NVIDIA Halts Chipset Development Until 2010

post from TheAppleBlog on 09 October 2009 02:00:00 PM. © TheAppleBlog

nvidia

NVIDIA, makers of graphics chips for Apple?s range of iMacs and MacBooks, has announced that it is putting its Nforce chipset development on hold until the conclusion of a legal dispute with Intel, expected to be reached in 2010.

At the core of the matter is the claim by Intel that its four-year deal with NVIDIA does not include the Core and Nehalem series of microprocessors.

Nvidia?s PR Manager, Ken Brown, told Engadget:

?the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M/ION brands have enjoyed significant sales, as well as critical success. Customers including Apple? and others are continuing to incorporate GeForce 9400M and ION products in their current designs. There are many customers that have plans to use ION or GeForce 9400M chipsets for upcoming designs, as well.

This makes sense, given that these chipsets have been in production for a while and customers (such as Apple) have long-term supply contracts NVIDIA is obliged to honor. Indeed, Apple?s upcoming rumored iMac refresh may well see no change in the use of GeForce 9400M chips in its low-end 20 and 24 inch iMacs. Brown continues:

We firmly believe that this market has a long healthy life ahead. But because of Intel’s improper claims to customers and the market that we aren’t licensed to the new DMI bus and its unfair business tactics, it is effectively impossible for us to market chipsets for future CPUs. So, until we resolve this matter in court next year, we’ll postpone further chipset investments for Intel DMI CPUs.
Despite Intel’s actions, we have innovative products that we are excited to introduce to the market in the months ahead. We know these products will bring with them some amazing breakthroughs that will surprise the industry, just as GeForce 9400M and ION have shaken up the industry this year.
In the world of corporate communications, this is about as bitchy as executives can get.

AppleInsider reported on its website yesterday that, ??earlier this year, Intel sued Nvidia in an attempt to stop the company from developing compatible chipsets for future generation Intel processors. Many of NVIDIA’s gains — including the partnership with Apple — have amounted to Intel’s loss.? So perhaps all this legal maneuvering is indicative of Intel?s desire to wrest-back control of that sector of the market (and the associated profits) with its own chipset offerings. Perhaps.

Undoubtedly, there has been trouble for NVIDIA in the last year, though reading between the lines of countless reported rumors proves a bit of a challenge. It was only a year ago that Apple switched to the GeForce 9400M G integrated controller in their MacBooks. Shortly after, iMacs and Mac Minis got the same chip-love with the NVIDIA MCP79. But by mid 2009, rumors circulated that relations between Apple and NVIDIA were deteriorating due to reports of manufacturing defects that affected a number of MacBook Pros.

More recently, there have been rumors thatNVIDIA’sCEO and President Jen-Hsun Huang directly asked partners if there was any reason NVIDIA should stay in the chipset business. As the story goes, no one could offer a reason, and the division is closed. NVIDIA denied it. It’s hard to know what’s really going on, but it’s not hard to see that trouble is brewin’.

Where does this leave Apple once its existing orders of NVIDIA chips are satisfied? A mix of Intel and ATI solutions aren’t beyond imagining. ATI cards are already offered in the high-end iMac and Mac Pro configurations available on the Apple Store. So perhaps Intel chipsets can replace NVIDIA’s on the low end of the scale — I just wonder whether Intel’s chips (and experience in mobile technology) can offer appropriate gains in performance, reliability and power efficiency.

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http://theappleblog.com/2009/10/09/nvidia-halts-chipset-development-until-2010/

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Apple, news websites sued for 'iTunes
distribution'

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 09 October 2009 12:25:00 PM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

Apple and several news organizations have been named as defendants in a new patent infringement laws...

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New Bundle - Free MadeToPrint with QuarkXPress 8
Full/Upgrade Purchase

post from prMac on 09 October 2009 12:24:00 PM. © prMac

XChange UK are pleased to announce the availability of a new bundle that offers users a free MadeToPrint with Imposition with every QuarkXPress 8 full or upgrade purchase from the 1st October 2009. Users can save and obtain an exciting companion product that can automate their workflow, increase their productivity and streamline their day-to-day operations.

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New study shows benefits of Pilates for Pregnancy
exercise app

post from prMac on 09 October 2009 12:05:00 PM. © prMac

Dramatic Applications today announced their Pilates for Pregnancy exercise app shows benefits in the birth weight of newborns. The Pilates for Pregnancy exercise app is available to help women have a healthy pregnancy. A heavier birth weight poses risks to both the baby and the mother. Norwegian researchers found that the odds of delivering a too big baby dropped as much as 28% in women who engage in pregnancy exercise.

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Microsoft Considers Zune On the Mac and Apple
Should Offer iTunes Subscriptions

post from TheAppleBlog on 09 October 2009 12:00:00 PM. © TheAppleBlog

itunes_zune

Mary Jo Foley reports on her ZDnet blog that Microsoft is seriously considering making Zune services, such as the subscription-based Zune Pass, available to other platforms — and that includes Apple?s very own Mac OS X.

It?s early days though, as Foley admits, ?There?s no guarantee that the Redmondians will end up doing this ? or timetable as to when this could happen ? but it?s one of many strategies under active consideration.?

She adds, “I?ve been thinking that there might be a number of Apple iPod/iPhone users who might prefer a music subscription service over a pay-per-song one. (And one that?s better than Rhapsody.)”

Jose Pinero, Director of Communications for Microsoft?s TV, Video and Music Business told Foley that:

??with the addition of the ability to stream music from a browser that is part of the new Zune 4.0 experience, Mac and Linux users already can stream music to their systems if they have a Zune Pass subscription. The streaming capability isn?t limited to Internet Explorer; it works with any browser.?

So does this mean we may see a Mac OS version of Microsoft Zune Player software appearing one day soon? The latest version, Zune 4.0, is described in a recent review by Paul Thurrott as “…vastly superior to its only real competition, Apple’s iTunes.” Ouch.

But as Pinero explained, Zune Pass wielding Mac owners can already use their web browser to listen to their music. What they can’t do on the Mac OS is purchase and manage their music. And that’s where a native version of the Zune software comes in.

This raises the sticky-sweet issue of the Subscription Model, and whether Apple ought to adopt it. It’s a model proven supremely successful by the likes of Rhapsody in the U.S. and Spotify in Europe. Let?s take a quick look at those services.

Spotify

Spotify is, at its most basic level, completely free (through the unpredictable insertion of thankfully-occasional unskippable ads). An optional monthly fee of £9.99 (around USD$15) buys the user a Premium Account, banishing the ads and allowing the user to store streamed songs locally on their desktop computer (and now iPhone) for listening offline.

Rhapsody

Rhapsody doesn?t offer a free service, and at $12.99 its cheapest membership level is relatively expensive when compared to Spotify. For two dollars more, Rhapsody users can store music for offline listening.

Zune Pass

Zune Pass comes in at one price only — a hefty $14.99 — and offers both unlimited streamed music and a selection of 10 downloadable tracks each month that are yours to keep. That?s 120 songs per year. If you have a PC and a Zune player, you can store songs for offline playing.

Now consider how Apple could dominate this market. At its September 9 Press Event Steve Jobs said Apple manages over one hundred million active iTunes accounts with credit cards. That?s a staggeringly huge number, and even if we make some pretty conservative estimates, we still arrive at impressive results. Try this on for size; if Apple launched a monthly subscription service, priced at just $9.99 per month (cheaper than Zune Pass, Rhapsody and Spotify) and if only one percent of its credit-card-toting iTunes customers signed-up? that?s still almost a billion dollars in the bank, per year.

There?s more. While Rhapsody, Spotify and Zune Pass all cater to our (strictly) musical needs, a subscription service from Apple could potentially draw on the vast repository of content found throughout iTunes. So, to Music we can add TV shows, movies, maybe even custom-made ?premium? podcasts from high profile celebrities and artists. And in a post-Tablet 2010, it?s conceivable subscription-based magazines, newspapers, journals and books could be added in to the mix.

Others might have been first to the Subscription Model party, but it?s easy to imagine the Apple pitch: ?Today, Apple reinvents the Subscription model?? only, y?know, they?d say something way more funky than that.

I can?t believe I?m excited at the prospect of yet another reason to give Apple my money. But I do believe this is a service Apple would do well to consider. The Rhapsody?s and Spotify?s of this world prove there?s a growing, lucrative market demand for streaming content. That Microsoft is seriously considering expanding its Zune Pass service to other platforms tells me, beyond a shadow of doubt, there?s gold in them thar hills. I wonder if Apple has noticed?

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http://theappleblog.com/2009/10/09/microsoft-considers-zune-on-the-mac-and-apple-
should-offer-itunes-subscriptions/

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Telus HSPA to launch Nov. 3, HTC Hero coming too

post from Macnn | The Macintosh News Network on 09 October 2009 11:55:00 AM. © Macnn | The Macintosh News Network

Telus' imminent HSPA 3G network has received what should be a more definitive launch date as well as...

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Mac version of Chrome due before 2010

The Mac version of Chrome should be released before Christmas this year, suggests Google CEO Eri...

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President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

A great day for the United States.

?

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10nobel.html?_r=1&hp

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Nikon holding press events Oct. 14

Nikon in the past day has all but confirmed plans to launch the D3s, or a similar high-profile camer...

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Nokia's Maemo 6 to support multi-touch

Nokia on Friday revealed early details of Maemo 6, its next-generation smartphone platform. The OS ...

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