IMac (Core Duo)

The iMac Core Duo is a personal computer of the company Apple. It succeeds the IMac G5 since the January 10th 2006 (it was presented by Steve Jobs at the time of the Macworld Expo 2006). Its main new thing is to use a microprocessor Intel Core Duo instead of a PowerPC, as the other Apple computers did it until there.

The revolution Intel

See also: Passage of Apple towards Intel

Before January 10th, of many rumors ran already on the premature exit of a Macintosh computer equipped with an Intel processor, but those were related to a portable.

The iMac Core Duo was thus a surprise and its very fast availability (as of the 11 in certain sales outlets) astonished everyone.

The iMac thus marked the kickoff of the progressive transition from the PowerPC towards Intel. Apple, in addition to bringing an architecture X86, innovates vis-a-vis the other contructeurs by proposing for the first time a BIOS of the type EFI in a personal computer general public.

Compatibility with Windows

See also: Architecture APPLE-Intel

After the advertisement of Apple in June 2005 of the beginning of the transition towards Intel, of many people tried to install (nativement or in the emulating) MacOS on a traditional PC, in spite of protections of Apple. On the other hand, Phil Schiller (the “vice Senior chair world” at Apple) declared:

“We will not sell and we will not propose a customer support for Windows. But we do not intend to block the loading of Windows on our machines We are satisfied with that. So users adore our machines, but that they have really need for the Windows world then they will be happy to benefit from this possibility. That does not pose a problem to us. ”

This declaration directly did not open the way with the installation of Windows XP on Mac with Intel, because the shooting was quickly rectified by Microsoft and Apple, which announced thereafter that the operating systems of the one would not be inevitably compatible with the computers of the other. However, the Apple on April 5th, 2006 proposed an official solution for Boot er Windows XP on Mac of architecture Intel. Provided with many drivers, Boot Camp is still in version beta. It should be integrated in the next version of Mac OS X.

Moreover, following a contest, two hackers had succeeded in installing Windows XP on a iMac Core Duo by using an igniter especially developed and free. The competition for A-grade officials had been initiated by onMac.net, which provides moreover all the necessary informations to handling.

Software

The iMac Intel is delivered with Mac OS X 10.4.4 and the continuation ILife 06.

The majority of the applications in place on the iMac G5 function with the iMac Intel thanks to the dynamic software of emulation Rosetta. Only the applications of the continuation pro (DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro, etc) are not dealt with by the Intel processor. An update must be marketed in March.

To note: some plug-ins operational with the applications of the continuation iLife 05 become inoperative with the applications of the continuation iLife 06 (the plugs-ins cf/x for iMovie 5 HD do not function with iMovie 6 HD any more).

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