ARM
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Even though Apple has only been using Intel chips on their Mac lineup since 2005, they may be switching to ARM chips sooner rather than later. Why? Bloomberg has reported that Apple's engineers are confident that the ARM chips they use today in their iOS devices will soon be powerful enough to power the entire Mac lineup. Bloomberg was supposedly tipped by three Apple engineers; however, the engineers asked to remain anonymous so that they don’t lose their jobs. If you're unaware, Apple switched to Intel chips from PowerPC ... more
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Waking up is hard to do. Most of us in the modern world don't get enough sleep, and your alarm clock can add insult to injury. I know that my alarm clock gets a fair bit of abuse, and it's likely yours does too. But what if your alarm clock could be a little bit more pleasant? Well, that's the goal of Day Maker. Now, Tim Cook has gone on record saying that toasters and refrigerators don't mix, but if he saw this, I think he'd agree that ... more
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A former Apple intern, now a full-fledged Apple engineer, used the experience of porting the underpinnings of OS X to an ARM architecture as the basis of a paper. Until now, it was under embargo, but some details have emerged. [quote] Initially subject to an embargo, but just recently published, the paper was written as part of a Bachelor degree thesis in 2010 by Tristan Schapp. It details the technical aspects and challenges associated with getting Darwin, which underpins OS X, to work effectively on the ARM architecture.[/quote] Of course, iOS uses ... more
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DigiTimes is reporting that Intel and Microsoft are together again, and that could mean Intel Windows 8 tablets will launch in the $599 to $899 USD price range. Here's the nitty gritty: Intel doesn't want to cut the price of its platform and Microsoft doesn't want to cut the price of a license for Windows. That means that Intel-based Windows 8 tablets won't be able to compete with the iPad on price. That leaves a larger opening for ARM-based Windows 8 tablets and notebooks to take hold: [quote]…if Intel does not ... more
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Imagine being important enough to influence your neighbors' decisions. Intel came right out and told Reuters today that Apple pushes them so hard to be better that they actually influence Intel's road map. It's clearly pretty impressive when you consider the size of both companies. Tom Kilroy, the senior vice president at Intel, came right out and said it, "We work very closely with [Apple] and we're constantly looking down the road at what we can be doing relative to future products. I'd go as far as ... more
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After yesterday’s 3D iPad rumor, another one is spreading throughout the Internet today. Tech-blog SemiAccurate reports that they have heard word from their business insiders telling them that Apple is moving away from Intel processors to full 64-bit ARM processors by 2013. The blog says that this transition is already a closed deal for Apple’s laptop line; the desktop computers might follow after that. Apparently Apple is still waiting for the next generation of processors to be ready, giving the machines the capability of accessing more than 32-bit memory. ... more
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In the past, only the hardcore knew what kind of silicon powered their machines. These days, the processor — especially in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets — is a huge selling point. For the most part, these categories of devices are powered by these processors: Texas Instruments — the OMAP processor, found in Motorola's Droid 2 and Droid X ARM — Apple's "A4" system, Samsung's "Hummingbird" processor, and Qualcomm's "Snapdragon" processor To be clear, ARM is winning. Most of the well-known processor packages — systems on a chip — are ARM-based. Notice that ... more
Gizmos & Gadgets
Though I’m usually not a huge fan of iPad sleeves, there are a few that really stick out from the crowd. One of these sleeves is the Bowden by the folks at FineGrain, a relatively new startup that focuses on iPad sleeves. The Bowden is a sleeve that is handcrafted
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Feature Post
I’ve had a long relationship with Realmac Software, and their applications. The first time I came across one of their products with Little Snapper, which I’m pretty sure showed up in my email because of a MacHeist bundle I had purchased early on in my Mac life. Since then, I’ve
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