Open Computer
Recently announced, the Open Computer and OpenPro Computer by PsyStar comes with Apple’s Leopard pre-installed. What is amazing is that they offer this functionality for as low as $400.
This is accomplished by using the same x86 architecture that the majority of computers run on today, but faking the EFI firmware so that Leopard thinks that it is running on genuine Apple hardware. Interesting. Basically this group as achieved what the hackers at OSx86 have been trying to do all along.
The base model, the Open Computer has a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor, 2GB of DDR2 667 memory, Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics, 20x DVD+/-R SATA drive that is Lightscribe-capable, 4 rear USB Ports and comes in white or black.
Furthermore, a former Apple patent lawyer thinks Apple may not be able to do anything about it (Wired).
“Basically, when people go to a store or download software, they have a license with Apple to use this patented software on their computer. But breach of contract is one of the weakest forms of legal disputes” - Raj Abhyanker (Wired)
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out; whether the reliability and robustness of Apple’s Mac line can compete against inexpensive third-party options.
New Mac Pro
Wow. The Mac Pro legacy continues. At the default configuration, which starts at $2,799 it includes the following:
- Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
- 2GB (2 x 1GB) of RAM
- 320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
- One 16x SuperDrive
- Two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces
- Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) up to 3Mb/s
- One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
- Two PCI Express x4 slots
- Two FireWire 800 ports, two FireWire 400 ports, five USB 2.0 ports
The Mac Pro includes Intel’s newest Penryn 45nm Quad-Core Xeon processors, which can be upgraded to 3.2 GHz. Main memory can be expanded to 32 GB (which I believe did not change from the last model) and it supports and internal hard drive expansion of up to 4 TB. Apple claims that this is the “fastest Mac ever” and that it delivers “up to twice the performance of its predecessor”. Also more good news, it is available today!
Personally, I am excited about the raw power that this machine has, from the graphics it includes to the new Intel chipset, it is amazing what is packed in the new Mac Pro. Other highlights include the shear expandability, and five USB ports (I have run out on my laptop), and excellent design of the machine. I would have liked to see integrated Blue-Ray or HD-DVD (even though this is not likely) support. There were several rumors that this might occur and I really thought that the next upgrade would include this.
Sudoku Solver
- Project Started: April 2007
- Platform: Mac OS 10.5
- Language: Objective-C
- Libraries: Cocoa
This was my first Cocoa project using Objective-C that I began freshman year of college. It allows you to input numbers in a 9×9 Sudoku grid. Once a puzzle has been entered, pressing “Solve!” will show one possible solution to the puzzle.
