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Answering concerns over Apple's switch to Intel-based processors, one analyst assures that Macs are still relatively safe. Larry Seltzer of eWeek says that although non-Mac (traditionally Intel-based) computers are typically more prone to attack than Macs, "rarely, if ever, are the existence of vulnerabilities related to the specifics of one processor architecture versus another." Seltzer maintains that familiarity with Windows on an Intel platform does not equate to familiarity with Mac OS X on an Intel platform. "If Apple's market-share shoots up and attackers suddenly have a better shot of finding Macs to attack, then more malware will be written...

"The recent move by Apple Computer to begin shipping Macintosh computers that use microprocessors from Intel could open the door to more attacks against computers running the company's OS X operating system, security experts warn," Paul F. Roberts reports for eWeek. "The shift to Intel processors from the Motorola Power PC processors will make it easier to create software exploits for Macintosh systems, and could result in a steady stream of Mac exploits in years to come." "The change could put more pressure on Apple to build security features into OS X, according to interviews conducted by eWEEK," Roberts reports....

DAVOS, Switzerland - FBI director Robert Mueller said Thursday the United States now acts on intelligence from any place in the world to fight terrorism but has not sacrificed individuals' rights to privacy in that effort. However, during an interview with The Associated Press, Mueller would not discuss renditions, the practice of covertly moving imprisoned terrorist suspects between countries outside normal legal processes. He also would not elaborate on the National Security Agency's listening without a warrant to telephone calls in the United States that Bush administration officials believe involve al-Qaida terrorists. Lawmakers from both parties have questioned whether it...

Red Hat representative Gillian Farquhar announced last week that the company plans to add support for Apple's new Intel Macs to its popular distribution. Fedora and several other commonly used Linux distributions support the PowerPC architecture used by Apple in the past, and Red Hat wants to ensure that its software will continue to run on new Apple hardware in the future. The current impediment is the Extensible Firmware Interface, a relatively new BIOS replacement designed by Intel that is not yet commonly used or widely supported. Linux EFI support already exists in the form of elilo, a special version...

A self-professed Mac lover who jump-started a prize award for the first person to figure out how to boot Windows XP on an Intel-based Macintosh is confident that someone will step forward to claim the bounty, now at nearly $6,000. "I'm an optimist," said Colin Nederkoorn of Houston, Texas, and the creator of The Contest Web site. "I think someone will claim it." Nederkoorn's site spelled out his requirements and tossed $100 into the pot to get things rolling. As of mid-day Wednesday, he'd collected $5,747 as the prize for "the person/group that can make dual-booting Mac OS X and...

Can you run Windows on the new Macs, or Mac OS X on other Intel hardware? Apple's announcement of new Macs based on processors from Intel raises an interesting question: Since both the Mac and Windows operating systems now run on Intel-based hardware, shouldn't it be easy to run both on the same computer? That simple question deserves a simple answer. But there isn't one — at least not right now. Reaching the nirvana of running the two most popular desktop operating systems on one machine is a lot harder than you might expect. Apple has said that it wasn't...

Steve Jobs' much publicised claim of a two-to-three-times speed increase in the new Intel-based iMac is bunkem, according to the latest benchmark tests. The new Intel-based iMac G5 is not much faster than its PowerPC predecessor, Macworld has discovered. Macworld benchmarks show that the iMac G5 running an Intel 2.0 GHz Core Duo gained only between 10 to 25 percent in performance compared to the IBM architecture, far lower than the doubling in throughput widely claimed by Apple. The magazine carried out a series of tasks using two Apple applications, iMovie and iPhoto, discovering that performance boost ranged from worthy...

Despite the enormous size of Dell, Apple's growth possibilities, tantalizing to investors, are probably the reason it has surpassed Dell's marketcap. A new BusinessWeek blog posting looks at How can Apple be worth more than Dell?, concluding that Dell is limited by its size, while Apple can achieve growth with relatively quickly: "But if you don't have big honking growth markets waiting to be harvested, size can be a heavy anchor indeed. The math is simple. To deliver 15% growth in the upcoming year, $55 billion-a-year Dell has to find $8.25 billion in extra sales. But Apple, at $13.9 billion...

Let us turn our attention away from new Apple portables and overlooked software suite updates for a moment to tackle true matters of grave import—Apple’s TV commercials. In case you missed last Tuesday’s keynote, Steve Jobs punctuated the unveiling of Intel chip-powered iMacs and MacBook Pro laptops by showing off a new TV ad about the move to Intel-built chips. In fact, Jobs showed off the commercial twice, which is either a sign that he really likes the ad or, depending on how much stock you put in rumors, that something got pulled from the keynote at the last second...

The Mozilla Foundation has set a March launch date for a version of its Firefox Web browser that will run on Apple Computer's Intel version of Mac OS X. "We are targeting the official release of Firefox for Intel Mac OS X in late March with the Firefox 1.5.0.2 update," said Mozilla software engineer Josh Aas told. Demand for the browser on Apple's new CPU platform is expected to rocket as the PC vendor last week started selling the first Macs based on CPUs from Intel. Previously Apple had used IBM's PowerPC chips. While an unofficial version of the software...

Apple is closing in on Dell's marketcap. Following its record $5.7 billion revenues and 14 million iPod shipments in the December/holiday quarter and new Intel-based Macs, Apple's stock is trading at an all-time high--near $85--giving the company a market cap of $72.29 billion. As of market-close yesterday, Dell was closer to $73 billion. According to one blog post, Gateway's marketcap is $1 billion, while Microsoft is around $288 billion--or about 4 times that of Apple's. Given the company's record holiday quarter, several analysts have raised their fiscal 2006 and 2007 estimates as well as raised their price targets. The official...

With the announcement of the first Intel based Macs yesterday, many users have rejoiced in being able to dual-boot both Mac OS X and Windows. Unfortunately, this is not the case; due to Apple's use of the extensible firmware interface (EFI) rather than BIOS, current Windows releases will not run on the systems. On Tuesday at Macworld, Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller said the company would not specifically block the use of Windows on Mac hardware. Instead, limitations in Windows itself will prevent its use on the new MacBook Pro laptop and iMac. With...

SAN FRANCISCO--Addressing a packed crowd of the Mac faithful, Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday served up the first Intel-based Macs, introducing a new high-end laptop and a revamped iMac. The new machines both include Intel's Duo dual-core chip. The iMac will come in the same sizes and sell for the same prices as the current models, but the Intel chips make it two to three times faster, Jobs said. A new laptop computer, called the MacBook Pro, will be available in February, he said. In addition to the crop of new Macs, Jobs announced a new version of...

As readers digest all the announcements from Apple at Macworld San Francisco, we've noted a few interesting tidbits: - Steve Jobs announced that Apple's entire product line will be transitioned to Intel in 2006. This is earlier than previously announced at WWDC 2005. Jobs notes that over the coming months we will hear announcements as each product line is transitioned. All by the end of this calendar year. - MacBook Pro naming. Steve Jobs: "It's a new name because we're kinda done with 'Power' and because we want 'Mac' in the name of our products." This would imply that the...

Apple claims its newest iMac, which features Intel’s new Core Duo processor, is twice as fast as its predecessor. Despite the major change under the hood, the iMac remains with the same design and at the same price as before, with systems starting at $1,299. The new iMac, which starts shipping today, will be Apple’s first computer to feature a CPU built by Intel. Up until now, Apple has used the PowerPC architecture developed in conjunction with Motorola and IBM to drive all of its iMac computers. On the outside, the iMac G5 looks the same as before — it’s...

Stock jumps 6% as Apple CEO unveils new Intel-based computers. SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney.com) - Apple CEO Steve Jobs Tuesday unveiled the first Apple computers ever to use an Intel processor and announced that by the end of the year, Apple's entire computer line will contain Intel chips. Intel (down $0.35 to $26.12, Research) CEO Paul Otellini was also on hand to introduce the iMac desktop computer with Intel's Core Duo chip and the MacBook Pro notebook, a new product line for Apple (up $4.81 to $80.86, Research), unveiled during Jobs' keynote at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The iMac...

Apple claims its newest iMac, which features Intel’s new Core Duo processor, is twice as fast as its predecessor. Despite the major change under the hood, the iMac remains with the same design and at the same price as before, with systems starting at $1,299. The new iMac, which starts shipping today, will be Apple’s first computer to feature a CPU built by Intel. Up until now, Apple has used the PowerPC architecture developed in conjunction with Motorola and IBM to drive all of its iMac computers. On the outside, the iMac G5 looks the same as before — it’s...

Intel Corporation on Tuesday unveiled the Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology for a new generation of laptops. With key components designed in India, the new platform is aimed at advancing the emerging digital lifestyle at home, work, and on the go. It delivers breakthrough capabilities to make entertainment truly mobile for people on the move and improves responsiveness and efficiency of mobile workers. About 500 members of the Intel India Development Center have significantly contributed to the Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology platform. Since June 2004, the India team has been working to help achieve smaller form factor, more battery...

Why should anyone believe anything the CIA has to say about Iran? Like everyone else in Washington, I’ve been reading excerpts from James Risen’s new book, the one that "exposes" the "crimes" of the Bush administration with regard to the war on terrorism. The most recent excerpt deals with the CIA’s activities vis-à-vis Iran, and Risen says some very shocking things, things which a serious city would find far more troublesome than the legalities about NSA’s intercepts of conversations involving terrorists. Since I’m just an amateur at these arcane subjects, I thought it best to get some real expertise, and...

Our sources tell us that Intel has applied for a license with the Vietnamese government to open a fab in Vietnam Hot on the heels of announcing the reopening of Fab 12, our sources in Asia tells us that Intel has applied for a license with the Communist Party of Vietnam to open a brand new plant. There hasn’t been a name released for the new plant or information about what it will produce but we know that it will be located in Ho Chi Minh City, which is Vietnam’s capital -- previously known as Saigon. The southern part of...