512MB
MA685, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 FB DIMM ECC - 2x1GB
MA833, 4GB 667MHz DDR2 FB DIMM ECC - 2x2GB
MA690, 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive for Mac pro
MA851, 750GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive for Mac pro

It really looks weird and unexpected as specifications for both memory and hard drive options are identical for the 4 and 8 Cores Mac Pro models. The only explanation we can find is linked to the requirement to better manage the temperature inside the case, so in the 8 Cores Mac Pro, Apple might have improved both the cooling system of the RAM modules and the heat released by the HD.
We really hope that those different part numbers are there only to preserve the relative silent working status of the new Mac Pro, and that Apple is not back to the dark age with exotic specifications for each standard components found in hardware models.