Appletell

Apple’s update of the iMac line on Tuesday is really beginning to show the direction that Apple is taking in its computers. Most significantly, Apple seems to be showing signs of preparing its Macs for the world of gaming.

Some evidence of this is the new 3.06GHz processor option for the 24-inch iMac, which is suspicious only because Apple is working the current technology to get 3.06GHz out of something designed to only give 2.8GHz. Another piece of evidence is the GPU, which seems to be a stock nVIDIA 8800M GTS (even though Apple calls it an 8800 GS, but Apple also called Mobility HD 2600 XT parts HD 2600 Pro). This is a very high-end GPU and offers much more power than most Mac users currently need from the iMac.

Implementing the overclocked processor and a high-end nVIDIA GPU in an iMac is a suspicious move for Apple to make. Whether Apple is starting to optimize Macs for gaming using Boot Camp with Windows, or even preparing Mac OS X-based gaming, no one can be sure. Either way, it appears that Apple is taking a step forward towards a future of gaming in its Macs.

Even though we just recently saw a MacBook Pro update, we may be seeing a new quad-core MacBook Pro later in the year. The most recent update only increased the speed of the machine by 1 - 8%. Apple hasn’t commented on whether they will issue a processor update on their high-end laptop, but the upgrade is almost more than likely. Intel just confirmed plans to ship a Core 2 Duo-based quad-core processor later in the year. The processor was developed by Intel for high-end laptops. Intel expects that these processors will perhaps make a laptop into a replacement for desktop systems. The only problem with the possible speed upgrade is that they demand more power, lowering the battery life. Apple may release an upgrade to the MacBook Pros later than the processor ships to accommodate the extra battery power needed. After all, Apple likes to take their time adapting processors to their line, remember Santa Rosa?

Via [9 to 5 Mac]

iPhone developers are signing up, in the masses at a rapid rate. The number simply keeps on growing. Though, how many potential iPhone developers are running on a PowerPC system? A lot, apparently, and Mike Rundle is one of those people. Still on his PowerPC G4, Mike was desperate to get the newly released SDK. After heading over to Apple’s site, signing up, and beginning the download, Mike realized that the SDK is Intel only, or was Intel only. Determined to run the SDK and develop, Mike figured out a way to get the SDK and new developer tools running on his non-Intel, PowerPC processor. Using individual installers, he installed packages one by one, until all of them were installed, essentially bypassing the mass batch installer that Apple launches for the user.

Mike reports that the SDK works fine, that the documentation and instructions are all there, and even the emulator/simulator works, giving full development support on the PowerPC platform. The only problems are a build error within Xcode (reported to be normal) and the possibility of not being able to have your applications digitally signed and certificated by Apple. Mike has written a post describing how to install the SDK, which can be found on 3by9.

[3by9] Via [Ars Technica]

Thanks to a leaked presentation slide belonging to Intel, there is much speculation on the rumor that the iPhone may be destined to switch from its current Samsung-based roots to Intel’s Atom architecture in the near future. However, since Intel’s Atom architecture is only in its first generation, the evidence suggests that the transition will not take place until the second revision of the ultra-mobile Atom platform, code-named “Moorestown,” is released.

This would see the speculated third-generation iPhone pick up Silverthorne’s smaller, and more refined successor sometime in the future (possibly 2009), while the Silverthorne chip itself serves an initial and important role in Apple’s tablet-like extension of the iPod touch platform, frequently referenced as a reincarnation of Apple’s discontinued Newton MessagePad.

Along with many other things, the move to Intel’s Atom architecture will allow Apple to better solidify the codebase of its handheld devices with that of its remaining business segments, mainly its Macintosh computer line and digital media products, such as Apple TV. It will also serve to help Apple form a tighter shield around its intellectual property, preventing information leaking through the press and the Internet as it has many times in the past, given that the company’s disclosures and future product plans will be in the hands of one less partner.

During Intel’s Fall developer forum last year, its executives mentioned an unnamed “Moorestown” processor, describing it vaguely as the “chip the iPhone would have wanted.” Expect the future of the iPhone to be based on Intel’s Atom architecture.

I’m sure that the people at the Macworld Keynote were so enamored by the thinness of the device that they didn’t think about how Apple crammed a full-fledged Core 2 Duo processor in there. Apparently, Apple and Intel partnered together specially to create a 65nm Merom chip that was planned to launch with Intel’s Montevina laptop later this year. Using an 800Mhz FSB and the Intel 965GMS chipset has made it possible for this chip to be reduced 60% in it’s footprint, and uses only 20W compared to the 35W of the older chip. Intel will be launching this chip later this year, and while these chips may not be the fastest things in the world, they will spark a whole new niche of sub-notebook and ultra-mobile computers.

Via [Anandtech]