Friday, December 21, 2007
Exclusive: Apple to adopt Intel's ultra-mobile PC platform
The two firms have been rubbing the sticks ever since the Spring of 2005, when Apple agreed to use Intel's desktop and mobile class processors to further the development of its Mac product line, leaving behind an ailing relationship with PowerPC chip supplier IBM.
In the months that followed, Intel went on to form an internal 'Apple Group' comprised of engineering and sales staff who serve to aid Apple's engineers in Intel-related product development, while pitching to the computer maker new technologies from its own internal skunkwork operations.�
By last March, the two industry heavyweights were admittedly on to something when Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of Team Apple at Intel, told a group of CNet reporters that Apple's way of looking at the world was making Intel "think different" about its own business.
"That's really what's interesting about Apple, is they look at our technology in a very Apple way," she said, adding that when it came to the prospect of future gadgets other than the iPod, her team got "very, very excited."
The pair's first foray into this extended venture appears to have been the Apple TV wireless set-top-box, which employed a down clocked Intel Pentium M "Crofton" chip at its core. But what's on tap next promises to push the envelope in a completely different direction -- ultra-mobile PCs.
People familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider that Apple will soon emerge as one of the largest supporters of Intel's "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform -- the same platform the Santa Clara-based chipmaker has been harping about for the past several months.
More specifically, those same people say, Apple has taken a liking to the upcoming 45-nanometer (nm) "Silverthorne" chip, agreeing to use it in not one but multiple products currently situated on its 2008 calendar year product roadmap.�
Introduced at this year's Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF) with availability slated for early 2008, Silverthorne is aimed specifically at cell phones, ultra-mobile PCs and other MIDs. The chip is expected to be as fast as the second-generation of Pentium M processors, but use only between half a watt and 2 watts of electrical power -- about one tenth as much as a typical notebook chip.
For his part, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini has gone on record in placing the advancements due with Silverthorne in the same light as those delivered by the original Pentium microprocessor way back when.
"The importance of the new Silverthorne chip is only comparable with the 8088 processor or Pentium,� he told the German-language Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a June interview. Otellini added that his firm plans to deploy a whole "product family" of 45 nm Silverthorne chips in the near future aimed at capturing the "top 10 to 20 percent of the cellphone market.�
While those people familiar with Apple's product roadmap did not specify in which products the company planned to utilize the Silverthorne processors, two seemingly apparent contenders appear to be the second-generation 3G iPhone and the much rumored Newton successor / ultra-portable slate computer.
Silverthorne side by side with a penny.
That's because, in addition to its extremely favorable power envelope, Silverthorne can fit onto a scant 74mm by 143mm motherboard -- paving the way for lighter, sleeker industrial designs. What's more, Intel in September announced plans to offer ultra-mobile PC builders such as Apple the option to build WiFi, 3G, and WiMAX technologies into their Menlow-based chip packages, such as Silverthorne.
While embedded support for these features threatens Apple's ongoing relationship with several component makers like South Korea-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) supplier Samsung -- whose chips power both the iPhone and new iPod touch -- it presents several cost- and space-saving opportunities for iPhone-like gadgets going forward.
Speaking at the Spring IDF, Otellini said Silverthorne focuses more on cost-efficiency than any of his company's recent designs, which should help Intel boost margins while simultaneously making ultra-mobile computing more affordable worldwide.�
A Silverthone wafer based on Intel's new 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture.
"Silverthorne is the most cost efficient processor since the 286," he said, wielding a 300mm wafer containing a whopping of 2500 of the 45nm processors. "But it is about 100 times faster."
Otellini promised that the average price of a Silverthorne-based product would be approximately $100, which in itself suggests numerous inexpensive devices for Apple. However, several pricier products are also expected to sport the technology alongside added features.
It remains unclear whether Apple will be ready to divulge details of its own Silverthrone-based products at next month's Macworld Expo, or if those announcements will be reserved until a later date to coincide with general availability of the Intel chip.
Nevertheless, Apple's decision to adopt the Menlow platform further suggests a longer-term strategy that would indeed see the electronics maker step up to that platform's successor, Moorestown, in 2009 or 2010.
Intel shows off iPhone-like concept device running on Moorestown platform | Image courtesy of DailyTech.
At the most recent Fall IDF, Intel executives flaunted an unnamed Moorestown processor, describing it as the 'chip the iPhone would have wanted.' Similar to Silverthorne, the 45nm design bundles an integrated memory controller, video encode/decode engine and graphics processor all on a single SoC.
During an ensuing demonstration, executives whipped out an iPhone-like ultra-mobile PC in apparent homage to Apple, explaining that the Moorestown-based device could run constantly for 24 hours between charges.
NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile wireless carrier, confirmed Wednesday that its president has met with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, presumably over the prospect of launching the iPhone exclusively on its Japanese network.
"It is true that Mr. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. and our president (Masao) Nakamura held a meeting," an NTT DoCoMo spokesman told the Agence France-Presse, declining to reveal the timing or content of the discussions.
Kyodo News in its own report said DoCoMo is Apple's first choice to market the iPhone to Japanese consumers. However, the carrier may be reluctant to accept Apple's demand for a share of subscriber revenue, the news agency added.
The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this week that Jobs met with Nakamura, but that Apple has also been talking to Japan's No. 3 operator, Softbank Corp.
A subsequent report by way of Reuters suggested the iPhone maker was playing the two Japanese carriers off of one another ahead of a deal to launch the iPhone in Japan sometime in 2008.
A new study from MacTech reveals that both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion have their strong points, but that software Mac users should choose depends heavily on Windows and the user's goals -- and that a Mac may outpace a separate PC in a native environment.
The technology magazine notes in its benchmark tests that the older Windows XP operating system runs considerably faster than Vista regardless of the environment, but also that the relative speed of each OS inside a virtual machine can vary widely.
Using a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and a Mac Pro tower as its comparison systems, MacTech finds that Parallels Desktop is generally faster than VMware Fusion in common networking and office tasks when using Windows XP. When switching to Vista, however, Fusion handles the performance hit more gracefully and drops by an average of 32 percent across the three systems versus a steeper 85 percent for Parallels.
Surprisingly, either can be slightly faster than running Windows through the native Boot Camp mode for some of these particular tasks, the publication says. Parallels earns additional recommendations for those who depend on a tight link between Mac OS X and Windows, though VMware's solution may be better for Windows software that depends on multiple cores.
Both have a good selection of virtual appliances and are easy enough to use that selecting a solution can be just a matter of opinion, according to the comparison.
Nonetheless, users who don't need the tie-in between the two operating systems are still better-served by running Windows in Boot Camp, MacTech tells readers. And when compared to a reference Fujitsu notebook running a 1.86GHz Core Duo, even the base MacBook was typically faster, making it more feasible to run Windows directly from the Mac itself.
"It's faster than a PC anyway," MacTech says.
Complete test results, comparison graphs, and further analysis are available at the MacTech site.
Faced with criticism over the implementation of a new desktop organizational feature of its recently-released Leopard operating system, Apple Inc. is reported to be implementing some refinements as part of an upcoming update to the system software.
Mac OS X 10.5.2, due early next year as a free maintenance and security release for Leopard users, will pack a plethora of bug fixes and code corrections, but also include revised version of the system's Stacks feature.
A stack is a Mac OS X Dock item that aims to provide users with fast access to a folder of files. When users click a stack, the files within spring from the Dock in a fan or a grid, depending on the number of items or the preference set by the user.
The feature was conceived as a means of tackling the ever-growing problem faced by users when file downloads and general system usage rapidly results in a cluttering of the Mac OS X desktop. The implementation of the feature, however, was been met with some harsh initial criticism.
"There's just not enough room in a single Dock tile for a stack of icons to convey any meaningful information," wrote ArsTechinca's John Siracusa in his in-depth review of Leopard following its release. "Only the top one, two, maybe three items have any visual impact. And those few items may be misleading (e.g., the home folder appearing to be the Desktop folder) or completely generic (e.g., the Pictures and Movies folders showing up as plain folder icons.) Seriously, Apple, this is a bad idea."
A screenshot of the revised Stacks interface published by Macenstein.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 will reportedly add a missing "list view" to stacks that many pundits argue should have been there from the start. In addition, users will also reportedly be presented with the option to display a stack as a plain pile of files -- as Apple originally intended it -- or as an icon "so you know what you�re looking at."
The first private builds of Mac OS X 10.5.2 began making their way into developer's hands earlier this week. Rumblings around the Web have suggested the software could arrive mid-January, complete with support for a new wave of Mac systems based on Intel's upcoming 45-nanometer Penryn-based processors.
For more on Stacks, please see An Introductory Mac OS X Leopard Review: Meet Your New Desktop and Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Dock 1.6.
New Cable Kits vs Old Cable
Apple formerly sold the headphone-jack iPod AV Cable as a standalone $20 cable or as part of the $99 iPod AV Kit that also included a Dock, power adapter, and remote. Alternatively, third party cables could extract composite video either from the headphone jack or the Dock Connector. With the removal of composite video from the headphone jack of all 2007 iPhones and iPods (a move explained below), Apple now sells two cable packages, both of which use the iPods' Dock Connector:
* Composite AV Cable
* Component AV Cable
The new cables are longer, and rather than providing three short leads that split off for stereo audio and video like the old iPod AV Cable (below, right side), the new cables split in three directions: USB, video, and stereo audio jacks (below, left side). This is an improvement in that it allows the cable to be used in applications where the video jack isn't right next to the audio jacks, such as would be the case if you wanted to plug the video directly into the TV but route the audio into a stereo receiver more than a few inches away. This design also results in a longer and more complex cable. The component version of the new cable kit is identical apart from having three video plugs rather than just the one on the composite cable pictured below.
Each package includes the audio/video cable with an integrated USB connector (above) and a wall adapter for powering the connected device while using it for video output. This is useful because playing video requires enough processing power to drain the battery rapidly. Because the cable plugs into the Dock Connector, it is essential to build USB into the cable because otherwise there'd be no way to charge it while using it for video; the old headphone cable could optionally be used alongside a USB to Dock Connector cable for power.
Both packages are identically priced at $49.00, which is higher than the old headphone-style cable by itself, but seems reasonable given that it includes a power adapter and is a more complex cable. Apple sells an additional package including a remote and dock, also priced at $49. For users who want video output but don't need a dock, this new packaging offers more flexibility than the old package.
In comparison, Microsoft's Zune Home AV kit bundles a remote control and a dock with a USB and video cable and costs $99, just like Apple's old kit. The Zune models do not support higher quality component video output, and the cable kit only works with Microsoft's hard drive players. The flash RAM based Zune 4 and Zune 8 (comparable to the iPod Nano) lack any video output features at all, as noted in the in depth comparison Winter 2007 Buyer�s Guide: Microsoft Zune 8 vs iPod Nano.
Inside the Box: Cable Kit Unpacking
The cable and wall adapter are bundled into hermetically sealed white pouches (below top). The only difference between the two kits is the extraction of different sets of signals from the Dock Connector (below bottom), a difference detailed below. Only the iPhone and Fall 2007 iPods support the new component video. However, the simpler composite version of the cable will also work with both the new iPods and iPhone as well as all earlier iPods with support for video output.
In addition to using the included wall adapter, the cables can also draw power from a computer USB port, and also function as normal USB sync cables.
The cables themselves have a couple of irritating qualities. Like the previous iPod AV Cable, the RCA connectors are strangely long, and only color coded on the back side of the jack. This makes it harder to match up cables to ports hidden on the back of a TV, particularly if things back there are cramped and poorly lit, as is often the case. The new cables also seem thin near the video connectors, especially since the RCA jack has a funneled recession where the wire enters. This feels like a weak link. While I didn't have any problems plugging cables in or yanking the wire out of the connector, a more standard looking reinforced, ruggedized connector would seem to make more sense than the fancy but impractical looking jacks Apple chose to use on this utilitarian cable.
What's Up Dock: an Imagined Controversy
After Apple introduced the video output changes on new iPods this year, but before it delivered the actual cables, there was a spark of a protest over the use of "authentication chips" to regulate which video output accessories the latest iPods would work with. In reality, those fears of "cable lock down" were invented by conjecture and were simply wrong: there is no controlling chip to worry about. As it turns out, the simplest conspiracy theory is not always the most accurate.
The original two generations of iPods -- starting in 2001 -- used a FireWire connector for both charging and syncing, and a standard headphone jack for audio output. In 2003, Apple introduced the third generation iPods with a new "Dock Connector," a 30-pin plug built by JAE that supplied all the pins of a Firewire port, a USB port, and stereo audio input and outputs in one package. It also has pins that supply output power to an accessory, a sense line to identify the accessory that's plugged in, and serial port pins that enable simple devices to provide remote control and display features, such as showing the currently playing track and remotely navigate songs. These features are used in car integration kits and some other devices that interact with the iPods.
The Dock Connector enabled the 3G iPods to work with either type of data cable, which was handy because most PCs lacked FireWire ports, but did have USB. Modern iPods only use FireWire to charge the battery; they lack the electronics to perform a data sync over FireWire, a cost saving measure that seems like a reasonable tradeoff now that all recent Macs have USB 2.0. Apple also left some empty unused pins open, reserved for future uses on new models. When the iPod Photo arrived in 2004 as a high-end version of the 4G "clickwheel" iPod, it featured the first color display on an iPod and new photo features. Additionally, it could also play photo slideshows out to a TV using some previously reserved pins on the Dock connector, or using the iPod AV Cable plugged into the headphone jack.
iPod AV Cable: 2004
The original iPod AV Cable plugged into the iPod Photo's headphone port, but rather than using just three conductors like a typical headphone jack (right, left audio and ground) it used a fourth to provide composite video output. The other end of the cable plugged into a TV using three standard RCA cables: right and left stereo audio and a composite video connector.
This made the iPod AV Cable similar to many camcorder cables, which also package audio and video into a small headphone jack using four conductors. However, Apple's iPod headphone jacks had to remain compatible with standard headphones, so Apple reversed the odd pin order used by camcorder makers to deliver a headphone jack that worked fine with regular headphones, but could also deliver video output when used with the iPod AV Cable. Camcorder cables could be used by simply reversing the order that the RCA connector ends are plugged into on the TV side. This "change" resulted in some minor rumblings about how Apple was trying to put camcorder cables out of business or lock users into its own $20 cable, but were minor in comparison to the latest dustup over Dock Connector cables.
Since the same video signal was also available on the Dock Connector, users could alternatively plug the iPod Photo into a Photo Dock and then plug the iPod AV Cable into the dock's headphone port. That dock, later named the iPod Universal Dock, also supplied a S-Video connector. Essentially, it routed the video signals from the Dock Connector on the iPod out to both the headphone jack and to the S-Video connector (below). This required two different sets of video output signals, carried on different pins of the Dock Connector:
* two pin composite video, which mixes video signals together on one signal pin and uses one ground pin.
* four pin S-Video, which offers higher quality video output because it delivers the TV video signal over two independent channels: luminance (a full resolution monochrome signal), chrominance (additional color information) and two grounds (one for each signal).
On Apple Inc. has been active filing patents for new technologies that could integrate into its product line, including a possible revival of the iPod Hi-Fi, wireless device ordering and lockdowns, and a new network-based anti-piracy scheme.
iPod Boombox
Although Apple was forced by poor sales to pull the iPod Hi-Fi from store shelves in September, a new US patent published on Thursday shows the electronics maker still exploring its own speaker accessories.
Named the iPod Boombox in the patent and in earlier trademarks, the audio system borrows the shape of the now discontinued Hi-Fi but embeds a screen or control system at the front. In screen form, the change would allow the Boombox to play video from a docked iPod as well as sound.
A receiver on the front would also allow remote control alongside volume buttons on the top of the system.
As with most of Apple's patent filings, the company is not under obligation to use the technology even if the patent is later granted.
Apple's iPod Boombox patent drawing (courtesy of MacNN)
Wireless ordering and lockdown system
A second patent published the same day, for a wireless communication system, allows for special transactions to occur when an Apple device comes in contact with wireless networks.
In the new implementation, a handheld or similar hardware automatically identifies itself to the local network, triggering an order to a remote system that queues up and processes requests based on their priority. The technique could be used to notify a device user exactly when coffee is ready at a restaurant or push ads in certain locations, Apple explains in one example.
The description bears some similarity to Apple's Starbucks service, which automatically cues a Starbucks option on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iTunes program when its user is connected to a hotspot run by the coffee shop.
However, the invention may also be used to remotely shut down a device, the company says. In the event the equipment is lost or stolen and either Apple or another organization is aware of the incident, the hardware identifier could be used to warn any unwanted owners or lock the device outright, preventing data theft and encouraging its return.
The patent appears to address concerns raised by large businesses, which have been told to avoid the iPhone by analysts due to the lack of remote administration present on RIM BlackBerries, Palm Treos, and most other work-oriented smartphones.
Code injection anti-piracy system
One of Apple's additional patents revealed on Thursday focuses only on software, according to a report from MacRumors.
Dubbed a Run-Time Code Injection to Perform Checks, the software patent would let a program's developer trigger the installation of new code that approves the use of a program with the user's hardware. If the hardware changes, the code could disable a given copy even after it has been approved elsewhere.
Copy protection could thus be in place without relying on hardware dongles or other local copy protection systems, many of which are largely ineffective, Apple says.
The anti-piracy method can potentially run every time a program is active and appears to vary sharply from Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage, which is usually only invoked upon installing a new program or specific software updates.
Auto-shutdown system for handhelds, Macs
Lastly, an additional patent for a host device shutdown system could aid Apple's reputation for environmental friendliness while aiding users.
Software on both a host computer and a portable device, such as an iMac and an iPod, could be set to automatically sleep or shut down either system when certain conditions are met, such as a full battery. Owners could leave a system running overnight to charge an iPod knowing that it would shut off on its own while also preventing the attached device from continuing to draw unnecessary power.
In the months that followed, Intel went on to form an internal 'Apple Group' comprised of engineering and sales staff who serve to aid Apple's engineers in Intel-related product development, while pitching to the computer maker new technologies from its own internal skunkwork operations.�
By last March, the two industry heavyweights were admittedly on to something when Deborah Conrad, vice president and director of Team Apple at Intel, told a group of CNet reporters that Apple's way of looking at the world was making Intel "think different" about its own business.
"That's really what's interesting about Apple, is they look at our technology in a very Apple way," she said, adding that when it came to the prospect of future gadgets other than the iPod, her team got "very, very excited."
The pair's first foray into this extended venture appears to have been the Apple TV wireless set-top-box, which employed a down clocked Intel Pentium M "Crofton" chip at its core. But what's on tap next promises to push the envelope in a completely different direction -- ultra-mobile PCs.
People familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider that Apple will soon emerge as one of the largest supporters of Intel's "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform -- the same platform the Santa Clara-based chipmaker has been harping about for the past several months.
More specifically, those same people say, Apple has taken a liking to the upcoming 45-nanometer (nm) "Silverthorne" chip, agreeing to use it in not one but multiple products currently situated on its 2008 calendar year product roadmap.�
Introduced at this year's Spring Intel Developer Forum (IDF) with availability slated for early 2008, Silverthorne is aimed specifically at cell phones, ultra-mobile PCs and other MIDs. The chip is expected to be as fast as the second-generation of Pentium M processors, but use only between half a watt and 2 watts of electrical power -- about one tenth as much as a typical notebook chip.
For his part, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini has gone on record in placing the advancements due with Silverthorne in the same light as those delivered by the original Pentium microprocessor way back when.
"The importance of the new Silverthorne chip is only comparable with the 8088 processor or Pentium,� he told the German-language Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a June interview. Otellini added that his firm plans to deploy a whole "product family" of 45 nm Silverthorne chips in the near future aimed at capturing the "top 10 to 20 percent of the cellphone market.�
While those people familiar with Apple's product roadmap did not specify in which products the company planned to utilize the Silverthorne processors, two seemingly apparent contenders appear to be the second-generation 3G iPhone and the much rumored Newton successor / ultra-portable slate computer.
Silverthorne side by side with a penny.
That's because, in addition to its extremely favorable power envelope, Silverthorne can fit onto a scant 74mm by 143mm motherboard -- paving the way for lighter, sleeker industrial designs. What's more, Intel in September announced plans to offer ultra-mobile PC builders such as Apple the option to build WiFi, 3G, and WiMAX technologies into their Menlow-based chip packages, such as Silverthorne.
While embedded support for these features threatens Apple's ongoing relationship with several component makers like South Korea-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) supplier Samsung -- whose chips power both the iPhone and new iPod touch -- it presents several cost- and space-saving opportunities for iPhone-like gadgets going forward.
Speaking at the Spring IDF, Otellini said Silverthorne focuses more on cost-efficiency than any of his company's recent designs, which should help Intel boost margins while simultaneously making ultra-mobile computing more affordable worldwide.�
A Silverthone wafer based on Intel's new 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture.
"Silverthorne is the most cost efficient processor since the 286," he said, wielding a 300mm wafer containing a whopping of 2500 of the 45nm processors. "But it is about 100 times faster."
Otellini promised that the average price of a Silverthorne-based product would be approximately $100, which in itself suggests numerous inexpensive devices for Apple. However, several pricier products are also expected to sport the technology alongside added features.
It remains unclear whether Apple will be ready to divulge details of its own Silverthrone-based products at next month's Macworld Expo, or if those announcements will be reserved until a later date to coincide with general availability of the Intel chip.
Nevertheless, Apple's decision to adopt the Menlow platform further suggests a longer-term strategy that would indeed see the electronics maker step up to that platform's successor, Moorestown, in 2009 or 2010.
Intel shows off iPhone-like concept device running on Moorestown platform | Image courtesy of DailyTech.
At the most recent Fall IDF, Intel executives flaunted an unnamed Moorestown processor, describing it as the 'chip the iPhone would have wanted.' Similar to Silverthorne, the 45nm design bundles an integrated memory controller, video encode/decode engine and graphics processor all on a single SoC.
During an ensuing demonstration, executives whipped out an iPhone-like ultra-mobile PC in apparent homage to Apple, explaining that the Moorestown-based device could run constantly for 24 hours between charges.
"It is true that Mr. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. and our president (Masao) Nakamura held a meeting," an NTT DoCoMo spokesman told the Agence France-Presse, declining to reveal the timing or content of the discussions.
Kyodo News in its own report said DoCoMo is Apple's first choice to market the iPhone to Japanese consumers. However, the carrier may be reluctant to accept Apple's demand for a share of subscriber revenue, the news agency added.
The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier this week that Jobs met with Nakamura, but that Apple has also been talking to Japan's No. 3 operator, Softbank Corp.
A subsequent report by way of Reuters suggested the iPhone maker was playing the two Japanese carriers off of one another ahead of a deal to launch the iPhone in Japan sometime in 2008.
The technology magazine notes in its benchmark tests that the older Windows XP operating system runs considerably faster than Vista regardless of the environment, but also that the relative speed of each OS inside a virtual machine can vary widely.
Using a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and a Mac Pro tower as its comparison systems, MacTech finds that Parallels Desktop is generally faster than VMware Fusion in common networking and office tasks when using Windows XP. When switching to Vista, however, Fusion handles the performance hit more gracefully and drops by an average of 32 percent across the three systems versus a steeper 85 percent for Parallels.
Surprisingly, either can be slightly faster than running Windows through the native Boot Camp mode for some of these particular tasks, the publication says. Parallels earns additional recommendations for those who depend on a tight link between Mac OS X and Windows, though VMware's solution may be better for Windows software that depends on multiple cores.
Both have a good selection of virtual appliances and are easy enough to use that selecting a solution can be just a matter of opinion, according to the comparison.
Nonetheless, users who don't need the tie-in between the two operating systems are still better-served by running Windows in Boot Camp, MacTech tells readers. And when compared to a reference Fujitsu notebook running a 1.86GHz Core Duo, even the base MacBook was typically faster, making it more feasible to run Windows directly from the Mac itself.
"It's faster than a PC anyway," MacTech says.
Complete test results, comparison graphs, and further analysis are available at the MacTech site.
Mac OS X 10.5.2, due early next year as a free maintenance and security release for Leopard users, will pack a plethora of bug fixes and code corrections, but also include revised version of the system's Stacks feature.
A stack is a Mac OS X Dock item that aims to provide users with fast access to a folder of files. When users click a stack, the files within spring from the Dock in a fan or a grid, depending on the number of items or the preference set by the user.
The feature was conceived as a means of tackling the ever-growing problem faced by users when file downloads and general system usage rapidly results in a cluttering of the Mac OS X desktop. The implementation of the feature, however, was been met with some harsh initial criticism.
"There's just not enough room in a single Dock tile for a stack of icons to convey any meaningful information," wrote ArsTechinca's John Siracusa in his in-depth review of Leopard following its release. "Only the top one, two, maybe three items have any visual impact. And those few items may be misleading (e.g., the home folder appearing to be the Desktop folder) or completely generic (e.g., the Pictures and Movies folders showing up as plain folder icons.) Seriously, Apple, this is a bad idea."
A screenshot of the revised Stacks interface published by Macenstein.
Mac OS X 10.5.2 will reportedly add a missing "list view" to stacks that many pundits argue should have been there from the start. In addition, users will also reportedly be presented with the option to display a stack as a plain pile of files -- as Apple originally intended it -- or as an icon "so you know what you�re looking at."
The first private builds of Mac OS X 10.5.2 began making their way into developer's hands earlier this week. Rumblings around the Web have suggested the software could arrive mid-January, complete with support for a new wave of Mac systems based on Intel's upcoming 45-nanometer Penryn-based processors.
For more on Stacks, please see An Introductory Mac OS X Leopard Review: Meet Your New Desktop and Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Dock 1.6.
(Credit: Logitech) 
Apple formerly sold the headphone-jack iPod AV Cable as a standalone $20 cable or as part of the $99 iPod AV Kit that also included a Dock, power adapter, and remote. Alternatively, third party cables could extract composite video either from the headphone jack or the Dock Connector. With the removal of composite video from the headphone jack of all 2007 iPhones and iPods (a move explained below), Apple now sells two cable packages, both of which use the iPods' Dock Connector:
* Composite AV Cable
* Component AV Cable
The new cables are longer, and rather than providing three short leads that split off for stereo audio and video like the old iPod AV Cable (below, right side), the new cables split in three directions: USB, video, and stereo audio jacks (below, left side). This is an improvement in that it allows the cable to be used in applications where the video jack isn't right next to the audio jacks, such as would be the case if you wanted to plug the video directly into the TV but route the audio into a stereo receiver more than a few inches away. This design also results in a longer and more complex cable. The component version of the new cable kit is identical apart from having three video plugs rather than just the one on the composite cable pictured below.
Each package includes the audio/video cable with an integrated USB connector (above) and a wall adapter for powering the connected device while using it for video output. This is useful because playing video requires enough processing power to drain the battery rapidly. Because the cable plugs into the Dock Connector, it is essential to build USB into the cable because otherwise there'd be no way to charge it while using it for video; the old headphone cable could optionally be used alongside a USB to Dock Connector cable for power.
Both packages are identically priced at $49.00, which is higher than the old headphone-style cable by itself, but seems reasonable given that it includes a power adapter and is a more complex cable. Apple sells an additional package including a remote and dock, also priced at $49. For users who want video output but don't need a dock, this new packaging offers more flexibility than the old package.
In comparison, Microsoft's Zune Home AV kit bundles a remote control and a dock with a USB and video cable and costs $99, just like Apple's old kit. The Zune models do not support higher quality component video output, and the cable kit only works with Microsoft's hard drive players. The flash RAM based Zune 4 and Zune 8 (comparable to the iPod Nano) lack any video output features at all, as noted in the in depth comparison Winter 2007 Buyer�s Guide: Microsoft Zune 8 vs iPod Nano.
Inside the Box: Cable Kit Unpacking
The cable and wall adapter are bundled into hermetically sealed white pouches (below top). The only difference between the two kits is the extraction of different sets of signals from the Dock Connector (below bottom), a difference detailed below. Only the iPhone and Fall 2007 iPods support the new component video. However, the simpler composite version of the cable will also work with both the new iPods and iPhone as well as all earlier iPods with support for video output.
In addition to using the included wall adapter, the cables can also draw power from a computer USB port, and also function as normal USB sync cables.
The cables themselves have a couple of irritating qualities. Like the previous iPod AV Cable, the RCA connectors are strangely long, and only color coded on the back side of the jack. This makes it harder to match up cables to ports hidden on the back of a TV, particularly if things back there are cramped and poorly lit, as is often the case. The new cables also seem thin near the video connectors, especially since the RCA jack has a funneled recession where the wire enters. This feels like a weak link. While I didn't have any problems plugging cables in or yanking the wire out of the connector, a more standard looking reinforced, ruggedized connector would seem to make more sense than the fancy but impractical looking jacks Apple chose to use on this utilitarian cable.
What's Up Dock: an Imagined Controversy
After Apple introduced the video output changes on new iPods this year, but before it delivered the actual cables, there was a spark of a protest over the use of "authentication chips" to regulate which video output accessories the latest iPods would work with. In reality, those fears of "cable lock down" were invented by conjecture and were simply wrong: there is no controlling chip to worry about. As it turns out, the simplest conspiracy theory is not always the most accurate.
The original two generations of iPods -- starting in 2001 -- used a FireWire connector for both charging and syncing, and a standard headphone jack for audio output. In 2003, Apple introduced the third generation iPods with a new "Dock Connector," a 30-pin plug built by JAE that supplied all the pins of a Firewire port, a USB port, and stereo audio input and outputs in one package. It also has pins that supply output power to an accessory, a sense line to identify the accessory that's plugged in, and serial port pins that enable simple devices to provide remote control and display features, such as showing the currently playing track and remotely navigate songs. These features are used in car integration kits and some other devices that interact with the iPods.
The Dock Connector enabled the 3G iPods to work with either type of data cable, which was handy because most PCs lacked FireWire ports, but did have USB. Modern iPods only use FireWire to charge the battery; they lack the electronics to perform a data sync over FireWire, a cost saving measure that seems like a reasonable tradeoff now that all recent Macs have USB 2.0. Apple also left some empty unused pins open, reserved for future uses on new models. When the iPod Photo arrived in 2004 as a high-end version of the 4G "clickwheel" iPod, it featured the first color display on an iPod and new photo features. Additionally, it could also play photo slideshows out to a TV using some previously reserved pins on the Dock connector, or using the iPod AV Cable plugged into the headphone jack.
iPod AV Cable: 2004
The original iPod AV Cable plugged into the iPod Photo's headphone port, but rather than using just three conductors like a typical headphone jack (right, left audio and ground) it used a fourth to provide composite video output. The other end of the cable plugged into a TV using three standard RCA cables: right and left stereo audio and a composite video connector.
This made the iPod AV Cable similar to many camcorder cables, which also package audio and video into a small headphone jack using four conductors. However, Apple's iPod headphone jacks had to remain compatible with standard headphones, so Apple reversed the odd pin order used by camcorder makers to deliver a headphone jack that worked fine with regular headphones, but could also deliver video output when used with the iPod AV Cable. Camcorder cables could be used by simply reversing the order that the RCA connector ends are plugged into on the TV side. This "change" resulted in some minor rumblings about how Apple was trying to put camcorder cables out of business or lock users into its own $20 cable, but were minor in comparison to the latest dustup over Dock Connector cables.
Since the same video signal was also available on the Dock Connector, users could alternatively plug the iPod Photo into a Photo Dock and then plug the iPod AV Cable into the dock's headphone port. That dock, later named the iPod Universal Dock, also supplied a S-Video connector. Essentially, it routed the video signals from the Dock Connector on the iPod out to both the headphone jack and to the S-Video connector (below). This required two different sets of video output signals, carried on different pins of the Dock Connector:
* two pin composite video, which mixes video signals together on one signal pin and uses one ground pin.
* four pin S-Video, which offers higher quality video output because it delivers the TV video signal over two independent channels: luminance (a full resolution monochrome signal), chrominance (additional color information) and two grounds (one for each signal).
On
iPod Boombox
Although Apple was forced by poor sales to pull the iPod Hi-Fi from store shelves in September, a new US patent published on Thursday shows the electronics maker still exploring its own speaker accessories.
Named the iPod Boombox in the patent and in earlier trademarks, the audio system borrows the shape of the now discontinued Hi-Fi but embeds a screen or control system at the front. In screen form, the change would allow the Boombox to play video from a docked iPod as well as sound.
A receiver on the front would also allow remote control alongside volume buttons on the top of the system.
As with most of Apple's patent filings, the company is not under obligation to use the technology even if the patent is later granted.
Apple's iPod Boombox patent drawing (courtesy of MacNN)
Wireless ordering and lockdown system
A second patent published the same day, for a wireless communication system, allows for special transactions to occur when an Apple device comes in contact with wireless networks.
In the new implementation, a handheld or similar hardware automatically identifies itself to the local network, triggering an order to a remote system that queues up and processes requests based on their priority. The technique could be used to notify a device user exactly when coffee is ready at a restaurant or push ads in certain locations, Apple explains in one example.
The description bears some similarity to Apple's Starbucks service, which automatically cues a Starbucks option on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iTunes program when its user is connected to a hotspot run by the coffee shop.
However, the invention may also be used to remotely shut down a device, the company says. In the event the equipment is lost or stolen and either Apple or another organization is aware of the incident, the hardware identifier could be used to warn any unwanted owners or lock the device outright, preventing data theft and encouraging its return.
The patent appears to address concerns raised by large businesses, which have been told to avoid the iPhone by analysts due to the lack of remote administration present on RIM BlackBerries, Palm Treos, and most other work-oriented smartphones.
Code injection anti-piracy system
One of Apple's additional patents revealed on Thursday focuses only on software, according to a report from MacRumors.
Dubbed a Run-Time Code Injection to Perform Checks, the software patent would let a program's developer trigger the installation of new code that approves the use of a program with the user's hardware. If the hardware changes, the code could disable a given copy even after it has been approved elsewhere.
Copy protection could thus be in place without relying on hardware dongles or other local copy protection systems, many of which are largely ineffective, Apple says.
The anti-piracy method can potentially run every time a program is active and appears to vary sharply from Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage, which is usually only invoked upon installing a new program or specific software updates.
Auto-shutdown system for handhelds, Macs
Lastly, an additional patent for a host device shutdown system could aid Apple's reputation for environmental friendliness while aiding users.
Software on both a host computer and a portable device, such as an iMac and an iPod, could be set to automatically sleep or shut down either system when certain conditions are met, such as a full battery. Owners could leave a system running overnight to charge an iPod knowing that it would shut off on its own while also preventing the attached device from continuing to draw unnecessary power.
