|
"One Monitor Is Plenty." (12/28/00)
|
 
|
| | |
Speaking of advances in processor technology, Intel may have another innovation to add to its formidable list: the "ah, just ignore it" bug. The company discovered an "erratum" in the Pentium 4 chipset which delayed the chip's introduction by about a month, but has now decided to ship the processor with the bug still present since "the potential for damage appears to be very slight." (Have we told you about the time Jack went to the doctor and said "Doc, it hurts when I bend my elbow, and the doctor said "Don't bend your elbow"? Badum-ching! Thank you, thank you... We'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitstaff!)
According to an article at ZDNet, this particular Pentium 4 bug only afflicts users of multiple monitors. Since the vast majority of Wintel users only ever stick a single monitor on their systems, they'll be just fine. It's only the wacky goofballs who try to hook up a second display who will experience "slow processing or data corruption." (By "slow processing," we assume they mean "even slower processing," since for most tasks it seems that the P4 is already somehow slower than the Pentium III. Go figure.) Rather than delay its chip still further, Intel has evidently decided that users of multiple monitors form a minority small enough to alienate. The bug will be fixed eventually, but until then, instead of delaying the P4, Intel is advising PC manufacturers not to advertise dual-monitor capabilities.
What this means, of course, is that Pentium 4 might be even less of a threat to Apple's market share in the high-end content creation market. There are workarounds for configuring a Pentium 4-based system to use two monitors, but between the message sent to high-end customers by knowingly shipping the multiple monitors bug and the chip's lackluster performance, we're guessing that few graphic artists are going to want to dump their G4s for the wonderful world of Wintel anytime soon.
| |
| |
 |
SceneLink (2768)
|  |
 |
|
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
| | | |
|
| |
|
 | | The above scene was taken from the 12/28/00 episode: December 28, 2000: Mac OS X unseats Windows from a Wired top ten list-- but that's not exactly good news. Meanwhile, rumor has it that Motorola is behind in the development of newer G4 chips (gasp!), and Intel decides to ship the Pentium 4 complete with a known bug that affects users of multiple-monitor setups...
Other scenes from that episode: 2766: Mac OS X Beats Win2000! (12/28/00) It's been a long time coming, but we're pleased to announce that Apple finally has an operating system that's knocked Windows clear out of the number one spot on a yearly top ten list! That's right, everyone; Mac OS X has just kicked Windows 2000's blue-screening butt, and the lickable new operating system isn't even out yet... 2767: Better Sit Down For This (12/28/00) Are you the kind of person who ransacks the house when no one's home to find your Christmas presents early, opens them to find out what you got, carefully rewraps them to remove any signs of tampering, and then delivers an Oscar-worthy performance on Christmas morning as you open them "for the first time"?...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
|
|
