This morning I spent time on the Intel campus for the first clip since I went there for a job audience in 1993 . Back then , I packed an Apple laptop computer and wondered if Intel optical maser beams would slide down from the ceiling and knock down my Motorola - power PowerBook into limbo . This metre , I force out my black MacBook to take musical note , knowing that I would be spared from any modern - day equivalent of those ’ XC optical maser electron beam .
But the more things transfer , the more they stay the same . If you ’re cover the mainstream microcomputer market , an Intel silicon chip - announcement event is an orgy of vendors and tidbits . administrator from Dell , HP , and Lenovo come out on screen door to proclaim the virtuousness of Intel ’s new architecture . demonstration system abound from legion microcomputer - Divine . All of Intel ’s key partners are present , beating the brake drum .
Except for — you guessed it — Apple .
Apple may be using Intel ’s chipping in its computers , but that has n’t changed Apple ’s status as a company that but does n’t move with the crowd . Other companies were happy to endorse Intel ’s new chip kinsfolk and explain how they ’d be integrated into forthcoming models . Apple , on the other hand , like to make adult announcement on its own , rather than appear as a side in the crowd at an case that focuses on a company whose name neither start withAnor ends withpple .
In 11 days I fully expect that Steve Jobs will appear on stage at Apple ’s Worldwide Developers Conference and stick in raw Mac ironware that train advantage of the Core 2 distich . And that evenmoreMac system will use the Core 2 Duo in the undermentioned months . But we ’ll all need to wait for Apple to make those announcements .
In the meantime , Intel ’s big party this morning total across as something a bit different for those of us focused on Apple and the Mac . It ’s not the official first appearance of the exciting new Core 2 Duo geological era . Instead , it ’s more of a teaser — a suggestion of what might be coming soon from Apple . It ’s not of necessity the way Intel would care it , but that ’s the way it goes .
Malus pumila matters by , Intel ’s presentation was flashy , if a act unretentive on expert detail . Then again , I do n’t cerebrate this is a spot that Intel can ever win : if the caller pop off too technical , they take a chance boring all the mainstream journalists to demise . If it gets too cheap and glosses over the details , the guys fromMicroprocessor Reportbegin sharpening their Si tongue . Intel erred on the side of showbiz today , leaving the gory detail for one - on - one discussions after the formal session was over .
One odd thing I find about Intel ’s marketing was the heavy tailspin they put on the development of the cyberspace . fundamentally , Intel executives were suggesting that the growth of the adoption of the net by regular mass will require firm computer powered by the Core 2 Duo processor . Although it ’s a very easy picture to paint , I do n’t really grease one’s palms it : there ’s nothing fundamental about the Internet that requires estimator with a speedy young Intel chip shot inside . Rather , it ’s the growth of rich digital media , like in high spirits - definition video , high - resolving digital photos , and ever - ameliorate 3 - five hundred video games that will drive these new , ultra - fast computers . Intel executive mentioned most of that during the presentation , but kept fall down back on chart read the growth of the Internet . It felt very 1999 to me .
In any outcome , the Core 2 Duo wo n’t be tangible for Mac users until it ’s really in announced Apple hardware . But in the interim , the hype is certainly telling : from all accounts , it go like the Core 2 Duo is a major speed find for Intel . ( “ This is not just an incremental change … This is a radical leap , ” said CEO Paul Otellini . ) Intel claim that laptops will run 20 percent quicker while offering similar battery life to current model . Desktops , meanwhile , should be 40 percent faster while using 40 per centum less power .
We ’ll see how the real - world numbers stack up when these chipping get in substantial Mac organisation , but it ’s sure as shooting enticing . And since the Core 2 Duo job includes model for desktops , laptops , and host , it ’s possible that we ’ll see this crisp riddle Apple ’s entire product line — from an as - yet - unpredicted pro desktop Mac to MacBook Pros to the replacement for the xServe .
But that ’s a story for another solar day — the daylight when Apple ’s imprecate good and quick to announce its product . Does August 7 work for you ?
