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MacIntel Transition Not Much of a Roadblock to Apple Sales
Anecdotal evidence points to AAPL consumer systems selling well.
As avid watchers of Apple's every move we seem to miss the fact that a pending move to the intel processor is a non issue for many consumers who just want a reliable system that is immune to the vast juggernaut of Windoze, virii, malware and above all phishing exploits that can jeopardizes ones bank account.
This is not to say that Apple systems are completely immune to these problems, however the odds are alot better that your identity and credentials will not be stolen. Every high profile mainstream internet computer security article published about windows security issues is helping to drive people to alternatives and I believe Apple is benefiting from this.
Everyone involved in IT Computer Security at the company I work at is running Mac OS X, Linux or BSD Unix.
Altaire4 .... Go AAPL !!!!
OT: Bootz ..... nice model. Do they come with a 32 X Zoom.
AAPL up $1.10 to 39.65 .... will it test $40.00 ?
OT: Thanks Linda, The Joan Osborne St. Theresa cut is amazing !!!
MacIntel Transition and Prosaic substitutes
The MacIntel transition is going to be tough on technical support organizations in the short run.
Between iTunes Discovery Downloads and the Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tapes .... I've rediscovered Music. Heck, It's cheaper than Prosaic.
OT: Altaire4's iMix
My first attempt at an iMix ?
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=387098
Neo Office/J
Blue I've been using Neo Office for work for over a year now an its been very stable for awhile now. The only downside has been that the application takes awhile to launch. The Word and Excel compatability has been very good. Thanks for the Update.
Br, Altaire4
OT: Mixed Tape #7
Shorter link:
http://www.mercedes-benz.com/mixedtape
OT: More Funky and Free Music
Mix Tape # 7
Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
http://www.mercedes-benz.com/mbcom/international/international_website/en/com/international_home/hom...
Enjoy
Holy Intel !!! Steve Jobs
Fi wouldn't it be interesting if sales picked up because the move to intel is considered positive by potential switchers.
Steve O knows what he's doin'.
Altaire4 ... Watch Windows Blue Screen on Your Mac ... Then boot into Mac OS X forever.
AAPL Sales Expectations
I definetly see a bump in the road coming for AAPL.
I'm looking for a new entry point in for the long haul. But I don't think their will be a drastic fall off for consumer systems; Business customers however will likely hold off major purchases until the new intel boxes ship and that is going to impact sales.
Br, Altaire4 ..... Staying Long !!!!
Sony BMG in DRM battle with Apple
By Macworld staff
Sony BMG intends introducing new CDs that implement copy protection technology that locks Windows-using iPod owners out.
The new software will be applied across many of the joint firm's forthcoming releases, the company said.
It's the first major label to bring such technologies to the mainstream. Other majors have resisted the move, stating that such technologies are too easy to defeat, and that they would impact against a consumers right to transfer music to portable devices.
Instead, they have been piling pressure on to Apple to "make its technologies compatible with copy-prevention tools".
However, Sony BMG's implementation means Windows users won't be able to transfer their music to an iPod - though they will be able to transfer music to Windows Media-supporting devices.
Thomas Hesse, president for global digital business at Sony BMG told The New York Times: "It's just a proprietary decision by Apple to decide whether to play along or not.
"We think we need to move this forward. Time is ticking, infringement of intellectual property is happening all over, and we've got to put a stop to it I think."
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11896&Page=1&pagePos=2
OT: I wish that would happen ?
Blue, I don't see either scenario happening. Gdubbya is reshuffling the military deck taking personnel from the European and Pacific theaters to deploy them in Iraq. They are also transferring Air Force and Navy personnel into the infantry.
OT: Holding the leadership accountable
Blue, The Tide will not completely turn until enough voters hold our leadership on both sides of the aisle accountable. Providing of course free an fair elections are conducted. The only unity demonstrated in opposition to the failed policies of the current administratiomn has been from the Black Congessional Caucus. I greatly admire everyone of them. It's good to see some republican's distancing themselves from Gdubbya and his band of thieves, cut-throats and liars and that's being kind.
BR, Altaire4
Sounds like Steve Jobs is making the right move from a technical perspective.
The new version of iTunes will have a direct way to add podcast subscriptions as for other things that remains to be seen.
OT: Power Conditioners
Linda, UPS's shouldn't explode ? It sounds like your getting some seriously overloaded circuits. You definetly need to check with your Electrical Power Utility provider .... they make special heavy duty UPS's to deal with those kinds of Power Surges. Contact that Utility ASAP with the price these utilities charge for Power they should be eager to assist you with that problem.
BR, Altaire4
Hi Paper ....
The World is ready ? The question is ..... Is Steve Jobs ready to do this ?
No surprise here.... But would Steve turn Apple into a software company, more specifically, a competitor of MSFT? is the world ready for this?
Br, Altaire4 ...... Go AAPL !!!
MSFT supporter tells all
A colleague of mine at work who is a die hard MSFT supporter confided in me that MSFT knows its has to do something to curb the amount of defections away from the Windows platform to linux and unix variants in the server an desktop markets. He stated that Microsoft is struggling for its very survival which sounds to me like a bit of a gross exaggeration however it does threaten their dominance in the marketplace. He also sited security as the main problem. A move to the Power PC platform with XBox 360 by MSFT supporters is considered a step in the right direction for security reasons.
I personally believe that Microsoft created so many technically savvy enemies due to its unethical an monopolistic behaviors in its quest to dominate the computer Industry ... will be targeted again on the Power PC platform. This may be another reason why JOBS is leading Apple away from PPC and over to the Intel platform. This is all pure speculation on my part ... I've never believed that this sophisticated wave of viruses and malicious code targeting the windows platform is being generated by young irresponsible Script Kiddies. I've been supporting windows systems now for close to a decade now and frankly many of my colleagues are burnt out.
Apple Mac OS X on the Intel hardware may be coming at just the right time.
Linda, Your welcome .... inquiring investment minds would like to know ?
BR, Altaire4
OT Sorta: Microsoft Agreement with OEM manufacturer's
LJK brought up a very interesting question awhile back that to my knowledge has not been answered yet.
Does Microsoft have a non-compete agreement with the companies to which it sells OSs? Or did it just stay out of the PC hardware market voluntarily in the past?
Steve Jobs and why I'd buy a Freescale G4 Powerbook.
<Speaking aboutSteve Jobs>The guy has a major potential problem on his hands and an entire customer base to try and manipulate in order to avoid that problem.
Jobs does not manipulate as much as he issues out challenges to his base to do great things !!
Jobs the pragmatist is going to turn the manipulation machine on maximum high and do everything in his power to bridge this gap.
Jobs is no longer a brash young Turk who along with Wozniak ignited the Personal Computer revolution out of a garage. Steve is a much wiser an more adept leader who has the audaucity to challenge the current virus and spyware ridden status quo. He knows how this game is played because he has learned from his mistakes as a brash young Turk who lead the charge to bring Personal Computing to the masses.
Which means putting the very best face on PPC he possibly can until it's no longer part of Apple's line ... at which point I think it's likely you'll see him displaying drag race slides in a keynote and trashing the PPC line.
At the time of Jobs high profile P4's vs PowerPC bakeoffs Intel did not have a mobile chip that could power Apple's G4 laptop line-up without major heat issues. Those intel chips where used to power Dell's latitude c600 Notebooks which over 30% required repairs. So the Intel Technology of the time would not have worked for Apple's most popular and highest margin product the Powerbook line. So sticking with the Power PC made technical sense.
So what has changed at Intel ? Improved power management, P4 with Hyper Threading,the Centrino and Xeon lines which clock at lower Hz but delivers great performance.
I still believe that the G4 chip with Mac OS X optimized for Altivec is one the best all around systems for average users because the heat issues an power consumption is manageable. If Apple an Freescale introduced a dual core G4 Powerbook today I'd buy it.
Lang, I'm beginning to think you have a personal axe to grind when it come to Steve Jobs ?
Lang I think your a little confused ?
Since Jobs return, Apple as a company has become much more of a relevant player in the computer industry.
<Insert Bill Gates here>
"Gates said ..."
I'm not picking on you in particular, because lord knows there's enough of it to go around, but at some point, people have GOT to stop offering up Gates quotes as profers of truth. As if, if he says something, it must be true.
There is no truth serum running through Gate's veins. He has spent a lifetime engaging in lies and deception in order to manipulate people for money, for work product, and for customer behavior.
Now thats a little closer to the truth.
What does truth have to do with this industry ....when the biggest player lies, cheats and steals with impunity ? Which equates business with warfare.
The only way a company like Apple competes with that is to be unpredictable and seize every market opportunity you can.
Steve Jobs has done this with iPod/iTunes and he will do it again for mainstream computing.
Prediction:Two years from now .... Apple will be an even bigger player.
Lang, Jobs has been very clear about the markets he wants.
What he doesn't do is give out the particulars on how AAPL will accomplish its goals. The introduction of Videos and Movie trailers to the iTunes Music stores is a very big hint to what is coming.
Many on this board .... including myself under estimated the iPod and iTunes business strategy. Lets learn from our mistakes. Jobs knows what needs to be done to take AAPL to the next level and moving to Intel is a critical part of that plan.
Now if you have any doubts .... I'd sell your shares now .... because I expect that AAPL will become very volaitile over the next six months.
BR, Altaire4
Great post !!
"Often, when we see explosive growth in a particular company, we're really seeing a bandwagon effect in which a large number of customers adopt the product at the same time. Investors often extrapolate that sort of “bandwagon spike” as if it was sustainable growth, where in fact it is often the crescendo of adoption for that particular product.
Steve Jobs understands this situation intimately that is why he drives his people so hard at Apple.
The Switch to Intel has alot to do with Intel's WiMax technology Intel wants to standardize on their new mobo an chipset.
Apple is positioning itself to accomplish with Video what it has accomplished with the Music industry.
Not many companies would be able to handle the transistions Apple has been able to accomplish in the past.
Its for these reasons that I remain bullish on Apple in the long run.
In the short run expect some big bumps along the way.
I'll be looking at these bumps as buying opportunities.
Br, Altaire4
Mac/PC Shuffle
Can you also alternate between loading tunes from either the Mac or PC's iTunes (without any sort of reformatting of the Shuffle)?
Well sorta of. If the PeeCee has iTunes You do get prompted if you want to change the iTunes library link associated with the Shuffle which effectively disables the tunes you have on the shuffle. Their are workarounds that allow you to transfer Tunes between machines but Apple does not support them. You can share your tunes between Mac an PC systems over Ethernet and 802.11 wireless networks though.
Hope this helps.
iPod Shuffle
Do it all the time !!! That's how I support Windoze systems.
(In this regard: does anyone know if you can move files between Mac & Windows PC using an iPod Shuffle's memory stick feature?)
Intel's Breakthrough
By Robert Service July 2005
Moore's Law, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this spring, has been the semiconductor industry's greatest blessing. In 1965, Intel cofounder Gordon Moore projected that the number of transistors on a computer chip would double every two years. At the time, a chip held just a few dozen transistors. Today, Intel's high-end chip contains more than 1.7 billion transistors, and that number is expected to exceed 10 billion by 2012. This steady four-decade march has fueled the modern computer revolution and made Intel into a tech powerhouse.
read more here:
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/07/issue/feature_intel.asp
Baldrick,
The implications of this breakthrough could deliver a whole new class of CPU's capable of tremendous speeds and larger bandwidths.
We also don't know what Intel showed Steve Jobs running in their labs ?
Traditional Silicon CPU's have bumped up against a major speed Ceiling that's why IBM has been unable to deliver the 3 GHZ G5 in quantity and in a Low Power version.
Moore's law, Quicktime 7 and HD Video have alot to do with AAPL's latest move.
Br, Altaire 4
Scientists at Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, Calif., reported on 5 January that they have built an experimental laser out of silicon. In principle, such lasers could allow the integration of electronics and optics in standard-issue silicon chips, rather than in chips made of exotic semiconductors. If that happens, fiber-optic connections, now seen only in long-haul telecommunications networks, could finally come to the lowly PC.
Why is Apple switching to Intel ?
Silicon Photonics may be the answer.
Latest Breakthrough: A Continuous Silicon Laser
In a paper published February 17, 2005 by the prestigious scientific journal Nature, Intel researchers disclosed the development of the first continuous wave all-silicon laser using a physical property called the Raman Effect. They built the experimental device using Intel's existing standard CMOS high-volume manufacturing processes. This is the third silicon photonics paper Intel has published in Nature in the past year, beginning with the modulator breakthrough in February 2004.
In this latest paper, Intel researchers describe how they incorporated a novel diode-like structure (technically called a PIN – P-type/Intrinsic/N-type device) into the silicon cavity laser. This solved the "two photon absorption" problem that caused early versions of the device to only achieve lasing for an infinitesimal fraction of a second before shutting off. Like the first laser developed in 1960, Intel's device uses an external source (a laser) to supply the initial energy. The PIN device combined with the Raman Effect produces a continuous laser beam at a new wavelength.
The breakthrough device could lead to such practical applications as optical amplifiers, lasers, wavelength converters, and new kinds of lossless optical devices. A low-cost all-silicon Raman laser could inspire innovation in the development of new medical, sensor, and spectroscopy devices.
http://www.intel.com/technology/silicon/sp/
Apple should aggresively market the x86 Mac OS version
If AAPL is serious about seizing Market Share they should take it one step further and give away a Free stripped down version of Mac OS X for x86 possibly subsidized by Third party vendors. The paid version should include Rosetta .Mac, iWorks and to seal the deal an assortment of Free Tunes with a discount coupon on a new iPod.
BR, Altaire4
x86 10.4.1 OS already available on the internet
Interesting speculation on an intentional link ?
Remember how Windows became Ubiquitous ?
Altaire4
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.1 for Intel hits piracy sites
Saturday, June 11, 2005 - 12:14 PM EST
"There is nothing at all that prevents the version of Mac OS X that runs on the developer transition machines from running on any PC with compatible components," Jeff Harrell writes for The Shape of Days. "The Intel-based Power Macintoshes that Apple is showing at their developer conference are based on an Intel motherboard, generic Intel graphics and off-the-shelf Pentium 4 CPUs... I estimate that we’re down to a matter of hours before Mac OS X 10.4.1 for Intel hardware is available for download on Internet software piracy sites and peer-to-peer piracy networks. (Update: A reader who for obvious reasons wishes to remain anonymous just demonstrated to me that the software is, in fact, already available on Internet software piracy sites.) If I can think through this stuff, Apple’s management can think through this stuff.
This is the most awe-inspiring stealth marketing move I’ve ever seen."
"According to reports, Apple’s bundled iLife applications, major selling points for the Mac operating system, are already Intel-native and run at full speed... Given Apple’s experiences with software piracy, particularly the rampant software piracy that spread developer builds of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger all over the Internet this past spring, Apple’s management from the top down knows full well that this developer preview will be in the hands of every kid with a cable modem within days of its release. Most of them will be able to install it on their own computers and run it and the full suite of iLife ’05 applications at full speed, and run most existing Mac software in translation. As a result, Apple will give thousands, possibly millions, of people a taste of Mac OS X running full speed on their own PCs. Apple’s giving their potential future customers a free taste, that’s what they’re doing.
It’s a try-before-you-buy deal," Harrell writes.
June 08, 2005
Mac OS X on Intel: Try before you buy?
Item the first: Apple is not staffed entirely by idiots. This is self-evident, and it’s important to what follows. Keep this in mind as we proceed.
Item the second: The Intel-based Power Macintoshes that Apple is showing at their developer conference are based on an Intel motherboard, generic Intel graphics and off-the-shelf Pentium 4 CPUs. This information has just become public in the past few hours. (Comments I made to the contrary yesterday and on Monday were erroneous. The source who fed me that information has been sent to bed without any supper, and says to tell you he’s very sorry and that it won’t happen again.)
Item the third: It’s safe to assume, given the timeframe, that the developer transition kits that Apple will ship within a couple of weeks will be fundamentally similar to, if not outright identical to, the Power Macs on display at the conference.
Item the fourth: The Power Macs on display at the show run a one-off build of Mac OS X 10.4.1 that incorporates the few necessary changes that were required to get the operating system running on the Intel hardware. This build includes Apple’s bundled iLife ’05 suite of applications.
Item the fifth: Because Intel’s LaGrande security technology is not yet incorporated into any shipping products, it’s safe to assume that it’s not present in these transition-kit computers.
Item the sixth: Given items two through five, apart from the constraints introduced by hardware-software interfaces, there is nothing at all that prevents the version of Mac OS X that runs on the developer transition machines from running on any PC with compatible components.
Item the seventh: Because the Intel version of Mac OS X that’s being distributed to developers is a one-off build, future software patches, including all-important security patches, will not install on top of it, making it totally useless to anybody who’s not a developer of Mac software.
Item the eighth: Given items two through seven, I estimate that we’re down to a matter of hours before Mac OS X 10.4.1 for Intel hardware is available for download on Internet software piracy sites and peer-to-peer piracy networks. (Update: A reader who for obvious reasons wishes to remain anonymous just demonstrated to me that the software is, in fact, already available on Internet software piracy sites.)
Item the ninth: If I can think through this stuff, Apple’s management can think through this stuff. See item one.
Item the tenth: This is the most awe-inspiring stealth marketing move I’ve ever seen.
Think about it. Apple releases a developers-only preview release of Mac OS X for Intel. It’s a fully functional release of the operating system, not a beta or prerelease copy. It will work reliably, and it will run the vast majority of existing Mac applications unmodified via the Rosetta translation technology. But because this is a one-off developer release, it’s of very little value to computer owners. Future software updates, like the soon-to-be-released 10.4.2 update, won’t install. Existing Mac software will run, but it will run in translation, which means it will be frustratingly slow. But according to reports, Apple’s bundled iLife applications, major selling points for the Mac operating system, are already Intel-native and run at full speed.
Given Apple’s experiences with software piracy, particularly the rampant software piracy that spread developer builds of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger all over the Internet this past spring, Apple’s management from the top down knows full well that this developer preview will be in the hands of every kid with a cable modem within days of its release. Most of them will be able to install it on their own computers and run it and the full suite of iLife ’05 applications at full speed, and run most existing Mac software in translation.
As a result, Apple will give thousands, possibly millions, of people a taste of Mac OS X running full speed on their own PCs.
Apple’s giving their potential future customers a free taste, that’s what they’re doing. It’s a try-before-you-buy deal.
It’s possible that any one of the ten items above — well, except number one — is wrong either in detail or completely. It’s possible that I’m totally off-base here. But I don’t think so. I think there’s a possibility, a very real possibility, that I’m right about this.
And that thought gives me the chills. In a good way.
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/6012/
64 Bit IBM G5 .... What a missed Opportunity
Now that it has become painfully obvious that the 64 Bit G5 Power PC will never realize its true potential for Apple I find myself extremly satisfied with my decision to opt for the G4 MacMini. The money I saved will be put towards a Mac Intel box .... when they are ready. In the mean time Apple has really done a great job of optimizing Tiger 10.4.x for the G4 an Altivec. How did I ever live without Spotlight ? Great Stuff.
BR, Altaire4
ccriderless ... Stop giving away trade secrets ...
Jobs and Ottelini have been planning on the iRoaster for awhile now.
Ron Popeil has been shilling the idea for a roasting computational appliance for sometime now.
Enter Ottelini and Jobs to make it a reality.
Think about how many meals will be cooked in the comfort of your own home while the wife an kiddies surf the web, check email, play tunes and watch High Definition Movie trailers.
It's all part of the digital life style .... thang.
Or we can wait for the XBox 360 degrees box. I hear their working on a Rotisserri attachment that runs while your playing Halo 3000's Tacticals Nuclear simulation.
BR, Altaire4 ...... 21st Century Modern living for the masses.
Watch out here come AAPL legal !!!! Damn ..... Busted.
Wrong Conclusions and Product Branding
Stealthy, I think Cringely's conclusions are dead wrong.
Jobs came back to Apple inorder to feed his own ego. He wants his legacy -Apple to succeed at all cost. This means using any and all means to accomplish this. He wouldn't sell out too Intel !!!!
Two steps that could make this a complete winning strategy for Apple are:
1. team-up with another PC OEM manufacturer.
2. Brand the Apple Intel line something other than Macintosh.
The Macintosh brand name doesn't work for PC bigots that would like to switch.
Interesting enough the Big Cat names like Panther and Tiger work very well in that market. Even PC bigots would like to put a Tiger in their systems.
Br, Altaire4
Good to see you posting again Tex.
BR, Altaire4
Retrospect: Post from December of 2003
Mass Market Apple Strategy
Apple could mass market to the budget PC consumer and education markets with a more conventional desktop by differing the Brand name. It would have to run windows, linux applications and iTunes (Like Lindows); This would replace the eMac and iBook line. An AMD, intel or IBM processor design could be used which would leverage Darwin, windows and Linux Open source applications. Price this line betwen $299.00 - $699.00 and watch the fur fly.
The second generation G5 Pro Towers should all be marketed to the High-End as Duals and Quads, a G5 flat panel iMac would be a ProSumer prestige middle tier product. The Powerbooks are perfect the way they are, a G5 processor would be nice but would require a redesign to deal with both heat and Power consumption.
The introduction of a new headless mac system (like the cube) priced below the iMac and above the new PC Consumer line would appeal to those who hate the current iMac Design but want a G5 entry Level Mac.
This new strategy would differ the product line in a way that it would not cannabilize G5 sales and give Apple some clout in the market.
Altaire4_2.0 - Mac OS X The Ultimate Upgrade !!!
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=1868369
Windows XP on a Mac ...
Sheesh ..... what we will do for market share and a copy of MS Office.
OT Sorta: GM news
General Motors announces a massive layoff of 25,000 workers. That's about Two Billion dollars that will not find its way into the US consumer driven economy. I'm re-evaluating my stock plays.
Thinking about taking 75% of my assets and investing overseas.
A Few more announcements like this an we could be looking at another US recession.
Staying long with AAPL though ... buying on dips below $35.00 a share.
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=E8A97E37-2A98-4FDC-96CD-BF2BF234CF7E
APPLE needs to move aggressively on this INTEL OS X stuff
Personally I believe APPLE should skip Phase I and II and move to Phase III as fast as possible while Mac OS X, iTunes and iPod still have a lot of tracktion in the market. Develop an Apple Approved standard and cut deals with either HP or maybe a smaller PC competitor like Gateway/eMachines.
An let the fur fly !!!
The impact of Mac OS X on the current market could be huge. If they try for a closed standard this will be met with limited success.
Apple's Core competinency is its Software and Cool Designs.
The PCee is a commodity market the Operating system an iLife are Apples Crown Jewels. Get this stuff into the Mass market ASAP.
Apple hardware Systems should be like Ferrari's. They should Focus more on Laptops. If freescale comes out with a low power Dual Core G4 Apple should get that puppy into a PowerBook ASAP. MacIntel Books just doesn't sound right.
Phase I - OS X on Macintel boxes (manufactured by Apple) only, with hardware lock/key
Phase II - OS X (pre-install only) on Intel boxes (manufactured by Apple-approved vendors and Apple-approved component stacks only), with licensing direct from the manufacturer and with hardware lock/key
Phase III - OS X available via shrink-wrap, advertised for CHRP-qualified machines which carry some sort of "approved by Apple for OS X sticker", and supported by Apple only on those machines, activated via software license rather than hardware lock/key
It's in Phase III when Apple will let OS X loose. No support from Apple outside Apple CHRP approved boxes (on which Apple will get a small license fee), but nothing preventing you from installing it on any machine you want to try ... provided you have paid for it, and are willing to take your chances.
Hey WLD
The lack of mainstream Commercial software to run on the new intel based OS X box is a very good reason why this will not magically appear overnight.
A Short term bump in the road for a longterm gain. Works for me.
Support for Power PC isn't going away anytime soon.
Go AAPL !!!!