Windows 7 is due for release on the 22nd October however Apple announced on Monday that the release date of OS [...]]]> This autumn could provide an interesting shake up of the Apple vs. PC debate which has been raging for decades as both Microsoft and Apple unleash their new Operating Systems in to the world.

Windows 7 is due for release on the 22^nd October however Apple announced on Monday that the release date of OS X ‘Snow Leopard’ had been bought forward from early September to Friday 28^th August – the publication date of this column.

After covering the release candidate of Windows 7 some weeks back I will this week attempt to cover the Apple offering.  I don’t own a Mac or the developer version of Snow Leopard and, as such, the overview will be a culmination of what is known by the community so far which, owing to the usual Apple intense secrecy, is relatively little.

It would appear that Apple hasn’t concentrated so much on adding new features to the Operating System than refining the underlying code.  Installing ‘Snow Leopard’ on to a system currently operating ‘Leopard’ for example will immediately free up 6GB worth of disc space.

A great deal of this space has been saved by the OS no longer offering support for the older PowerPC processors and, as such, you will need a more modern Mac utilising an Intel processor to make the switch.  How much of the space saving has come from Apples claim that it has refined 90% of the Leopard code and how much of it is down to the removal of the PowerPC code we don’t know.

The refinements that Apple have made have also resulted in users of the developer preview edition already in circulation reporting a faster installation along with a more speedy start up and shut down sequence.  Apparently the OS also feels my punchy and responsive than previously.

With Snow Leopard, Apple has successfully made the jump to 64-bit computing; a technology that is rapidly becoming standard in both the PC and Mac world.  Practically all the bundled applications have been rewritten to take advantage of a 64-bit processor if available and this can potentially result in some pretty impressive speed increased.   As an example, the 64-bit version of the Safari web browser is claimed to be up to 50% faster than the same 32-bit version.

There are a number of minor improvements which are worthy of mention:

Power – Waking up from sleep mode is twice as fast with an additional speed increase of up to 50% when subsequently searching for a wireless network.  Improved power management also means that if you are sharing files across a network then your computer won’t disconnect all users from your drive when your computer enters sleep mode.

Quicktime – The bundled media player has been updated with a cleaner interface, easier uploads to YouTube and additional features previously only supplied in the paid for professional version.

Finder – This search facility is now responsive and includes an enhanced icon view along with more customisable search options.

Services – The services menu which allows you to make use of a specific service provided by another application installed on your hard disk will now only show you services relevant to the application you are currently using.

Stacks – Dock items that give you fast access to a folder or files are now scrollable so you can easily view all items.  Exposé is also refined so you can just click and hold an application icon in the dock in order to unshuffle all the windows for that application so you can quickly change to another one.

As a final point, it should be noted that the upgrade version of Snow Leopard is priced at just $29.99 (around £20) making it a worthwhile upgrade for all Mac users.  Although Macs are undeniably more expensive to buy and purchase accessories for, this price point looks incredibly appealing compared with the anticipated £70 price point of Windows 7 Home Premium.

After hearing one to many people describe [...]]]> A popular technology at the moment and one that has been heavily advertised in the press is the Intel Centrino standard which is used to provide laptops with an all in one solution consisting of processor, chipset and wireless connection.

After hearing one to many people describe Centrino as a processor I thought it was long time I took a look at exactly what this technology consists of and what it has to offer the average laptop user. The fact people see this technology so simplistically isn’t really too surprising as has been implied in Intel adverts that Centrino is a processor.

Centrino is a combination of the words ‘centre’ and ‘neutrino’ and is simply a marketing term to describe three technologies sold together in the same machine – these include:

- Pentium M Processor – This is a small and light processor that uses a relatively small amount of power which makes it ideal for use in a laptop machine as cooling needs are reduced and battery life is improved. Of course there are many different versions of the Pentium M Processor including just recently a Dual Core variant.

- Intel Chipset – Several chipsets can be provided for the laptop to qualify as a ‘Centrino’ machine. Whichever chipset is chosen will be provided by Intel and be designed to have low power consumption.

- Wireless Network – The specifications for this particular component are changing constantly as wireless networks are evolving very quickly. Suffice to say that an Intel wireless network card is necessary for a laptop to be considered ‘Centrino’

Basically we have established that Centrino is in fact a group of technologies and not just one component and together these do offer the average laptop user a few advantages:

Integrated Wireless Technology:

An essential part of any modern laptop which allows you to connect to either your home network via a wireless connection or a number of Internet ‘hot spots’ around the world. These hotspots can be located in cafes, airport lounges, hotels and many other locations.

Mobile Performance

The Pentium M processor is surprisingly quick; especially the dual core version which has received good reviews in the press just recently. The processor has the ability to combine operations and works to anticipate instructions that will be issued to it in the future based on past behaviour.

Whilst none of the Intel mobile processors are yet 64-bit it should be pointed out that this technology should be covered by Intel in late 2006 which coincidentally is also around the same time as the new 64-bit version of Windows is released.

Good battery life

Because the processor uses such a small amount of energy it requires little cooling and generates only a small amount of heat which will result in improved battery. To conserve power the processor also slows itself down when not required meaning that it is not running at full speed even if you are just writing a Word document.

It should be pointed out that although Intels rivals AMD do have a mobile processor of their own that they haven’t gone down the route of marketing an ‘all-in-one’ solution. Personally I find this quite surprising as Centrino have already gained a huge market share due to the average man in the street now wanting this technology by name due to the extensive advertising.

It’s not often that I give Intel praise but in this instance the three components working together do appear very competent and anybody looking for a new laptop should certainly consider making sure it conforms to the Centrino standard.

Many newcomers to the PC world may well be perplexed by the apparent choice of PC’s that are available to choose from; CD or DVD drive? 20Gb or 30Gb hard disk? However, possibly one of the most confusing issues to arise recently is the new [...]]]>

Many newcomers to the PC world may well be perplexed by the apparent choice of PC’s that are available to choose from; CD or DVD drive? 20Gb or 30Gb hard disk? However, possibly one of the most confusing issues to arise recently is the new choice between different processors that are available, or to be more specific, whether you should go for a AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium 4 Processor.

For those of you unaware, the processor in your PC is really the brains of the machine, it does all the calculations that allow the computer to function and without it, the machine wouldn’t work at all. It is therefore essential that you choose correctly the type of processor you would like your computer to have as a priority over other extras such as a DVD drive or scanner.

The main manufacturer in the processor arena has traditionally been Intel who have held a near monopoly for such a long period that you couldn’t imagine anybody else possibly getting a sizable foothold in the market. Surprisingly however, a company called AMD who have shadowed Intel for many years, mainly making budget versions of their chips although obviously with their own technologies suddenly released a revolutionary processor known as Athlon, which was quick to steal Intels thunder. Because of this, the market for buying a processor has never been better due to massive price cuts made by both manufacturers in order to increase the circulation of their branding of processor.

Therefore, this week I thought I’d do a comparison between the two chips so when walk into a computer showroom, you’ll hopefully be on a better footing to discuss your options with the salesman.

To start with the basics, processor speed generally is measured in Megahertz (Mhz), and is a measure of how many cycles the processor can perform every second. For example a 900Mhz computer can perform 900 million cycles per second therefore determining how fast programs that require a set number of cycles are run at. For your own interest and terminology, 1000Mhz is the same as 1Ghz; a bit like in measurement 1000 metres is equal to 1 Kilometre.