A report by "stellarola" quoted in OSNews confirms what comments on our 10.6.2 post suggested: 10.6.2 removes support for Atom processors, most frequently found in "netbook" computers. This loss of Atom support was spotted in earlier builds, but nobody knew until now whether it'd be in or out in the final configuration.

Is this Apple clamping down on "hackintosh" computers, or just continuing to prune code that it doesn't need? The answer you prefer likely depends on your previous view of Apple.

If you think Apple is a company desperate to keep control over its operating system, you point to Psystar and the ongoing iTunes/Palm Pre compatibility battle, and this is just more wood for the fire. If you think that Psystar is nuts for thinking it has a case against Apple and think that Palm should hire its own programmers to sync its devices, then you're likely to say that Atom processors were never really supported in the first place, so it's all much ado about nothing.

Either way, I wouldn't expect the OSx86 community to pack up its bags and go home. I am sure that there are several folks already at work to find a workaround for this latest hurdle, and I won't be surprised when the announcement comes that they have a solution. The only real "blow" is to those folks who were previously able to install an unmodified version of OS X onto their netbooks. I was able to get 10.5.6 running on my Asus EEE 1000ha using my regular Leopard DVD and some additional drivers/kext files, but it broke again with 10.5.7 and I was never able to get it or 10.6 to work. I gave up and installed Windows 7 on it instead -- put down those pitchforks!

The removal of Atom support does not necessarily indicate anything about the fabled Mac "Tablet" since Apple could use the ARM processor instead. Or Apple could continue to say what they've said, which is (roughly speaking) that the iPhone/iPod touch is their netbook.

One thing is for sure; this move will do nothing to end any of these debates, but if you are using a netbook or other hackintosh, let me tell you what you've probably already learned: don't be too quick to install the latest operating system updates from Apple.

Using PC_efi technology (a means to run OS X on a PC without kernel modification), an anonymous source for netkas.org has managed to run and benchmark Leopard on an Atom chip, which is rumored (and denied) to be headed for Mac.

The Atom Processor would certainly make a good candidate for a mini-tablet. It's small enough to fit any form factor, and low power enough to run for long periods in small devices. According to netkas, you can even run one of these on solar power. Here are the results of an Xbench test, courtesy of netkas:

More details are available at netkas.org.

Was it a slip of the tongue? ZDNet.de reports that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer, speaking at an Intel 40th anniversary event at Munich's BMW World, confirmed that there is an iPhone that will be using Intel's new Atom processor. The new device is "slightly larger" than the current iPhone, raising speculation that this new member of the iPhone family may be the long-rumored Apple mini-tablet with a 720 x 480 display.

Schwaderer also mentioned that an upgraded version of the current iPhone with the same form factor would be a 3G model. With iPhones out of stock in the US and UK, and Steve Jobs scheduled to give the keynote at WWDC 08, new iPhones and the mini-tablet might be right around the corner.

What do YOU think about Herr Schwaderer's comments and the rumored mini-tablet? Take our poll! A big thank-you hug to Erica Sadun for the poll answers!



Update: If you had "Intel disavows knowledge of future iPhone products" for $200, you win.

[via ZDNet.de, MacRumors]

Just eight weeks after the teaser announcement, Vienna 2.2 has been released. I have been happily using Vienna for months. It's a light and simple RSS reader that's free and open. What more do you need? How about (new to version 2.2):

• Snappier performance
• Major UI improvements (no more brushed metal!)
• Support for RSS/Atom enclosures, plus a new Enclosure panel for articles that contain enclosures.
• Global search
• Feed auto-discovery

There's a lot more to this major update, and you can read the full description here. Vienna is free, universal and requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.

If you like to travel light, check out Portable Vienna, which runs on a USB keychain drive.

Shrook, a full featured RSS reader for OS X, is now freeware according to Shrook developer Graham Parks. In an email to TUAW he assures us that development of Shrook will continue, the only thing that has changed is the price. Why the sudden change to freeware? To quote Graham, 'to piss off Brent Simmons if nothing else.'

Hey, I'm all for spite creating freeware, though I think I'll stick with NetNewsWire myself.

As you might remember, NewsMac Pro 1.2 brought some nice enhancements when it landed last November. Even though this latest version is just a .0.3 update, I think this app is finally maturing into a serious reader, and I also hope the NetNewsWire people are paying attention to what Rory Prior is doing with this most excellent of newsreaders.

This latest version brings typical things like bug fixes and new features to the table, but I think a couple of the most important new options are a new view (now a total of 4) for arranging your feeds and headlines, as well as more keyboard support for moving between groups, feeds and headlines. While using the keyboard isn't nearly as smooth as it is in NetNewsWire, NewsMac Pro is getting there, and I hope more users submit requests to move this feature up Rory's priority list. Most serious folks I know who use RSS apps barely touch their mouse while they're in the app, and I think it would serve NewsMac Pro well to gain this ability ASAP.

A couple other big strengths NewsMac Pro has are flagging headlines with different colors based on user-defined keywords, as well as an iTunes-style built-in podcast player, so you can keep everything under one roof, if you so desire.

With all this great stuff coming to life in NewsMac Pro, it certainly isn't still without its shortcomings. The demo casts off a time limit in return for allowing a user to add only 10 feeds. I cannot stress enough how bad of an idea this is, as I would imagine anyone looking at an RSS app like this is going to have far, far more than 10 feeds in their OPML (which reminds me: NewsMac Pro fortunately supports OPMLs with groups). The other clunky thing is the way feed and group updating is defined. You can specify different update intervals (30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.) for each group of feeds, which is certainly nice for some uses, but I can't find a way to specify any kind of a default for the app as a whole.

All things considered, I think NewsMac Pro is a great newsreader that includes some very appealing innovations in the world of RSS reading and organzing. If you're in the market for a great way to keep track of all your favorite sites and blogs, head over and pick up a demo. If it really floats yer boat, a full license costs a mere $24.95.

Here's a handy tool. RSS Menu by e dot studios lets you keep track of all of our RSS subscriptions right in the Finder's menu bar. Simply add your favorite feeds via the preferences menu and you're off. You can create groups, insert spacers, display the number of unread messages awaiting your eyes and more. RSS Menu is also aware of Growl, so you can take advantage of its pop-up notifications.

RSS Menu requires Mac OS 10.3 or higher and is donationware.  On a side note, I've now got fourteen little icons on the right hand side of my menu bar. I've really got to slow down with all these little extras.

[Via Appleology]