[geeks] OSX 10.4.2, FireFox 1.0.5 out

[Kurt Huhn]

On Jul 14, 2005, at 4:28 AM, Jonathan Groll wrote:
> Seriously not intended as a troll. Granted, many, many factors come  
> into
> play when doing comparisons, only one of which is clock speed. However,
> many of us, and for too long now have blithely accepted the apple  
> gospel
> that PPC is the inherently "superior" architecture. Surely, though,
> there must come a time when a processor with enough pure 'grunt' can
> outperform one that is slower but more able?
>

MHz != speed.  Other improvments may bring the Intel processors closer  
to being acceptable (faster pipelining, faster RAM, switched bus, etc)  
but "speed" as measured in MHz is not one of them.  I will grant that  
AMD and Intel are bringing their Desktop processors closer to  
acceptable, but they will never get there unless they're willing to  
dump the legacy crap that surrounds them and start designing them to be  
put into elegant and well-designed systems.

> Take a look at today's slashdot:
> (Intel Developer Macs Outperform G5s)
> http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/05/07/13/2057231.shtml? 
> tid=174&tid=3
>

I see nothing there indicating that the developer macs are  
outperforming G5s.  I see a vague reference to "as little as 10  
seconds" to boot to the desktop.  Now there's a reliable benchmark!!   
Not.

If we're going to claim that the intel systems from Apple are faster  
than anything else, why don't we compare them side by side, under equal  
environments and conditions, and take real measurements, with real  
applications, under heavy load, and performing functions that people  
who buy high-end workstations need them for?  Until I see such tests,  
I'll not even consider "it feels faster" with the smallest grain of  
salt.

--
Kurt Huhn         "A rebel I came, and I'll die just the same
kurt at k-huhn.com    On the cold winds of night you will find me"
                                        --Seven Nations