Monday January 21, 2008

- Additional Information about MacBook Air CPU - Lionel - 21:43:49

During the keynote, Steve was not providing much information concerning the CPU that powers the MacBook Air, despite the fact that Intel reduced CPU size by 60%.

Anandtech obtained some additional information. The CPU would be a Core 2 Duo Merom, featuring a reduced packaging to make it as small as possible.



Both cores (located below the Alu plate) are identical, only the connections and printed circuit around are reduced, as well as pins on the other side.
This CPU is not one of Intel ultra low voltage series, as it is clocked much higher, however its TDP is around 20W, so lower than those located in MacBook at similar speed.
Such packaging was originally planned to be introduced by Intel later in the year, but it seems that Apple and the founder are working well together and that Intel agreed to deliver a special order in advance on its schedule. If both giants keep playing together and collaborate we might get even more surprise in the coming month.

[translation by Linathael]

- PS3 to Become a Digital Recorder - Lionel - 21:03:16

Source : TGdaily

Sony keeps updating its game station PS3 to add additional feature, and make it a more attractive option to its competitors. The company plans to offer in a near future an external USB tuner which will turn the PS3 into a digital recorder (playback or streaming).
If we mention this information, this is of course related to the future update of the Apple TV, and this is an example of a new feature which could be added in order to make Steve's hobby even more attractive.



[translation by Linathael]

- NVidia Is Working on a GF 8800 GT for Previous Generation Mac Pro - Lionel - 21:02:45

As most Mac-dedicated websites, Engadgetreported complains from Mac users about the lack of backward compatibility of the GeForce 8800 GT in previous generation Mac Pro.
When asking NVidia representative, they obtained some information. NVidia is already working on a update kit to make the GF 8800GT compatible with all Mac Pro. It should be available in couple of weeks.
As NVidia is not directly selling products, it will most likely be a new graphic card which will be added to the Apple Store; it should feature a modified BIOS to support all PCI-Express-based Mac Pro version. The price of this update kit remains unknown and will for sure be a topic to follow.

[translation by Linathael]

- How to Install Tiger on a Mac Pro Rev 2 - Lionel - 21:00:23

Many of you have asked us if it is possible to run the new Mac Pro under Tiger. If you ask Apple, they will say it is impossible to install (Tiger), which is correct. The machine will not boot off any MAC OSX 10.4.xx dvd.

Lots of readers have contacted us to explain a workaround. There are in fact two solutions:

- Install OS X 10.4 and all its updates on a hard drive from another machine, then connect it to the Mac Pro Octo, which will now work with the hard drive.
- Start the Mac Pro in Target mode ("T" at boot up) and connect it via firewire to an Intel Mac running Tiger. Perform an installation from the Intel Mac onto a disk of the Mac Pro Octo, including all updates.

In both cases, the Mac Pro Octo will boot up (Tiger) and function normally. It is understood to be possible to clone a disk (on the Mac Pro Rev 2) from a disk that is already "in production" on another machine.

Even if there are no problems, you must remember that Apple have not validated the new Mac Pro running under Tiger. You must take into account that the risks of bugs, crashes and performance problems are greater than normal.

[translation by Jeremy] a new Hardmac Team member]

- Mac OS X 10.5.2 to Bring CD/DVD Sharing - Lionel - 20:58:42

Missing optical drive, the MacBook Air can use remote drives reachable via the wireless network to install applications. If no details were provided regarding the procedure, Babygotmac bring some information.



As reported by Andrew too (a new Hardmac Team member), the future Mac OSX 10.5.2 update will include a new function allowing CD/DVD sharing, which should work on all Macs, as the MacBook Air will need them for external application.
The second published capture is also interesting as it shows that one of the Leopard functions available in the beta and dropped in the gold version is finally back:



It shows that one will be able to backup data on network-connected storage unit, so having a Time Capsule station would not be required.

[translation by Linathael]