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Intel is going to give up the MHz Myth. That’s right. According to a ZDNet article [Link] only moments after demonstrating the Pentium IV @ 3.5 GHz, a “senior Intel Corp. executive” downplayed the achievement “by predicting that computer users will soon care less about processor speed and more about overall performance.”

Paul Otellini said that “Intel is continuing to invest heavily in new technologies, not only designing faster processors, but other enhancements designed to improve computing performance as well… The focus is moving beyond gigahertz.”

Also in a press release [Link]Intel states :

“…Using Hyper-Threading technology, data instructions are “threaded” as parallel streams for processing.

Designed to improve system performance and efficiency, Hyper-Threading technology is expected to be introduced in Intel? Xeon? processors for servers in 2002 and incorporated into a variety of Intel products over the next few years. In addition to increased performance, initial validation tests have shown that Hyper-Threading technology can significantly improve the number of Web transactions and users that Intel-based servers can handle at the same time. The technology also holds promise for increasing the speed and quality of multitasking capabilities for PC, workstation and server users who run unique applications simultaneously.”

Now this doesn’t sound like competition to AltaVec does it?

There are a number of things to consider about this development. First it means that Apple and AMD were right about MHz being a myth and not accurately representing the speed of a computer. While not a confession, it does show that Intel is aware that their processors performance doesn’t match the clock speed.

Secondly it means that Motorola, or IBM (if IBM buys the semiconductor unit) needs to gear up and match Intel with MHz now. The PPC already has the technology that Intel is just developing. If they could concentrate on MHz now, and hit the same processor speeds that Intel currently is at (right now 2GHz) the PPC could potentially catch up.

This by no means is a victory, but it means that the war is far from over.

As a side note, TechTV will be putting the G4 up against the Pentium IV to see which performs better. While not official, it could show how the MHz myth is just that. A Myth.

After numerous articles in recent weeks about the possibility of Apple buying Palm [SF Gate], I though it would be good to take a close look at what the companies could do for each other. I first took a look at the possibility of Apple buying Palm in early July. [Article] Now just weeks later it seems more apparent that Palm and Apple would be a good fit, and that something may be in the works.

Apple would have a lot to gain by buying Palm. Apple was once in the PDA market itself. The famed Newton was not a success as far as sales went, but is still remembered as a PDA that was ahead of its time. And that was years ago, so imagine what Apple would be doing if they never left the PDA market.

The Palm Platform is the largest platform in the PDA market. Not even Microsoft has beat them (yet.) Apple would be able to implement its innovative designs in a market where it already has the lead. Remember what the iMac did for Apple? Imagine what that would be like if it happened with a PDA, that would be an explosion.

Just today a company announced that they have developed a version of Linux that will work with Palm hardware. [AllNetDevices] Now if it is possible to bring Linux to the Palm, why not a modified, simplified version of Darwin and maybe even a Palm-Aqua? Palm OS 5.0 could be a revolutionary new OS if Apple acquired Palm. Apple would ensure that the PDA lived up to it’s hype, it would be an easy to use tool that could do virtually anything needed.

On August 16th Palm bought Be Inc. the makers of ill fated BeOS (which Apple was once trying to buy before it bought NeXt.) [Article] Gaining this would be a substantial gain. It could open a market up to Apple that nobody to date has been able to succeed in, the Internet Appliance market. Many have tried to create Internet Appliances, and all have failed to date. Even Palm has tried to build one, but none of them are cheap and powerful enough for the public to want. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together. The BeOS is a very flexible, powerful, yet simple OS, perfect for an Internet Appliance. Apple has been known for it’s unique trend-setting designs. Now imagine how successful an Internet Appliance could be if it was built by Apple engineers to be cheap and classy, we already know they could build a small cube. An easy to use graphical interface thanks to BeOS, all that would be needed is a mail and web browser client, which I am sure Apple would devise a powerful and easy to use solution for both an email client and a web browser.

So there are many reasons for Apple to buy Palm, it would give them a market that matches their philosophy, it would give them needed technology to develop an Internet Appliance, a product in which the requirements match Apple’s Philosophy. Apple has a lot to gain by buying Palm.

Instead of reporting on a few new developments at Apple as separate articles when they first happened. I thought I would wait a day until after every other member of the media had a chance to give the story, then I would sit down and analyze it as a whole strategy.

On Friday, Apple announced $400 and $500 price cuts on the Titanium PowerBook. [View Press Release] This is after a free CD-RW promo that Apple had going. Even in this tight economy, Apple still believes that these marketing schemes will increase sales of the Titanium.

On Saturday, Apple opened a new store in Woodfield Mall. This is part of a plan by Apple to open 25 stores by the end of 2001. That’s a lot of retail stores in a very short amount of time. Apple believes that these stores will increase their market share from the current 5% (according to the Apple web site)

That is a very expensive and risky strategy for Apple to be playing in a time where companies that were previously thought to be invincible are now bankrupt or in serious trouble. This is a time where companies are scaling back and rethinking their business plans. Apple is taking that chance and truly thinking different. They are ignoring the fact that Gateway has had to shut down some of their retail stores. They are continuing to go along with their plans with the belief that they will be right and will keep ahead of the curve.

Apple has taken a very bold step, but if you really think about it; that is what has kept them in this Microsoft dominated market. It is what started the computer revolution. It is also what Apple is known for. My guess would be that Apple will not gain much in sales as far as the Titanium price cut goes. The Apple Retail Stores I think will improve sales in the long run, but not immediately. And that is provided that Apple doesn’t build more than they need. The retail stores should do exactly what Apple says they will, it will create exposure for their products. The stores are trendy and should help kill bad rumors about Macs, and display them as the classy computers they are. The stores most likely won’t take much sales away from other retailers, but will most likely enhance their sales by making the general public more comfortable with Macs. Right now Macs are “those other computers.” Hopefully in the future they will be “those classy computers in the store that are easy to use and make computing fun.” They should also prove that easy to use products like iTools, iTunes, and iMovie are as easy as they say are. That is the true benefit of the stores, not the direct sales, but more as a big demonstration.

In an article by ZDNet UK they claim that IBM is favored to win the bid for Motorola’s semiconductor unit. But what would be best for Apple?

Apple has suffered a lot as a result of Motorola creating the PPC chips. The low demand has kept prices sky high, and slow development has kept the PPC well below 1Ghz for quite some time now. Granted the PPC is faster in test at the same processor speed (400Mhz G4 vs. 400Mhz Pentium) there is more and more of a Mhz gap as time progresses. But who would be the better owner?

AMD would most likely lower prices dramatically, increase production, and break the Ghz barrier in months. They as any company competing with Intel would, stop at nothing to ensure that PPC chip would continue to compete with the Pentium. Though the bad thing is that while they are believers of the Mhz myth, they may also put to much emphasis on Mhz and not as much on keeping the technology ahead of Intel as IBM may, which could hurt later on.

IBM most likely wouldn’t lower prices as much but would increase production. They would focus more on the technology behind the chip because they would be looking to use it in servers and high end work stations they develop rather than make it a low end chip. It would be in IBM’s best interests to forget about the low end market and work towards competing with the Alpha.

Personally I would like to see either of the companies get the semiconductor unit. Both would provide advantages and disadvantages to Apple. If AMD gets it, there would be more emphasis on the low end market (iMacs) while if IBM gets it, there would be more emphasis on the high end (G4, G5.) I do have to agree with the idea that IBM is more likely to win, although I could live with AMD getting the unit. If Intel were to bid for it, I guess I would just have to cry.

When Apple took over Claris, they did a number of things. They left FileMaker alone, leaving them to do what they have been doing well for quite some time. FileMaker has been a premier database solution for many users for years. While it hasn’t become a serious competitor and mySQL is most likely going to rule in a Mac OS X UNIX Internet, it will most likely hold it’s own for the immediate future. Those who use it love it.

Apple took ClarisWorks and developed it into an awesome product for bundling with the iMacs and selling to schools as an alternative to the pricey Microsoft Office. ClarisWorks was bundled with the Performas, and was used in schools for quite some time, but the transformation to AppleWorks gave it a needed face lift as well as some new features to help it compete. Again, while it won’t rule the market, it should hold it’s own for the immediate future.

What I want to discuss is Claris Home Page. Stopped at version 3.0 and officially discontinued a few months ago, why did Apple stop development of this popular software package? It had a market that nobody today is able to fulfill. Take a look at the competition, there are “cheaper” html editors such as BBEdit and WebDesign, but they only edit HTML, there are WYSIWYG editors available like GoLive and DreamWeaver, but they are very expensive, and for many the features they give are not needed. The most reputable web designers around are not very reliant on editors as they only use them to code things such as tables that are just tedious. Most designers do the majority of work by coding the old fashion way with BBEdit or a similar product. This leaves a large market open. The designers who don’t want a fancy product, but want more than a text editor. This was a market that Claris Home Page dominated. It created tables with ease, and was able to handle image maps, the two things developers like to use an editor for. Granted it was out of date, if Apple would revamp the interface, and allow support for HTML4, CSS as well as XHTML and XML it would be right back in the game. A few small things such as updating the “add quicktime movie” and the ability to connect directly to iDisk via a menu and your all set. Claris Home Page 4 would be able to take back a market that right now is empty. There is no good product in the $100 price range that is anywhere near worth while. You are either paying way to much or paying to little, and getting to little.

Come on Apple, dig up the old source code, and sit down and draft an update. The market for an editor in that range is huge. No real fancy features, just a mean simple editor. Designed with the sole purpose of speeding up web design. That’s all we want.

That’s right, you read the article title right. Apple is now an Emmy winning computer maker. The New York Times reported today that “Apple Computer (news/quote) is getting an unusual customer endorsement today ? an Emmy award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.”

The award is for FireWire (IEEE1394.) Developed in the early 1990’s before Steve Jobs returned to Apple, FireWire is now included on all Macs as well as many rival computers and on millions of digital cameras. The article goes on to quote “In the last year, desktop editing using Apple’s hardware and software has increasingly become the norm in the television industry. “This seemed to be the year that the bloom was on the rose,” said John Leverence, vice president of awards for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which will give the award tonight.”

“FireWire is now in tens of millions of devices, and it’s a real success story,” said Richard Doherty, president of Envisioneering, a consulting firm.

Again Apple has shown that it can develop a standard that is truly flexible and makes even the most demanding experts happy.

Earlier this year Microsoft announced that it would support FireWire over rival USB 2.0. FireWire seems to be the way of the future.

Congratulations to Apple on their Emmy.

It’s been very well publicized that Microsoft has dropped support for Netscape style plugins in the latest release of Internet Explorer, favoring ActiveX. Apple today announced to QuickTime developers how to update their web pages to ensure that all viewers can see the QuickTime content on their web pages.

Previously a movie was inserted into a web page using the following code:

<EMBED src=”sample.mov”width=”160″ height=”144″ autoplay=”true”

CONTROLLER=”false”

PLUGINSPAGE=”http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/”></EMBED>

For now on, it is best to use the following:

<OBJECTCLASSID=”clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B”width=”160″ height=”144″CODEBASE=”http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab”>
<param name=”src” value=”sample.mov”>
<param name=”autoplay” value=”true”>
<param name=”controller” value=”false”>
<embed src=”sample.mov” width=”160″ height=”144″autoplay=”true”
CONTROLLER=”false”
PLUGINSPAGE=”http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/”></EMBED>
</OBJECT>

Some things to remember:

CLASSID must always equal:clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6BCODEBASE must always equal:http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cabPLUGINSPAGE must always equal:http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/For existing sites:

“For existing web pages, it may be sufficient to add such an OBJECT element to the “front door” page of your site. Once the OBJECT element on the “front door” page has caused the user to install the ActiveX control, all subsequent pages with the original EMBED elements will work properly. In cases where you cannot be certain that the “front door” page is always visited, then all your pages should be revised to use these OBJECT elements.”

The new code will work with all users, even Macs and those who didn’t install the update, the old code will not.

Yesterday, Apple released Mac OS 9.2.1, which has been shipping on the new G4 as well as appearing in the Apple Stores. Mac OS 9.2.1 is a whopping 80 MB download, so unless you have a cable modem or better, don’t count on getting this download done on your lunch break. I decided not to mention it until this morning so I can give you a review before you decide if it is worth your time to download, now having played with Mac OS 9.2 for a few hours, I think it is time for me to give my review:

Installing Mac OS 9.2.1 is just like installing any other version of the Mac OS, very easy, takes just a few minutes. Unlike most other updates, you can now do a “custom update” and select which items you want to update, which is a good idea, since it wants to install QuickTime 5.0.1 rather than the current 5.0.2, so if you have 5.0.2, you may want to do custom and deselect QuickTime. Mac OS 9.2.1 doesn’t really add any new functionally. Booting in Mac OS 9.2.1 seems to be a bit quicker, but nothing really noteworthy. I don’t think my stopwatch would really show more than a second or two difference. While not adding much functionality it has fixed lots of problems that I have been experiencing in the past few weeks. For a while, when I put my computer to sleep, then woke it up, like a regular person, it was very slow and ran with a delay until I would reboot. Now there are no more sleep problems. Another great thing is that before when I would boot a carbon application it would stall for a few seconds, then perform like normal. Mac OS 9.2.1 comes with CarbonLib 1.4, which seems very fast. For the first time, I can’t tell what is a Carbon Application and what isn’t. It’s fast and stable now. Overall, even buggy applications that used to crash all the time will not take the OS with it, they will just quit and return you to the finder. I have found this to be a very stable version of the Mac OS, and upon initial findings, maybe even the most stable yet. So I do like running Mac OS 9.2.1 over any previous version, including Mac OS 9.1, because it is fast and stable, but the real change is in Mac OS X.

Classic support in Mac OS X 10.0.4 with Mac OS 9.2.1 installed is amazing. It boots very well, the one thing I have noticed is that the Software Update files in the Extensions Folder and Control Panel, were causing errors on startup, but by removing them I was just fine (they really aren’t needed in Mac OS X.) Classic will now load almost every Mac OS application I have on my hard drive. No joke. I was even running Claris Home Page and Netscape Communicator (which previously didn’t work in Mac OS X.) I was also browsing the web with Netscape Communicator, and it was just as fast as it is in Mac OS 9.2.1. And it never crashed. The only odd thing I noticed was that it had a fine white line around the menus, but it seems purely cosmetic and didn’t cause any problems. I was even running SoftWindows 3.0. What an odd site that was seeing Windows 3.11 running in Mac OS 9.2.1, running in Mac OS X 10.0.4.

Overall I must admit it was very worth the 80 MB download. It fixed lots of small problems that I had using Mac OS 9.1, and gave awesome Mac OS X classic support. If Mac OS X 10.1 provides the needed stability features and speed that it currently lacks, next month I will be saying goodbye to the smiling face I see when I boot my computer and I will say hello to “X.” This is a very worthwhile update and I highly recommend you update your computer. The only negative I can find is the large download. Hopefully Apple will include Mac OS 9.2.1 on the Mac OS X update CD when Mac OS 10.1 is released in a month. But if you have the time, get this update, it will really impress you. Good job Apple, I now expect the same from you next month with Mac OS 10.1.