Intel is now pushing it’s dual core technology to ultra thin notebooks as announced this week. The dual core processor are the Celeron 740 and the SU2300 which features a core clock of 1.3 GHz and 1.2 GHz. Both processors also has identical 1MB L2 cache, 10W TDP and 800MHz FSB.

As per announcement:

Intel recently added two dual-core CPUs into its CULV platform targeting entry-level ultra-thin notebooks – the Celeron 740 and SU2300, according to sources at notebook makers.

The Celeron 740 and SU2300 CPUs feature core frequencies of 1.3GHz and 1.2GHz, respectively, while both share the same 1MB L2 cache, 10W TDP and 800MHz FSB.

The dual-core Celeron CPUs expand Intel’s CULV lineup from originally three levels into four – single-core entry-level, dual-core entry-level, single-core performance and dual-core performance.

The sources said single-core and dual-core entry-level CPU-based ultra-thin notebooks will have a chance to drop NT$2,000-3,000 (US$61-91) starting August, while the ASP of single-core Celeron 723-based models will be able to reach market expectations for ultra-thin notebook priced at NT$20,000-22,000.

This is good news as the next step is to bring dual core to the netbooks market. Smaller computers are going to get powerful and hopefully cheaper.

News from Intel adds dual-core Celeron CPUs into ultra-thin notebook lineup. Image from Intel.

Reports say that Intel is planning on trimming the netbooks size to 10.2 inches to the previous 12.1 inches. The netbooks has exploded and are priced below the $600 dollar mark. A little bigger than the netbook are lightweight laptops around the 13.3 inches like the Sony Vaio. At 13.3 inches, laptops skyrocket to 1,500 dollars because the Intel pricing on these computers are different.

Microsoft and Intel are talking about limiting the size, to make sure that users are not getting 13 inch laptops for under $600.

I definitely would welcome $600, 13 inch netbooks. That should solve the small keyboard and screen size.

Image from Lenovo.

Intel has officially announced the end of the road for Conroe 65 nm & Wolfdale 45 nm, both are Xeon based processors in preparation for their Nehalem based chips.

The Xeon based processors in the chopping block are as follows: Xeon 3085, 3075, 3065, X3350, and X3320.

The final shipment for both Conroe and Wolfdale is on January 2010, while final orders would be accepted until October 9, 2009.

Image from Google images.

Several days ago images leaked on the internet claimed to be spy shots of the iMac. This was one of them.

A mock up of the iMac was also created. This was it.

The mock up was a wee bit closer to the real thing.

Finally August 7, 2007 came and Apple released the all new iMac. Thinner and more powerful than the previous generation. Instead of keeping the white plastic theme that has long adorned the iMac, they replaced it with aluminum and glass. Citing reasons that it’s more environment friendly as well as higher quality materials.

Here’s the real thing.

The 17″ model is also gone replaced by an entry level 20″ iMac model. The high-end still sports a 24″ display. Together with the new iMac comes a new keyboard design. It’s also a lot thinner than the previous keyboard and shares the same type of keypad design as the MacBook.

My thoughts on the new iMac? I love design. It’s not perfect but it’s a great design nonetheless. I’ve always loved aluminum as opposed to plastic. I love the new keyboard although my opinion of it is still not set in stone. I’ll need to test it out to form a concrete and definite opinion. I do however love the wireless keyboard more than the wired. I’m not a fan of clutter so anything to minimize it, I love.

The new iMacs comes in 2 sizes with 2 configurations each.

1. 20″ 2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 1GB Ram, 250 GB HD and 128 MB VRAM priced at $1,199
2. 20″ 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 1GB Ram, 320 GB HD and 256 MB VRAM priced at $1,499
3. 24″ 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 1GB Ram, 320 GB HD and 256 MB VRAM priced at $1,799
4. 24″ 2.8 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 2GB Ram, 500 GB HD and 256 MB VRAM priced at $2,299

Check out the iMac section for all the details.

Thinking of getting the new MacBook Pros? Well Macworld has some initial benchmarks showing how it performs against the previous MacBook Pro revision and Macbook.

Most of the results are pretty much what is to be expected. The new ones are faster. Except for the Unreal Tournament 2004 test which the latest Macbook Pro faired poorly against the previous and a Mac Pro, all the other test showed that it flies.

So check out the initial benchmarks and see for yourself if this is the machine for you.

The rumors were right. Apple just announced an update to the MacBook Pro. The updated models now sport a faster 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo. This chip is the Sta. Rosa, featuring an 800 Mhz front side bus. It’s also capable of up to 4GB of PC2-5300 (667 Mhz) DDR2 memory.

Another notable thing is that the 15″ models now come with the new LED-Backlit displays. These are more efficient, environmentally friendly and mercury free displays. The LED-Backlit displays are also instantly bright when you turn it on as opposed to the common LCD displays that need some time to go to the full brightness settings when turned on.

Apple has also improved the graphics card on the MacBook Pros. It now sports 128 and 256 versions of the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT. It’s certainly a step up from the previous graphics card.

2GB Ram also comes standard across the board for all the MacBook Pros.

What do I think of the upgrades? Well they’re certainly enticing. If you’re thinking of an upgrade to a MacBook Pro and you’re coming from a PowerPC Powerbook or iBook, it’s definitely a great upgrade even if you’re coming from the original Core Duo MacBook Pro.

I think the LED-Backlit displays are awesome. The standard 2GB Ram too. It’s a good way of differentiating it from the MacBook line-up. The lines are getting clearer between the two sets of notebooks.

Check out the complete specs here. Read the press release here.

They boys are back in town! Mac and PC are back with two new installments on their “Get A Mac” ad series. The two new ads are titled “Flashback” and “Computer Cart”.

“Flashback” shows us how Mac and PC were waaayy back. The same as they are now, only smaller. I guess it was meant to show that after all these years, the PC is still boring.

“Computer Cart” shows several PCs on a cart. As what happens in real life, PCs are often brought back and forth to the IT department or a technician because it gets all sorts of errors, such as dll errors and the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. This is the truth, honest, I’ve owned my Powerbook for almost 3 years now and I’ve only had a kernel panic once. Once! I haven’t had any major errors (knocks on wood) so far. I’ve only had to reinstall Mac OS X when I upgraded to Tiger from Panther. How awesome is that. When I was on a PC I used to at least reinstall once a year.

While I still find the “Get A Mac” ads funny, their appeal is slowly dwindling. The series is good, maybe even great but I think it is time to think of something different. But before that.. Go watch the ads here and here.

Just in time for Adobe CS3, Apple launches the 8 core Mac Pro. Inside the Mac Pro is Intel’s “Clovertown” chip. A 64 bit quad-core Xeon Processor clocking in at 3Ghz. The 8 core Mac Pro has 2 of these babies inside it. Each processor has an 8MB L2 cache combining for 16MB L2 cache. Other features of the processor are 64 bit data paths and registers, 1.33GHz, 64-bit dual independent frontside buses and 128-bit SSE3 vector engine.

For those who don’t need the monster power that the 8 core Mac Pro provides you can still opt for a pair of 64 bit Dual-Core Intel Xeon “Woodcrest” processors. It comes in 2.0Ghz, 2.66Ghz and 3.0Ghz speeds.

Apple still only has one standard configuration and it’s the 2.66Ghz Quad-Core chip that’s inside it. You can upgrade this to your hearts content with the build-to-order options. According to Apple there’s 33 million different ways you can configure this baby.

Check out the 8 Core Mac Pro here.

I’ve been thinking about getting a new MacBook Pro. Two things stopped me, I don’t have enough money yet and I was debating whether or not it was a good time to buy. I know it’s time for the MBP to get a speed or spec bump but I’ve been wanting to upgrade. Thank God I don’t have enough money now. Otherwise my impulse would have gotten the better of me.

For those who don’t watch Apple everyday like me or for those who don’t really keep track of the release dates, news and rumors, MacRumors has graciously put together a buying guide to aide us in our buying decisions. If you’re in the market for a new Mac, check it out. It might just save you the heartache when you buy a Mac and a few weeks later it has been replaced by a newer model.

Thanks MacRumors! I guess I’ll wait a few more months… Well I have no choice.

Yes, we’ve all heard how the new Intel Macs are screamers. But most of us are still in the PowerPC age. While our Macs still run decently, you can never have too much speed and performance. If you feel that your Mac is slow the best would be to upgrade. If you can’t afford a new computer, upgrade some of its components such as RAM and the Hard drive. However for us who don’t have the money for upgrades or don’t want to spend any more money on a computer that they’ll probably be upgrading in 6 months or so, optimizing your Mac is the best solution. Try and squeeze out as much speed as you can from it.

Ed Eubanks Jr., from Low End Mac has a great article titled “11 Ways to Optimize Your Macs Performance“. This article is not exclusive to PowerPC users. Most Mac users will be able to benefit from this article but probably not all in the same degree.

I’ve done most of these things such as clean my start-up items, shut of all widgets I really don’t need and to a certain extent clean up my hard drive. I also use Onyx from time to time.

So go ahead and read the article and see how much more performance you can get out of your Mac.