New and Noteworthy: Speculation on Intel-based Mac models; ROKR phones being returned in droves; more

Speculation on Intel-based Mac models: Better native performance Writing for TechNewsWorld, Rob Enderle speculates on the specifications and packaging of forthcoming Intel-based Macs "Desktop hardware will be visibly changed as well as Intel favors BTX designs for cooling and noise containment. What's new in this area is small form factor, high performance products. When I say high performance, I'm not just blowing smoke, as the labs I'm in contact with are reporting performance improvements that even I find hard to believe. Speculation is that since the UNIX kernel the Mac OS starts with is optimized for Intel before being ported to the Power platform, the result, up until now, has been a significant performance setback. Going back to Intel removed this inefficiency, which the applications have had to make up. The result, we understand, is like suddenly finding your emergency brakes were stuck on. Now Intel test systems are acting like they have permanent after-burners." More.

ROKR phones being returned in droves The Motorola ROKR iTunes phone is off to a slower start than Motorola and Apple executives may have hoped. P2P.net reports that the number of people returning the Rokr E1 iPod phone hybrid phone, launched by Apple in September, is six times higher than normal "'We got off to a little bit of a rough start,' Motorola chief executive Ed Zander says, according to PC Pro. 'People were looking for an iPod and that's not what it is. We may have missed the marketing message there.' Zander, 'acknowledged that Motorola has failed to explain that the phone stores fewer songs than even the smallest iPod, but sells for the same price as an iPod nano.'" More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• iTunes 6.0.1 (#2): CD playing/importing bugs not resolved for some users
• High-res PowerBook G4s (#2): Full new feature list; Why is battery life longer?
• Fifth-generation iPod (with video) [#4]: More on problems synchronizing home-compressed video
• QuickTime 7.0.3 (#4): Extremely slow MPEG-4 export times, problems exporting to iPod-compatible format; more
• Symantec releases Norton AntiVirus 10.0.2, plugs security holes

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