[H]ardNews 1st Edition

x86 Macs:

Several people pointed out this article that discusses Apple's decision to continue the use of x86 code named Marklar active to run under Macs OSX as a “standby” feature. By keeping the ability to run on an x86 platform, this keeps the door open for Apple to switch to an AMD or Intel solution since Motorola is seriously dropping the ball in the MHz race. Good reading.

The project (code-named Marklar, a reference to the race of aliens on the "South Park" cartoons) has been ongoing inside Apple since the early days of its transition to the Unix-based Mac OS X in the late '90s. Sources said more than a dozen software engineers are tasked to Marklar, and the company's mainstream Mac OS X team is regularly asked to modify code to address bugs that crop up when compiling the OS for x86. Build numbers keep pace with those of their pre-release PowerPC counterparts; for example, Apple is internally running a complete, x86-compatible version of Jaguar, a k a Mac OS X 10.2, which shipped last week.

Inexpensive HSF:

A $10 HSF ?? What can you get for a ten spot? Well, lets find out…I think I even see some copper in that heatsink.

Wow, Check out those micro fins! When micro fins are used, they greatly increase the surface area and cooling capacity of the heatsink. The shear thinness of the fins allows the heat to be removed very quickly using very little air flow.

Something I have personally noticed about ALL thin fin HSF’s is the need to be cleaned often. They clog up between the fins fairly easy, especially in above average dust conditions.

4-way Opteron:

I posted a link to Muropaketti yesterday that showed off a 4 way Hammer board that looked like it could have easily been a PhotoChop job. But my buddy Casper Hoelgaard Nielsen pointed out that the picture comes from Electronics Weekly magazine. So if it was doctored, it was doctored before it ran in their magazine. Thanks again to Casper.