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Trying to further the use of Apple's leading edge creative technologies, this channel will explore and explode the myths surrounding the only real alternative to the dull world of Windows

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Apple Leapfrogs Ahead Again

Not content to just define personal computing, Apple decided it would re-define desktop computing and change the way forever that we interact with machines. In 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh, the worlds first mass produced desktop computer that was driven by a mouse and had a graphical user interface sat between the user and its operating system.  In 1985 Microsoft released Excel for the Macintosh (and only the Macintosh for some time) which catapulted sales of the Mac. Apple then went on to create desktop publishing, partnering with Adobe and Canon and dominated the desktop computer market for creatives for the next 10 years.

Throughout all of this, Microsoft were beavering away trying to copy the Mac OS and introduced Windows that would run on a PC.  Windows went through a troubled childhood but emerged as a usable product when version 3.1 hit the scene.  Since then Windows has matured and has established itself as the most popular desktop computer operating system in the world. In the last couple of years, realising that a new operating system capable of moving into the 21st century was required, Apple has launched several versions of  OS X, a robust UNIX based OS with a state of the art classy user interface.  When Windows Vista is finally launched Apple will still be ahead and as an operating system develops in complexity it becomes more and more difficult to catch up. 

Apple Partners with Intel
Of course operating systems are only part of the equation and powerful elegant hardware with slick software applications are just as important and this is where the news really starts to get interesting.  Apple have in recent years been at the mercy of IBM who provide them with PowerPC processor chips and the processing speed of the current G5 is being hampered by the amount of heat these things produce.  This will be a familiar story to PC users as they were in the same boat a few years ago when fans the size of jet turbines were needed to cool down the processor in a fast PC. Apple have now made the move to using Intel dual core processors simply because Intel can give them the assurance of a faster and cooler future. The change isn't without its difficulties but Intel see it as a huge advantage equally as much as Apple.

Babelfish
So the latest Macs are being shipped with Intel dual core processors and the vast majority of the existing softwarej ust works; now that's a great trick if you can pull it off, but pull it off they have.  Using a built-in 'translator' called Rosetta, the new Macs does the conversion on the fly with only a marginal (and certainly acceptable) slow down in performance.  As the months go by, software houses will start recompiling their wares to run on the new models in native Intel mode and then we'll see a big difference in performance.  All new Apple software is optimised for the Intel chipped machines and already the performance increase is visible.

iLife is Sweet
Talking of new Apple software; check out the new iLife '06 package, it's phenomenal! iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD and now iWeb.  Too many improvements to cover here but iWeb is worth singling out as it is a brand new addition to the suite. iWeb allows users to quickly and easily publish Podcasts (audio and video) and blogs if you have a .mac account.  There simply isn't an easier way to do this and it integrates fully with the other packages in the suite meaning all you need is a DV camera (or webcam) and the rest of the tools are there.  Intuitive and a pleasure to use and that's what a good solution is all about.  Nice one Apple!

Steve Carter