We'd heard rumblings about computer upgrades from everyone's favorite Cupertino-based company, but we didn't expect anything this soon. This morning, Apple announced new updates across its desktop computer and router lines. Although there aren't any significant aesthetic changes or redesigns to the models, the Mac Pro, Mac mini, and iMac all received spec upgrades (e.g. faster chips, improved graphics cards, and more storage), and there are even some welcome price downgrades. Click after the break to get the quick rundown of the new items (available now on the Apple store) and new features:

Last week, the folks at Apple informed retailers that the company's iMacs will soon be in short supply, according to a report last Friday on Apple Insider. Judging in part from that projected drop in supply, Apple Insider's commentators have inferred that the world will soon see the next iMac line. But could it also just mean -- in this shopping-averse economy -- that demand for iMacs is down, too.

At present, little is known about the new iMacs' specifics, but hints -- and conjecture -- abound. While Apple enthusiasts have already discovered that the new machines will run on the same NVIDIA chipset used in contemporary laptops (and the speculated-about 15-inch Air), some guess that the manufacturer will embrace Intel's new quad-core low-power processors.

As for now, there's little to do but wait and wave farewell to that departing generation of iMacs. It's really just as well; we don't have the money right now, anyway. [From: Apple Insider]

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Last year at CES, MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) were all the rage. It seemed like nobody could get enough of these tiny PC wonders, even if most weren't functioning devices yet. Then CES ended and the MID essentially disappeared. Instead, consumers and industry folks went back to caring about more traditional laptop form factors, and the netbook exploded. But Intel hasn't given up on pushing the smaller, touch-screen MID just yet.

We spent some time at the Intel booth getting a hands-on with a whole slew of MID devices and, while they're nowhere near as polished as their bigger netbook siblings, they are maturing quickly. Check out our gallery below for samples and judgments of some of the MIDs on hand at this year's CES.

So this may not be breaking news, but we're still wondering what on Earth made Intel decide that the Beamz laser harp was a good way to show off the power of the Core 2 Duo? (No idea what Beamz is? Check out the bizarre demo video here).

Why would Intel, a well-respected manufacturer and developer of high tech products, break out this over-priced pseudo-instrument that was even an embarrassment to Sharper Image? We've got to admit we hung out in the booth for a bit waiting for someone to blow us away with some bangin' Beamz beatz, but we came up empty.

While the OLPC crew is cutting staff and pay, and ASUS has decided to target higher end markets, the folks at Intel are cornering the market on cheap education focused PC's with their Classmate line of machines. We got a quick smattering of information on the new machine during the Kids@Play summit yesterday at CES.

While full details will be disclosed later, we do know that the new Classmate will be a convertible tablet-style machine with a touch screen that will not only recognize single finger presses, but also the palm presses of small clumsy children (which leads us to believe it may be multi-touch). It will also include an accelerometer that will automatically rotate the screen from portrait to landscape mode, just like an iPhone.

The Classmate will also most likely come packing the same Atom processor found in most netbooks and in Windows XP. Stay with us for more information.

We've recently seen how British housewives are indicating that they spend the majority of their free time online. But, we didn't realize just what women were giving up in order to get their Facebook fix. A new study is showing that roughly half of women would rather give up sex for two weeks than go without the Internet for the same period of time.

The study was commissioned by Intel and shows that 46-percent of all women would rather give up sex for two weeks than the Internet for two weeks. When looking at the 35-to-44-year-old age group, that number increased to 52-percent. Among men, the number was much lower, 30-percent on average, and just 23-percent in the 35-to-44-year-old group. Perhaps that disparity has given rise to the great sex with robots debate.

How about you, which would you rather give up? [From: The Wall Street Journal]

If Intel's CTO is correct, then man and machine could merge by the year 2050. Justin Rattner said that Intel's research labs are looking at human-machine interfaces and predicts that promising changes could come sooner than expected. For example, did you know that Intel is working on small, shape-shifting robots called "catoms" -- tiny inside the pocket, a million-strong team of micro-robots could one day reassemble into an earpiece, keyboard or say, full-torso heat shield that withstands the frictions of hyperspace (ok, we made that last bit up).

During his keynote, Rattner said, "There is speculation that we may be approaching an inflection point where the rate of technology advancements is accelerating at an exponential rate, and machines could even overtake humans in their ability to reason, in the not so distant future." A date he pegs at 2050, not December 21st, 2012 as some would say. But with wireless power and 3-dimensional transistors on the horizon, well, who are we to argue? Besides, Intel has a pretty good record when it comes to predicting advances in technology, eh Gordie?

We've seen a number of wireless power systems come and go, but for all the hype-filled bombast and occasional working demo, the tech just hasn't gone anywhere -- but even with that background, Intel's demo of a wireless power system that can broadcast 60 watts of power up to three feet at IDF with 75 percent efficiency has us giddy with excitement. The system works using essentially the same magnetic induction principle as all the others, but Intel's seems the furthest along, and the company hopes to one day be able to charge laptops with it. Yeah, we'll take three.

Read - NYT article
Read - Pictures from the presentation

Intel is joining forces with a bunch of other heavy weights in the computer industry, including Absolute Software Corporation (a data protection and hardware tracking company), BIOS maker Phoenix, Utimaco (a data security company), and McAfee, along with manufacturers Lenovo and Fujitsu, to create ATT (Anti-Theft Technology).

Company representatives were short on details about the technology, only saying that it would go further than just hard disk encryption, which makes your personal data unreadable, but leaves the rest of the laptop intact. ATT will supposedly make the entire laptop a useless hunk of plastic and metal if someone tried to boot the laptop with out the owners permission.

Intel is hoping that ATT will deter thieves from even bothering to steal your laptop since it would render the computer un-bootable, even a new hard drive was installed. But just in case the company is also looking into incorporating tracking technology to help users locate and reclaim their hardware.

The coalition is hoping to debut the technology by the end of the year, but don't expect to see it in consumer level products until well after that.

From Ars Technica

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Earlier this week we reported on the new AirPort Express wireless router from Apple, which delivers an impressive 820-foot range. It's perfect, we thought, for those with expansive abodes. But what about those with expansive estates? Sorry, but 820 feet isn't going to cut it then; 60 miles, however, should be enough for all but the most palatial of digs, and that's just what some new technology from Intel promises.

Intel has developed software that promises to extend the reach of a typical Wi-Fi router well past the typical sub-kilometer range. There have been some interesting attempts with giant antennas to boost ranges up to multiple-miles, but this system from Intel uses simple (and relatively cheap) off-the-shelf equipment and no gigantic satellite dishes. The anticipated cost is $500 for the router and antennas; $1000 for the full system (one on each end). It all uses just a few watts of power, too, meaning solar could be an option for truly wireless broadcasting.

So, does this spell the end of Wi-Fi dead zones? We hope so. But if home networks are going to start spanning into the next county, then you'd better make sure you read up on how to secure yours before upgrading.

From textually.org and Technology Review

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Intel is prepping to take over the low cost laptop and PC market with its newly unveiled Atom line of processors, which joins Core 2, Pentium, and Celeron in the chipmaker's lineup. Formerly codenamed Diamondville and Silverthorne, Atom is an ultra-low power, low cost chip that is aimed at machines like the ASUS Eee, UMPC's, MID's, and may have had a spot in the next version of the OLPC had Intel and OLPC-creator Nicholas Negroponte not had a falling out.

The processor is built on the same 45nm manufacturing process that powers Intels new Penryn family of processors, but is otherwise a completely different chip from it's Core 2 branded brethren. Atom was designed from the ground up to use as little power as possible and provide the highest possible yields of functional chips from a piece of silicon, keeping costs incredibly low. It will also come in a Wi-Fi-and-graphics-optimized version that will be called Centrino Atom. In other words, even sub-$500 computers will be able to see speeds and processing power typical of much pricier computers.

Intel is still mum on price points, all we know is the low end single core version is targeted at laptops in the $250-$300 range that will be out later this year.

From PC World

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When Intel typically develops and debuts a new microprocessor to the computer buying public, it usually gets fanfare around new high speeds attained -- and, of course, the higher price point. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company may be bucking its own trend the next time around, however, as it finishes development of a new low-priced, smaller-sized chip code named "Diamondville."

This new chip, the result of advances in smaller "wafer"-making capabilities, is geared for low-cost notebook computers. We're talking less than $250 each.

While the new chip won't break speed records, it will make it possible for computer makers to develop new notebook and desktop PCs that serve basic, everyday functions, such as e-mailing, scheduling and organizing. (Can you think of a few family members who would benefit from such an accessible, inexpensive device?)

Intel expects big-name PC makers to get in on the action once the new chip -- the official brand-name is yet to be decided -- is available.

We've already seen that you can get some great laptops for under $500, but it looks like we can expect more computing options at better price points in the not too distant future.

From The Wall Street Journal.

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Buying a new laptop can be a daunting task. First off, there are many more factors to take into account when buying a laptop than when buying a desktop PC -- size and battery, for example. Budget laptops can be alluring, but will they have the horsepower you need for daily computing tasks? What difference does having an AMD or Intel processor make? And how do you make sense of the alphabet soup that is Wi-Fi (802.11a, b, g, n)? Well, dear reader, and potential buyer, Switched is here to help you wade through the spec lists you see on those Sunday circulars and help you make the best of your laptop money. Take a look at our crib sheet of five things to consider when picking out your new portable, which starts on the next page, so click below....

What is Penryn?
Those new Intel processors we mentioned during CES are finally starting to show up in laptops in reasonable numbers. Toshiba, Sony, HP, and Dell are all tossing Intel's new mobile processors, built on the chipmaker's way-smaller-than-a-human hair 45-nanometer (nm) technology, into portables aimed at the hardcore, and often media-hungry, computer-user. As we mentioned in our '5 Things to Consider When Buying a Laptop' primer, these chips will keep the "Core 2" moniker that Intel has been branding its processors with since 2006, but will have slightly different model numbers to differentiate them from the older Core 2 models.

How is Penryn different from standard Pentium Core 2 processors?
Penryn is not a revolution, but rather an evolution of Intel's Core 2 family of processors. Three new technologies have been crammed into this new square of silicon to make faster and more powerful laptops with longer battery life.

First is the 45nm size reduction of the processor's die (the tech term for a processor's casing or mold). This die shrink means the processor can have features and innards as small as 45 nanometers wide, which means that Intel can squeeze more processors out of a single slab of silicon. The newfound space not only drives down prices, but also enables the new processors to use less energy and run at cooler temperatures. Cooler-running processors mean that Intel can ramp up computing speeds without melting the insides of the computer (or burning your lap, for that matter).

When a processor's die is shrunk, however, it becomes easier for electrons to leak out wasting electricity, and counteracts some of the benefits of the size reduction. To combat this leakage, Intel has introduced a new transistor technology called High-K that reigns in much of the leakage and leads to more energy efficient processors. Tests have shown that Penryn processors can get almost a full hour of battery life over older Core 2's during normal usage and about 20 minutes more while playing back a DVD.

Lastly, is a new set of instructions called SSE4, which is aimed at speeding up media functions such as video encoding (converting video so you can edit it on your computer) and playback. The catch is that software developers must write applications to specifically take advantage of the new instructions. The popularity of the Intel processors and the dramatic performance increase guarantees that companies will get on board. Applications that are already SSE4-enabled (like the DivX video encoding suite) have seen boosts in performance of almost 40%. That's quite a difference when you're talking about cutting down what typically takes an hour to encode HD video to just over 30 minutes.

How do I know if a computer has Penryn?
Well, besides looking for the 'Penryn' logo on a laptop's spec list, make sure the model numbers start with '8' or '9' (i.e. T9500 or T8300). Penryn is the code name the new chips were developed under at the Intel labs, and often Intel chips continue to be referred to by their code name once they're released.

Do I need one now?
If you're a hardcore gamer, a videomaker or a high-def movie enthusiast with money to burn, go for it. The current models of Penryn or Core 2 9000 and 8000 series are more expensive (Penyrn-enabled laptops start at $1,000) and aimed at the upper end of the consumer market. Anyone who does a lot of video editing on the go should also seriously consider getting a Penryn-equipped laptop. Over the coming months, however, more mainstream (read: cheaper) models will be stuffed into laptops for your computing pleasure. If basic Web browsing and e-mail are your main computing concerns, then save yourself the cash and stick with the old school Core 2s.

Who makes Penryn-enable laptops now?
HP and Sony offer the most laptops with Penryn processors, each offering four different models that pack in the latest from Intel, while Toshiba has three Penryn powered models available. Dell currently only offers its XPS M1330 with the new processors, but we expect that selection to expand soon. By mid March almost every laptop manufacturer should be offering at least one model with a Penryn option and by the end of the year it should be standard on most laptops.


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The fact that Intel has started using a 45-nanometer manufacturing process may not mean much to you. In fact there's a chance you're staring at your computer screen right now, head titled, with a perplexed look on your face. But it's ok, we at Switched are here to help clear up what the new processors mean for you.

45 nanometers refers to the smallest possible features a processor can have. This is made possible by a new manufacturing technique. By comparison, the human hair can be as thick as 181 micrometers, or about 4000 times larger than the smallest features on the new Intel processors. Intel also introduced new a new transistor technology called high-k which reduces the amount of leakage, or wasted electricity. This new technology has been applied to processors across the Intel lineup, from laptop chips, to servers, to the company's new Menlow processors (pictured above) for tiny Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC) and Mobile Internet Devices (MID).

So what exactly does this mean for you, the consumer? It means faster, smaller, cooler computers that use less energy. Laptops that you can actually use in your lap because they no longer get hot enough to cook an egg on, MIDs that will approach the iPhone in size, and computers so fast that most current games won't put a strain on them are all on their way. Intel started shipping processors based on the new manufacturing process back in November, but many companies waited until this week's Consumer Electronics Showcase to unveil products based on them. The bottom line is that this new technology is good for the consumer, but bad for AMD, Intel's main rival.

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