New and Noteworthy: Intel switch will cause "rethinking" of Mac applications; IBM to update support for Mac OS X

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 8:54 a.m. PT

2 min read

Intel: Chip switch will cause "rethinking" of Mac applications James Reinders, Intel's director of marketing for software development products, told TG Daily that incorporation of Intel architecture, coupled with the increased use of Intel compilers by Mac developers, may lead to a long-overdue rethinking of the methodologies developers use to write Macintosh applications, mentioning the new Intel compilers as the catalyst for that change. "The Intel compilers are the best at extracting the performance of the processor," professed Reinders, and his argument seems sensible enough. Intel is in the best position to interpret how machine code can be optimized for execution in the microprocessors it produces. "I think it will re-emphasize people thinking in an event-oriented nature, which I'm very fond of," he added, "and it does free people up to think in parallel very cleanly." More.

IBM to update support for Mac OS X, pledge support for Intel Macs CRN reports that at Lotusphere next week, the IBM Software Group is poised to announce updated Mac OS X support in the latest Notes client. "In addition, the company will pledge big-time support for the new Intel-based Macs due later this year, sources said. [...] Some might say since Apple switched to Intel over IBMï¿½s PowerPC chips last year, the two companies would be at odds, but they both face Microsoft on many fronts." More.

Apple caught "cheating" on RSS standard NewsFactor takes issue with Steve Jobs' proclamation that the new iLife '06 suite uses industry standard RSS so that anyone can subscribe. "'You do not even need a Mac,' Steve Jobs told delegates at the Macworld conference in San Francisco. But early tests showed that the feature fails to work with some feed readers because it deviates from common RSS practices. Strictly speaking, Apple is not doing anything wrong. RSS is not an official standard governed by a standards body, and anybody can make changes and introduce new elements and extensions." More.

Previously on MacFixIt