Apple planning media Macs with instant-on

Written by Wil Harris

November 23, 2005 | 13:32

Tags: #centre #flash #mac #media #media-center #nand #osx #robson

Companies: #apple #intel

He certainly wasn't the first to think it, but he might be the first to say it out loud. The Motley Fool suggests that Apple's recent buying spree of flash memory means more than just bigger iPods.

Analysts have long thought that Apple was due to make a move into the home theatre space. Microsoft has Media Center, and Apple has already taken tentative steps with it's Front Row software.

However, Apple has recently spent a lot of money securing flash memory supplies for the next few years, prompting speculation that it's going to do more.

"Robson is the name -- Latin for "really boring name" -- that Intel has given its upcoming technology to integrate NAND flash into computers. It will load important chunks of the operating system into flash memory, where it remains even when the machine is powered down. On restart, a computer won't need to go through so much of the usual laborious process of grabbing data from the hard drive, loading it into RAM, reporting it to the Men In Black, and so on. Intel has so far been showing off this technology in laptops, where it promises to provide longer battery life. But there's another related benefit."

That benefit is, of course, DVD-player-like start-up times for computer equipment, making for a very useable home theatre Mac.

How would you feel about a svelte, white system underneath your TV? Give us your thoughts on Apple's move into home theatre in the forums.
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