Intel Nehalem details; Apple phone recycling; Hymn shut down
Extra details and benchmarks have surfaced for Nehalem, Intel's successor to the Xeon processor found in the Mac Pro. Meanwhile, Apple has launched cellphone and iPod recycling programs, and is forcing the Hymn DRM-stripping project to shut down. The electronics maker may also face legal roadblocks for the iPhone in Australia.
Intel Nehalem's early details, performance revealed
An unintentional leak (PDF) by Sun Microsystems on its public website has slipped details about Intel's Nehalem processor platform.
Portrayed as a direct successor to Harpertown -- Intel's nickname for the processor platform found in today's Mac Pro, Xserve, and other workstations or servers -- Nehalem is already known to offer a new point-to-point bus design (similar to the HyperTransport found in the PowerMac G5) as well as an on-chip memory controller and hyperthreading, which allows multiple instruction threads on one processor. However, the platform is now known to have three-channel DDR3 memory that should eliminate the bottlenecks for the current dual-channel Harpertown design.
Early benchmarks provided by Sun also suggest that Nehalem will double the floating-point math of the fastest Xeon available today, the 3.2GHz Xeon X5482. Simpler integer math will also jump in speed by more than 40 percent.
Nehalem is due at the end of 2008 and should be accompanied by Dunnington, a six-core Xeon design that replaces the ultra high-end Tigerton platform unused in any current Apple product.
Apple kicks off cellphone, iPod recycling plans
Apple on Monday quietly launched its first mail-in cellphone and iPod recyling program.
While the company has already been offering such a plan for computers and allows in-store iPod recycling, the new plan allows customers to receive either a package or a mailing label to send in as many iPods or cellphones as they like, which are recycled free of charge by the Cupertino-based company.
There are no limits to the age of the iPod, and cellphones can come from any manufacturer, Apple notes.
The move is part of the new environmental policy launched by Apple last year, which company chief Steve Jobs said would bring not just cleaner products but also more aggressive recycling programs.
Apple pressures anti-DRM Hymn Project to pull downloads
Operators of the longstanding Hymn Project revealed late last week that the group has been issued a "cease and desist" notice from Apple, asking them to remove all downloads of the digital rights management (DRM) removal tool from their website.
The team has been one of the most adamant opponents of Apple's FairPlay copy protection scheme for iTunes purchases and has routinely played a cat-and-mouse game with the California company. Hymn has regularly been updated to remove copy protection locks on some iTunes songs and videos, only to find Apple issuing iTunes updates that break Hymn or files modified by the unofficial software.
No specific reason has been given for the shutdown, though proponents of the software believe the release of Requiem, a more aggressive program that allegedly cracked FairPlay altogether, has prompted the Apple legal response.
Australian law could hinder iPhone release
An attempt by Apple to repeat its procedures for past iPhone launches in Australia could face legal roadblocks meant to encourage competition, according to a report by law professors at Queenland University.
While the American company has successfully landed exclusive contracts that make just one carrier the official iPhone host in France, Germany, the US, and the UK, a clause in Australia's Trade Practices Act against forced line bundles may prevent Apple from signing such a contract in the southern country. Whether this is necessary may depend on a review from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission before any deal can be approved.
Queenland researcher Dale Clapperton observes that a non-exclusive deal is unlikely but still desirable. A single-provider iPhone agreement is likened to limiting a car's choice of fuel to one oil company.
"If you fill your car up with fuel from BP the ignition system will detect that and shut down the car," he says.
Intel Nehalem's early details, performance revealed
An unintentional leak (PDF) by Sun Microsystems on its public website has slipped details about Intel's Nehalem processor platform.
Portrayed as a direct successor to Harpertown -- Intel's nickname for the processor platform found in today's Mac Pro, Xserve, and other workstations or servers -- Nehalem is already known to offer a new point-to-point bus design (similar to the HyperTransport found in the PowerMac G5) as well as an on-chip memory controller and hyperthreading, which allows multiple instruction threads on one processor. However, the platform is now known to have three-channel DDR3 memory that should eliminate the bottlenecks for the current dual-channel Harpertown design.
Early benchmarks provided by Sun also suggest that Nehalem will double the floating-point math of the fastest Xeon available today, the 3.2GHz Xeon X5482. Simpler integer math will also jump in speed by more than 40 percent.
Nehalem is due at the end of 2008 and should be accompanied by Dunnington, a six-core Xeon design that replaces the ultra high-end Tigerton platform unused in any current Apple product.
Apple kicks off cellphone, iPod recycling plans
Apple on Monday quietly launched its first mail-in cellphone and iPod recyling program.
While the company has already been offering such a plan for computers and allows in-store iPod recycling, the new plan allows customers to receive either a package or a mailing label to send in as many iPods or cellphones as they like, which are recycled free of charge by the Cupertino-based company.
There are no limits to the age of the iPod, and cellphones can come from any manufacturer, Apple notes.
The move is part of the new environmental policy launched by Apple last year, which company chief Steve Jobs said would bring not just cleaner products but also more aggressive recycling programs.
Apple pressures anti-DRM Hymn Project to pull downloads
Operators of the longstanding Hymn Project revealed late last week that the group has been issued a "cease and desist" notice from Apple, asking them to remove all downloads of the digital rights management (DRM) removal tool from their website.
The team has been one of the most adamant opponents of Apple's FairPlay copy protection scheme for iTunes purchases and has routinely played a cat-and-mouse game with the California company. Hymn has regularly been updated to remove copy protection locks on some iTunes songs and videos, only to find Apple issuing iTunes updates that break Hymn or files modified by the unofficial software.
No specific reason has been given for the shutdown, though proponents of the software believe the release of Requiem, a more aggressive program that allegedly cracked FairPlay altogether, has prompted the Apple legal response.
Australian law could hinder iPhone release
An attempt by Apple to repeat its procedures for past iPhone launches in Australia could face legal roadblocks meant to encourage competition, according to a report by law professors at Queenland University.
While the American company has successfully landed exclusive contracts that make just one carrier the official iPhone host in France, Germany, the US, and the UK, a clause in Australia's Trade Practices Act against forced line bundles may prevent Apple from signing such a contract in the southern country. Whether this is necessary may depend on a review from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission before any deal can be approved.
Queenland researcher Dale Clapperton observes that a non-exclusive deal is unlikely but still desirable. A single-provider iPhone agreement is likened to limiting a car's choice of fuel to one oil company.
"If you fill your car up with fuel from BP the ignition system will detect that and shut down the car," he says.
Comments
What is quoted in the article is the dubious opinion of one academic, and the article rightly points out that the 'petrol' example is unwarranted since it is "different to what currently exists in Australia, where mobile phone carriers can SIM-lock a phone to prevent its use on another network". The point is poorly worded (also a feature of smh and theage's online content), however it is true: many phones are sold here in Australia exclusively through a single carrier (usually Telstra, but occasionally Optus and Vofafone), and most carriers have some 'deals' that include 'sim locking'.
I suspect a lot of the 15%-25% of unlocked phones sold in the US are making there way here because I see them being used everywhere I go. So Australia is a logical market for Apple to approach. They are also opening their first store here later this year in Sydney, so that would be a logical thing to promote sometime around the same time.
Unfortunately for me it is likely that Telstra will be the only carrier in Australia likely to be interested in providing the service for it (since they are the only ones with a completely compatible network with the high speed packet access for mobile internet), I refuse to deal with Telstra since in my personal experience their billing systems are rubbish (I haven't had an account with them for over 5 years and I still get monthly bills of varying amounts, sometimes in credit sometimes in debit - I ignore them because next month it'll be different again).
Of course if there is a 3G iPhone by end of year (earliest I'd expect to see a launch) then one of the other carriers may (like O2 in the UK) see it as an opportunity to promote their network.
/Adrian
WHY does the packing for third-party products (e.g. cases, headphones, software etc) have to be so excessive?
Does a rubber ipod case need to be contained in thick cardboard and plastic packaging yet the ipod itself comes in a tiny cardboard box?!
Apple has the power to dictate to the third party manufacturers (which it licenses) to ensure that they comply with Apple's own environmental policy. And if it doesn't comply, they shouldn't stock it.
If they are wondering where all the unlocked iPhones have gone then they should have a look down under! I see people with them everywhere. If Apple wants to reach 10M iPhones sold by the end of this year then hurry up and release them in Australia!!
The longer they delay the release, the more phones get brought in to be used on other networks.
The more phones are bought overseas instead of at the more expensive Australian price.
I have already emailed Steve Jobs to no avail!
We need more pressure brought to bear everywhere to get this thing rolling.
Any later than the opening of the Sydney store and I too will be importing one at the cheaper price (less money for Apple) and using it on Vodafone (less money for Telstra)
I have already emailed Steve Jobs to no avail!
)
Ditto, but not unexpected.
I will wait for the 3G version in Oz, either with Apple (my preferred method) or unlocked if they have not done a deal here by then. I've got plenty of other things to spend some money on. New iMacs, which will be here before the iPhone, Time Capsule, Apple TV and a Nikon D300, all before September.
I have conciously avoided buying a mobile phone that features anything more than a monochrome screen and the ability to make calls and send texts because, frankly, for the price telecommunication companies are asking I just don't need all that interface bullshit in my life. As such the iPhone represents the first credible opportunity for me to consider upgrading from a base level handset.
In principle I like the idea of sitting at a bus stop and being able to surf the web while I wait or using the maps feature when I'm out and about, but realistically carrier exclusivity is only going to bloat prices just enough to sour the whole experience. Especially if it's Telstra they will hump that cadaver for all it is worth.
I don't mind paying good money to Apple to buy shiny things that work well. It's that lock-in to an upsell-geared contract with a secondary company for a service which I already fail to value that has me irked. I don't need any of that "cap" bullshit sure I pay you $79 and have the option to make a million dolars worth of calls. How about I just make $20 worth of calls a month and you charge me $20 for those calls and we call it a deal.
I cant wait until someone develops the technology to deploy a wifi-like field over the entire surface of the earth so we can be done with this nonsense.
Wow reading that over it sounded kind of angry. Maybe the internet really does turn everyone into an asshole.
So... Australians are possibly getting screwed out of a great feature like Visual Voicemail because Apple can't work with a single provider? Ridiculous. The state always knows what's best for citizens? Adam Smith is rolling in his grave.
"getting screwed out of a great feature like visual voicemail"
No one is getting screwed here. I'm sure, like most sane rational individuals, that Australians would be much happier to be able to get an unlocked iPhone and operate it on any network, ESPECIALLY when traveling in other countries, than to be forced onto one provider to get a voicemail feature. I'm sure many in Australia, like in the USA with Verizon/Sprint, already have their provider of choice, and will not or cannot change to get a new phone. In the USA, many states and regions within states don't even have AT&T coverage, as in my case. In other situations, the AT&T coverage is very spotty and has not improved in years.
Other people having phone contracts that go through their employer, so they are screwed there too.
And you are going to sit here and tell me that consumers are getting "screwed" for having a government that actually protects the interests of THE CITIZENS AND NOT THE CORPORATIONS!
if only Apple to all environmental issues so seriously...
WHY does the packing for third-party products (e.g. cases, headphones, software etc) have to be so excessive?
Does a rubber ipod case need to be contained in thick cardboard and plastic packaging yet the ipod itself comes in a tiny cardboard box?!
Apple has the power to dictate to the third party manufacturers (which it licenses) to ensure that they comply with Apple's own environmental policy. And if it doesn't comply, they shouldn't stock it.
You bring up an excellent point here- this entire environmental push is purely political and the ONLY point is to make Apple appear more enviro friendly when the results don't add up. Not blaming Apple- all companies do this but its probably more important for Apple since they have the whole "hippie/progressive etc..." type image whatever you want to call it.
mmmmmm politics is so sensible.