8 Core now standard on the Mac Pro

Well I thought they'd be out before Christmas but Apple decided to release them the week after! Slap bang in the middle of CES and just before Macworld - a class act! Based on the new Intel 45nm quad-core Stoakley (Penryn) processors at up to 3.2ghz, these new machines are smoking fast. Add in 12MB L2 cache per processor and 1600MHz dual independent frontside buses, Apple have created a new system architecture to boost performance even further stating up to 2x faster than the previous standard-configuration Mac Pro (well as it's now 8 core as standard and the previous was 4-core....) And yes, I'll be rattling the piggy bank and hopefully stumping up the cash for one of these beauties just after Macworld (unless priorities change based on what's released at Macworld!) At the time of this post the Apple UK store is till down so we don't know what the damage in terms of cost will be but you can check out the specs here. I'm not sure how much disruption this will cause to CES (if any) but how many other companies would make such a major release as this merely by issuing a Press Release. In addition to the Mac Pro update, Apple have also made significant updates to the xserve server, including support for 8 core xserves. Well at least that's the Pro updates out of the way for next week so Apple can concentrate on the consumer side of things! Exciting times!

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Macworld 2008

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Now Steady On There....

Just another week and we'll be in the midst of another Stevenote. I fully expect the rumours to go off the charts but it's necessary to state a couple of things to try and prevent the wailing and gnashing of teeth when Apple doesn't deliver what we're all being lead to expect! Just because everyone wants something doesn't necessarily mean we will get it. The flash based sub notebook rumour is one of the strongest I've seen in recent years but that doesn't mean it will appear. The factors to be considered when bringing such a product to market are extremely complex (engineering, cost, supply chain, market forces) and all these must be aligned for things to happen. So be warned, take all rumours and wishfull thinking with a grain of salt and don't let your expectations run away with you. Having said that, we'll definitely see some stellar cool stuff this year so take it as you find it and appreciate it for what it is. Having said that, here are my predictions for the 2008 Stevenote :-) Apple TV vII - Gotta happen and with Movie rentals to boot. We might even see the inclusion of an optical drive such as a Blu-ray or Hybrid. Also dual HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. Check out my other Apple TV posts for further thoughts - Link 1 Link 2 MacBook Touch - Flash based Macbook with some touch capabilities. Same screen size as the current Macbook but no optical drive and very light and thin. New Range of Cinema Displays - So overdue, they must be a cert! Expect to find them with built in iSight cameras and supporting the new Displayport technology (along with DVI and HDMI - they wouldn't leave them off would they!). Dell have just announced their first 30" display with this new technology. Previous post about DisplayPort. Expect them to announce mods to the Mac range to include the Displayport adapters. New Apps for the iPhone - Expect to see a lot of info on the successful launch of the iPhone and the release of some new Apps. With the advent of the iPhone API in February, Apple will be looking to demonstrate just what can be achieved with this new platform. Not sure if we'll get a glimpse or either the iPhone Nano or the 3G iPhone. The Mac faithful are still reeling from the last Macworld Stevenote being an all out iPhone fest! One more thing - I've got a feeling we'll be seeing something off the wall and totally unexpected. May be something to do with the Automotive Industry, may be Home Storage, may be a totally new class of device. We'll soon see...... What are your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple TV, iPhone, iTunes, Macworld 2008, Steve Jobs

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OMG - I wish!

One of the concept designs for the Macbook Touch floating around the internet! Only a week to wait for the truth :-)

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Producing Your Podcast - Macworld 2008

Finally, finally my name has appeared on an official Macworld 2008 Web site page!

Link So if you are already signed up to the Market Symposium track, I'll hopefully see you on Friday!

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Macworld 2008 Schedule

Still working on it but this looks to be my initial schedule (excluding the various sessions I'll be attending and mooching around the show floor) :

Monday	6:30pm	Smile On My Mac Event
	8pm	Ars Technica & Gizmodo Pre-Keynote Event	Upcoming Page
Tuesday	4am	Macworld Pre-Keynote Group meetup	Upcoming Page
Tuesday	5:50pm	Mac Level Ten Meetup	Upcoming Page
Wednesday	6pm	Elgato Event
	7pm	Macworld FCPUG SuperMeet	Web Site
	10pm	Cirque Du Mac
Thursday	6pm	Mac Podcaster Meetup	Upcoming Page
	8pm	Mac Mingle	Upcoming Page
Friday	1pm	Podcasting & Rich Media Symposium Screencasting 101 Session	Schedule

If you're around and about any of these "events" be sure to say hello!

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