MacRumors

ZDNet.co.uk posted a review on installing Intel Mac OS X on non-Mac hardware.

The [Intel Mac OS X] is bound directly to the hardware by a special security chip. However, some developers have succeeded in circumventing this coupling, allowing the operating system to be installed on any x86 system, as this test report shows.

The article describes the installation and use of Mac OS X on a Toshiba Portg M300 notebook. There are some limitations with the test installation. Of note, there only exists support for the Intel integrated graphics chipset (915G) for 3D graphics support.

ZDNet reports that power-saving functions of the Pentium M processor is already supported and the Intel OS X shows similar power consumption as Windows XP on the same notebook they tested. They also post a few benchmarks but the results come with the usual caveats for beta software.

They also post an image gallery from the installation.

Several sites are reporting that Apple is shipping a small protective sleeve with the iPod nano. This mimics the protective sleeve that they have been shipping with the 5G iPod.

Despite reassurances from Apple that the Nano ships with same screens as the previous generation of iPod, a class action suit regarding the scratching issue has been launched against Apple.

Images of the new case can be seen here.

Appleinsider also reports that Intel-based Macs will make their debut at Macworld San Francisco (MWSF) 2006 in January.

The rumor site expects that the iMac will be the first Intel-based Macs to be introduced in January. The Intel iMac is not expected to introduce any significant new features or case redesign, instead simply updating the processor with this revision. This is contrary to previous expectations that the Mac mini would be the first Intel Mac introduced at MWSF 2006.

The Intel Powerbook is expected shortly after, perhaps as soon as February 2006. The new Intel Mac laptops are expected to be 20-25% thinner than current offerings.

Meanwhile, Intel Mac minis and Intel iBooks are not expected until the Spring of 2006.

One of our Wales UK-based members has reported receiving his Power Mac G5 Quad earlier in the week, and has run a preliminary set of Xbench 1.2 benchmarks on it.

While full details are in the forum thread, the overall Xbench score for the machine with 3 GB RAM running Mac OS X 10.4.2 weighs in at 151.86.

For comparison, the Dual 2.7GHz PowerMac has an Xbench score of 109.87... but due to version differences and other confounding variables, it is hard to draw many conclusions from these Xbench scores.

Cinebench 2003 scores were also posted: Quad 2.5GHz Power Mac compared to the old Dual 2.7GHz Power Mac

Pixar reported their 3rd quarter financial results today. Pixar reported net income of $27.4 million on revenues of $45.8 million over the 3rd quarter. This beat industry estimates, especially in a quarter in which Pixar did not release a movie.

Steve Jobs, of course, is both CEO of Apple as well as Pixar and was a participant of the Pixar results conference call.

In it, Jobs revealed that Pixar has sold 125,000 copies of their animated shorts that are being offered through Apple's iTunes Music Store. This provides some breakdown of online video sales from iTunes.

Apple previously announced that they had sold over 1 million videos over the first 20 days of video sales. No breakdown between Pixar shorts, Music Videos and Television shows had been provided at that time.

Today Motorola released a new phone with optional iTunes support, the RAZR V3i. The new phone is the ultrathin design and lazer-etched keypad.

Updated and streamlined Motorola RAZR V3 design
1.23 megapixel digital camera with 8x digital zoom, video capture and full screen viewfinder
iTunes music software or Motorolas Digital Audio Music Player with mini-USB stereo headset
Airplane mode
Hot swappable TransFlash memory card
262K color wallpapers & screensavers on internal display
65K color support on external display
Speaker independent name & digit dialing
Dedicated browser and messaging keys
Integrated Class 1 Bluetooth technology with imaging, printing, peer to peer gaming profiles
Motorolas SCREEN3 technology* solution featuring zero-click access to news, sports, entertainment and other program content
Rich, pre-loaded or downloaded J2ME games, screen savers and MP3 ringtones

According to Motorola, availability is expected in Q4 2005.

NBC and CBS announced that they would be offering replays of prime-time television shows for $.99 per episode on an On-Demand basis through Comcast (CBS) and DirecTV (NBC).

Only a few details are available. CBS's shows will retain their commercials. NBC's shows will be available for one week after their broadcast (no commercials).

Apple's recent release of iTunes with Video appears to have sparked more interest in on-demand video content. Apple current offers a number of ABC prime-time shows for $1.99/each through iTunes.

Many are waiting to see if Apple can negotiate deals with other networks. NBC has made comments, however, that while they are looking into digital distribution many venues do not have enough protections in place.

ThinkSecret claims to have some details surrounding Apple's negotiations with Australian record labels and the iTunes Music Store.

According to the rumor site, Apple is paying AU$.99 for every single that sells for AU$1.69. Apple leaves itself the option to raise customer prices at any time after giving 5 days notice to the labels. Album pricing and reimbursement appears to be more variable.

Apple ensures that all tracks can be sold separately as well as part of albums with the exception of certain exclusive and limited time promotions. This along with variable song pricing has been at issue between Apple and music labels.

Apple also promises to respond in a timely manner to circumvention of the Digital Rights Management in the iTunes store.

Apple's agreements with U.S. music labels will expire in early 2006 according to earlier reports.

Forbes reports on comments by Benjamin A. Reitzes of UBS Investment Research.

The analyst expects "more video content and digital entertainment offerings at Macworld in January".

Also hinted at is the possibility of an early release of the Intel-based Macs, which have officially been expected to be shipping "before June 2006". According to "checks", Apple may be able to ship the Intel Macs earlier than that timeframe, with the possibility of an Intel Mac mini released in January.

Appleinsider is reporting that Apple will be introducing "new eye-catching industrial designs" in the first half of 2006.

According to "extremely reliable sources", the rumor site reports that the first Intel machines will be appearing much sooner than middle of 2006, as officially announced.

Appleinsider expects a revised 13" Widescreen Intel iBooks to appear around April or May. Meanwhile, Intel-based PowerBooks are expected to beat the Intel iBook. The new PowerBooks are described to have a 20-25% thinner form factor and incorporate an iSight build into the display and ship with Photo Booth.

Apple also reportedly wants to be one of the first PC manufacturers utilizing Intel's upcoming dual core processors.

Silicon.com provides a speculative but interesting piece of the possibility of Apple (again) licensing the Mac operating system to 3rd party PC manufacturers and brining back Mac Clones.

The article also recaps the history of Mac licensing from an early suggestion by Bill Gates for Apple to do so in 1985.

Although the Apple management team resisted his advice initially, the seed was planted and the rambling clone licensing saga spanned the tenures of four Apple CEOs.

The first faltering steps were taken by John Sculley; Michael Spindler ushered in the first clone agreement and Gil Amelio took the scheme to his heart.

The first Mac clone appeared in 1995 and lasted until Steve Jobs return in 1997. At that time, Apple terminated the program, claiming that the clones were not expanding the market and cannibalizing high end Mac sales.

Apple and Steve Jobs, however, have insisted that Mac OS X will remain on Apple branded Macs, despite being approached by a number of PC manufacturers asking to license Mac OS X.

With the buzz surrounding Apple's launch of the ABC television episode sales on the iTunes Music Store, the other networks are stepping up their initiatives.

Mediapost reports that NBC and CBS are experimenting with online delivery of content.

CBS announced they will be distributing three episodes of prime-time sci-fi series "Threshold" online. Meanwhile, NBC is offering downloads of "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams".

As expected, they report that CBS "has had talks with Apple about distributing CBS shows on iTunes." No other details are offered.

According to various "industry and channel sources", one analyst is reporting that the 5th generation iPods are selling better than expected... even exceeding iPod nano sales in certain markets.

Businessweek points to 5-7 day delays in fulfilling orders of the 5th Generation iPod from Apple, however, this may simply be due to constraint in certain supplies. Apple is reportedly shopping around for a second supplier of LCDs to relieve the constraint.

Apple has already announced that they have sold over 1 million videos, but its hard to correlate that to 5G iPods sales, since anyone can purchase a video to play back on their Mac or PC.

MacNCell points out Nokia's press release for a new Web browser for their S60 smartphones.

Nokia today unveiled the new Web browser for its world leading smartphone software, S60 platform. The new browser is aimed to provide smartphone users with a true Web experience and industry leading performance when browsing full Web pages on the Internet using a smartphone.

Most interesting is that this new browser is based on Apple's WebCore and JavaScriptCore which is at the heart of Apple's Safari web browser. Nokia previous announced the development of this browser in June 2005.

Apple's Phil Schiller claims "Safari Web Kit's blazing performance, efficient code base and support for open standards make it an ideal open source technology for projects like the new Web browser for S60."

Nokia's Series 60 browser site shows images and examples of the phone's browser.