Breaking Windows

Watch this video as Guy offers his thoughts on the Macbook Air, the blogosphere, and talks about his new online venture, Alltop.

His comment at the end about the blogosphere is priceless.

Oh, and my thoughts exactly on the MacBook Air.

My 5-year-old (!) PowerBook G4 needs a new power supply. I noticed the power cord had exposed wires around the neck where it plugs into the PowerBook. Electrical tape did the trick only for a day. Thats $70 for an Apple 65 W power brick.

My 3-year-old G5, which still plugs away quite well I might add, has a bad keyboard. The D key sticks. Too bad I can't just replace the D key, its the membrane that is bad, not the key itself. I have a wireless bluetooth Apple keyboard, so I was not too upset, not until I found out that my wireless keyboard won't turn on, even with fresh batteries.

A new Apple Pro Keyboard is $60. You may think I am crazy (well, I am sure you do already) but I much prefer spending the extra money on the Apple Tax and get the better keyboard than spending $20 on a cheap USB keyboard.

Not a good week for my Macs. That is $130 plus tax, no fun. At least its a tax write off.

I just got this presser (after the jump) and all I can say is: "are you serious?"

I wonder if they will require an Intel Mac or if the games will be Universal Binary. I would put my bets on Intel only. I just confirmed with EA PR that they will be Intel-based Mac only.

Not a bad bunch of games for the Mac. Who knew?

Maddox is pretty funny. This is priceless.

Ahh, another touching story about a switcher!

In related news, Bruce Kratofil got a Mac!

Apple Computer Inc. will pay Creative Technology Ltd. $100 million to end lawsuits over technology needed to navigate through songs on Apple's popular iPod music player. Creative's shares soared.

Anyone watching this unfold had to know that Apple would be paying Creative in the long run. But look at it this way, now with Creative joining the "Made for iPod" program, they can make products for MP3 players that people might actually want to buy!

Apple has laid legal claim to the word "Pod", arguing that other companies that use the word as part of their product names risk infringing the trademark of its popular iPod music player.

Um... what the hell? Did you read about this?

“Despite SecureWorks being quoted saying the Mac is threatened by the exploit demonstrated at Black Hat, they have provided no evidence that in fact it is,” Apple Director of Mac PR, Lynn Fox, told Macworld. “To the contrary, the SecureWorks demonstration used a third party USB 802.11 device–not the 802.11 hardware in the Mac–a device which uses a different chip and different software drivers than those on the Mac.

SecureWorks even changed their web site. There is a reason for the “Mac user base aura of smugness on security,” and do you know why?

When it comes to Mac OS X troubleshooting and maintenance, Repairing permissions may be the most frequently recommended course of action. It’s also easily the most maligned.

If you could call an article on repairing permissions in OS X a wonderful read (and I can) -- this is it. Dan Frakes, as usual, does a great job of explaining things.

This morning Steve Jobs will be talking Leopard at the keynote. But no one is interested in that (well, not really). You have to admit, banners that read "Mac OS X Leopard, Hasta la Vista, Vista" and "Mac OS X Leopard, Introducing Vista 2.0" are pretty funny.

My biggest hope is that Finder and Spotlight get a modest boost in speed. Both are dog slow, especially Spotlight -- which is also buggy as all hell.

But the big rumor is the Intel-based Mac Pro desktop. Apple needs to retire the G5 tower, and with the Core 2 Duo out, now is the time.

Wether we see Woodcrest or Conroe chips in the new Mac Pro, it is gonna scream. Xserve also seems likely to get new Intel hardware as well. We could also see new Intel chips in the MacBook Pro line, but I have my doubts on that one.

Will there be updates to the iPod and iTunes? If I were a betting man, (and I am not) I'd bet on it.

I am sure the keynote will have the usual fireworks, fake turtleneck, and "one more thing." The show starts off at 1 PM EST, with numerous sources giving live updates. MacRumorsLive and MacCentral are two places I usually read for the keynote.

Desktop Stats has two different Widgets available for OS X. Desktop Stats Viewer is the newest, and most customizable. The Gamercard Widget just displays a gamercard. Both are great at what they do, and I encourage you to download both of them.

The developer is working on newer versions of both Widgets, and has said will incorporate some suggestions I have made. Here is a screen of the DSV Widget:

Once viewed as a plaything, the Macintosh is now the PC of choice for many hard-core technology professionals, and Macintosh skills are now an in-demand specialty among IT pros, rather than an afterthought.

Yea. Take that!

Ahh yes, it is good to get back to the geeky posts, isn't it.

I just found this out the hard way. I use Carbon Copy Cloner (thanks so much Mike Bombich) and Apple System Restore in my day job a lot. It allows me to clone a new Mac in about 15 minutes, and that is with about 10 GB of data.

Mac OS X 10.4.6 prevents me from even using 'sudo' to execute the 'asr' command in Terminal. My handy AppleScript even fails.

It turns out that you need to run the 'asr' command in a root shell, or login to the system as root. If you ask me, this is something that you should not have to do. As any BOFH will tell you, using root to do anything is not a good idea.

And I am not about to leave a root password in a "do shell script" AppleScript, as I don't even like putting in an admin password in there. Even though adding "user name "username" password "password" with administrator privileges" to the end seems to work if you enable root in OS X, and use that user in the script.

Using root allowed me to continue my ASR cloning as I always have in every previous iteration of OS X.

To make matters worse, you get an odd-ball error. The "Permission denied" error makes sense, but not the "Validating target" error. Why? Because in this case the Target had nothing on it, it was in fact a newly formatted HFS+ volume. The "The target volume will not be bootable" is also a little odd too. I chalk this up as another oddity of OS X/BSD integration.

See the entire CLI dump after the break.

This is as simple as they come. After a week of trying different things when we got a new HP 5100ntd, we had flaky printing from any number of applications.

After calling HP, the solution was to force the printer to use the HP 5000 Series drivers, as there are serious issues with the 5100 Series drivers for OS X. I was told that HP had no plans yet to address the problem. But hey, if you want to call and complain that wouldn't hurt.

Using the 5000 Series drivers is our only option, and have had no problems at all.

On a technical note, we have had better success with LPD printing with the 5100, even though IPP printing worked fine with our 5000 Series printers.

Apple today introduced Boot Camp, new public-beta software for Mac OS X that lets users of Intel Macs boot directly into Microsoft Windows XP. While the move may contradict previous statements by Apple, the company said they still have no intention of fully supporting Windows on the Mac.

Or as Joystiq most eloquently put it: Apple's official Mac gaming solution: Windows. Rob Griffiths has a first look up already. It sounds just amazing. We should be getting some new iMacs in at work, so I will get a chance to tinker with this myself.

Rob and I was chatting a little about what this could possibly mean for the future of the Mac and Mac OS X. Not that I like the thought of a post-apocalyptic future with no Mac OS X, but what if software developers such as Adobe just stop making Mac OS X software. What if they just tell their customers to just buy the Windows version, since it will run on their Intel-based Mac just fine.

Is that too radical an idea? I don't know. Apple's history has been pretty radical.

What I do know is this: running Windows natively on a Mac is exactly what I want. It will let me ditch my Dell Inspiron 700m. I can finally install Mac OS X and Windows XP (or Vista, if that ever ships) on a MacBook Pro -- one that I will surely own sometime after the second revision.

We now have Windows XP running on the Intel-based Macintosh — as a guest operating system under the Linux version of VMware." "To anybody who has used Windows XP under Virtual PC on the PowerPC version of Mac OS X: you will simply be blown away by how fast Windows XP runs under VMware on the new hardware.

This is great news. But I don't really want to jump through hoops like that. Hopefully running Vista on an Intel Mac will be a bit easier.

From the outside, Apple’s new MacBook Pro looks suspiciously like a 15-inch aluminum PowerBook G4. Yes, the ports are slightly different, and it’s slightly wider and thinner. But inside, it’s a completely different machine.

Some great info here, including this tidbit:

Apple has redesigned the way the power charger connects to the laptop. (Yes, laptop users who have collected a zillion power adapters, this means you’ll have to invest in all-new adapters.) The MagSafe Connector uses magnets in the cable and the computer to secure the connection.

MacBook Pro v. PowerBook G4 v. Acer Travelmate 8200... FIGHT!

If you ask me, I think the Acer won. This highlights a couple problems I have with the MacBook Pro: Why the heck won't Apple put more then two USB ports on their portable, and what kind of battery life can we expect from the new MacBook Pro (a statistic that Apple usually plays to the hilt, and has been very quiet about so far).

Sun Microsystems tried to acquire Apple once and then almost merged with Apple on two other occasions, according to Sun co-founder Bill Joy. Beyond these deals, the two companies almost teamed on three other projects including sharing a user interface and the SPARC architecture. The moves were cheered by Apple fan Joy, while Sun's CEO Scott McNealy appeared less impressed with some of the proposals.

Could you imagine an Apple interface on SPARC?

If you've been counting on being able to run Windows on those new Intel-based Macs, Apple's not about to make it easy for you -- at least not if you're attached to Windows XP. According to Apple SVP Phil Schiller, the new Macs announced yesterday (those being the Intel iMac and MacBook Pro) may not be able to run current versions of Windows due to the fact that the computers will boot using the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), rather than a traditional BIOS (current Power PC Macs use Open Firmware).

Well isn't that a kick in the pants. Best get out those Vista beta discs then. No worries for me however. By the time I buy an Intel Mac, Vista will be out.

The Macworld Keynote every year is like an extra holiday to Mac fans. Others just don't seem to understand. Steve Jobs stands in front of us, in his mock turtleneck and jeans, and preaches about the current and future Mac plans. This is an event that even the naysayers pay attention to.

The biggest news of the day was the new PowerBook, now known as the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro features include a built-in iSight camera, IR Sensor, Apple Remote, ATI Radeon x1600 video processor, and a new, innovative magnetic power plug. All the normal I/O ports are included, with the exception of Firewire 800. I am not exactly sure why it was omitted.

A friend of mine, who will remain anonymous, just sold her PowerBook G4 (circa January 2001) for $180. For only $180? Lets back up a few years.

We both bought our PowerBooks at the same time. I remember recommending the spec for her 400 Mhz PowerBook while I got the 500 Mhz model. It wasn't long after she got the PowerBook that someone decided to (accidently) put there elbow or arm down on top of the closed PowerBook breaking the LCD screen.

It is amazing how much Apple charges to fix the screen, even if you spend the money on AppleCare. Long story short: she never fixed the screen and hooked the PowerBook up to a VGA monitor for its entire life.

I am quite impressed that her 'Book is still working. Mine didn't last near as long.

But $180? That is just too funny... for me. That is one heck of an expensive keyboard you just sold.

What a busy day. Although I can't it was a surprise, thanks to the rumor sites. MacWorld has a piece on the new iMac, Playlist has the video iPod and iTunes 6 covered.

Viva la video on the iPod! And to answer Matt and Jake, NO I am not gonna buy one. I have Final Fantasy VII Advent Children and Sin City on my PSP right now, and I can watch them (and actually see the details) just fine on the luxurious screen. Granted I only have a 1 GB card, but I will take the bigger screen over the bigger hard disk space.

The one thing that gets me is how Apple can only charge $1.99 for videos and TV shows. I think that is a miracle in itself. Of course the flip side to that is BitTorrent and free, but $1.99 a show isn't bad at all.

I get so tired of people asking, and I have to explain the keyboard shortcuts in OS X to take screenshots. Even though they could (gasp!) look it up in Mac Help or even Google.

Here is a nice article by Dan Frakes that talks about everything you would want to know, from 1st party to 3rd party, freeware to shareware.

Now please, stop asking.

For the quick and dirty methods:

Command+Shift+3: Full-screen screenshot

Command+Shift+4: Crosshair to allow selection of screenshot area

Command+Shift+4, then spacebar: “Camera” to capture a specific screen object

AT NEXT WEEK'S Intel developer forum, the firm is due to announce a next generation x86 processor core. The current speculation is this new core is going too be based on one of the existing Pentium M cores. I think it’s going to be something completely different.

Isn't it interesting. Now we (Mac users) have another market to watch. Now everything Intel is everything Mac. The speculation is a new 64 bit Intel chip based on the M core. Did Apple know something when they announced the switch to Intel that we don't know yet. Probably.

One of the major concerns that came out of that Apple-Intel announcement was "What about the 64 bit OS X?" I guess it is just a matter of time. 64 bit OS X might not be dead in the water after all.

That future may already be unfolding: Hackers have found a way to bypass a chip designed to prevent the Mac OS from running on non-Apple PCs, which are often cheaper than Macs.

There have been conflicting reports about Apple using a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) in their new development kits. It sounds like they did.

And you just knew it would only be a (short) amount of time before this new Mac OS on vanilla Intel hardware was hacked. It was as if Apple was just taunting people to defy them.

Sony has already released a 2.0 firmware upgrade to its PlayStation Portable (PSP) in Japan. Sony has announced plans to release that software in North America on August 12. the update adds a Web browser, photo sharing options and more to the handheld gaming console and media player.

This we know (or should). This article focuses on the Mac side of things.

Apple Computer on Tuesday introduced Mighty Mouse, the company’s next generation USB 1.1 and 2.0 mouse. Mighty Mouse offers users up to four independently programmable buttons and a Scroll Ball that lets users scroll in any direction — vertically, horizontally and even diagonally, according to Apple.

Hell hath frozen over. I never thought I would see the day when Apple saw the light, and released a multi-button mouse. I just hope this mouse is included when you buy a new Mac now. I am also not sold on the name. I almost expected it to be named something like "iMouse." But aparently Apple liked the name Mighty Mouse so much that they licensed the name from Viacom, who own the property now.

As you would expect, it is designed very well. I do like the ability to scroll sideways (something the Microsoft IntelliMouse has). I am a little surprised at the price too, $49 is cheaper then Apple has previously sold its corded single button mouse for ($69). It still costs more then an IntelliMouse though.

My only questions is this: Where is the Bluetooth? Since Apple has a BT single-button mouse, why not have a BT multi-button mouse too?

I have a Logitech MX 700, and I do not think I could go back to a corded mouse.

So in case you were sleeping today, Apple announced that, over the next two years, it will swap the chips inside the Mac.

Since I really do not have the time to elaborate on this subject a lot, I figured I would point you to Rob Griffiths's (who just made Senior Editor, congratulations) column over at Macworld.

He and I talked a bit this afternoon, and we have very similar thoughts.

First off I think everyone who is now holding there breath about Apple just needs to exhale and take a chill. And all those people who just love to say that Apple is going under (for the 9,864th time) - just keep on saying it.

Sure the list of things that Rosetta will not do is substantial, (sorry, I am not going to sugar coat it) but if you are running, today, carbon and cocoa software I think you will be OK in two years or so when you decide to upgrade to an Intel-based Mac.

Being able to run Windows natively, or near native like WINE does it, is very appealing to me. And I bet I am not the only one. If Apple develops a WINE like environment for Windows software, I would not have to reboot to use Windows. Even if I did, it would be so much better then using Virtual PC or Guest PC today.

I don't think the price of Apple hardware will drop drastically. Apple still needs to either make, or partner with a motherboard manufacturer (which could be Intel) so that it can protect is ROM, and 'clone wars' do not erupt again.

Apple has a peticular loathing for cheap PC parts - and who can blame them - so don't think you are going to build your own Mac. What will happen, however, is that Apple now has by default access to a whole slew of better technology: graphics cards, controller cards, hard drives, etc, etc. This is the big win for Apple loyalists.

I can't wait for the Macworld when we can do a Photoshop speed test with OS X and Windows on Intel chips. Will it matter? Not one bit. But we will finally be able to compare Apples to "apples."

The rumors are true. Hell has frozen over. Jobs just showed OS 10.4.1 running on an Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.6 Ghz. What we all suspected is true, "Marklar" has indeed been in development for five years now.

I only wonder about porting the software to the Intel architecture. My guess is that Apple has not been happy at all with the PowerPC not being able to hit the 3.0 Ghz threshold, and this is Apple's way of saying the sh** has hit the fan. Lower prices for Apple hardware are soon to come, I would guess. And finally a faster processor in which to run OS X on.

MacCentral is updating their site live from the keynote right now.

The Steve Jobs "iCon" book got early attention, even before it was published, because Jobs pulled all the publishers books from the Apple Store. So I earmarked the book on Amazon. But after reading Deutschman's review, I think I will pass. It seems that "iCon" is not only a rehash of "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs." - Deutschman's book - but a rehash of a number of previously printed books about Steve Jobs.

Deutschman gives a number of side by side examples of the text from his book, and that from "iCon." What a joke, and a con.

In a perfect would, people might pay for security software based on the number of attacks prevented and the severity of those threats. The bigger the threat, the harder the software works and the more it protects, the more you pay. Seems fair enough.

In the case of Mac OS X, if you paid for what you got, the price for security software would be zero. The price would thus equal the number of virus and malware threats that target Apple's Unix-based operating system.

Opinion or not, he has a good point about the cost of Mac Anti-Virus software.

In a joint release, Apple Computer and the Blu-ray Disc Association announced on Thursday that Apple would become a member of the consortium's Board of Directors. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting and further developing business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc.

It looks like Apple might be taking sides in this upcoming war between Blue-ray and HD-DVD. This should be fun. HD isn't even settled yet. Lets just face it, there will be two standards. I mean we live with DVD+ and - R formats.

Most in the industry were certain that Apple would choose Be, whose operating system, BeOS, already ran on Apple's newest computers. Amongst Apple's other options were to license Solaris from Sun, NT from Microsoft, or to purchase a burgeoning software (it had dropped its hardware years before), NeXT.

For those of you who do not know this history of OS X, and how it was almost BeOS and not NeXT, or if you didn't know that Be and NeXT was involved, this is a great article. The timeline is fleshed out well, and was a good read.

Jef Raskin, the lead designer of the first Macintosh computer and a pioneer in the development of user interfaces, died Saturday at age 61. He had been diagnosed recently with pancreatic cancer, his family said in a statement.

Related Links
jefraskin.com
raskincenter.org

I have had my Apple Wireless Keyboard for 6 full months now. The batteries actually lasted 6 months! This is another great keyboard design from Apple. Although, I really miss having a power button on the keyboard, but it is great not having any wires.

NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - TiVo Inc. shares jumped more than 17 percent on Wednesday, fueled by speculation that Apple Computer Inc. might make a try to buy the digital video recorder maker, analysts said.

"What we hear on the street is that Apple is interested in their business and that they are a takeout target," said analyst Steven Kroll Jr. of Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co.

It fits the "Digital Hub" idea doesn't it? TiVo has been a money-losing company recently. I really have no idea why Apple would want to buy them. But who knows, Apple is great at keeping secrets. I didn't know this, but Time Warner, Liberty Media, Comcast, and even Sony (which used to make TiVo boxes) are all said to be taking a look at TiVo, too (Engadget).

Easily find contract developers with Mac or Mac related skills in the Mac Developer Directory.

Researchers from IBM Corp., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Toshiba Corp. unveiled the long-awaited Cell microprocessor Monday, revealing a multicore, multithreaded gaming engine described as "a supercomputer on a chip..."

The prototype chip discussed Monday is comprised of one 64-bit PowerPC processor core and eight separate processing cores that the companies call "synergistic processing elements," or SPEs. The cores can support multiple operating systems and programming models through the use of virtualization technologies, said Jim Kahle, director of technology at the Design Center for Cell Technology, and an IBM fellow.

Not only is this great Playstation 3 news, this is great news for IBM. The next X Box, Playstation, and probably Nintendo console will all be using IBM CPU's and ATI GPU's. Thats really great news for IBM and ATI.

It is great for IBM because it means there are more uses for the PowerPC processor then just Macs. Who would have thought the next X Box, from Microsoft, was based on the Apple G5 processor. Its not exactly a G5, of course, but all these next generation gaming consoles are using PowerPC derived chips.

Now this is what you call an info-graphic! See the larger version, as well as some concept sketches.

The Sweet Spot. Until January 2005, Apple had no iPod or PC products that served the mass market. With the launch of iPod Shuffle and Mac mini they have finally converged two product paths with the mass market in mind....

There is some great information here, and man is this a good looking info-graphic!

Apple has sweetened the pot for build-to-order (BTO) options on its new Mac mini, reducing prices on some options or improving the options themselves. Customers ordering Mac minis through Apple's online U.S. store can now get Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme wireless networking combined for $99 -- $30 less than before. Apple has also cut the price of a 1GB RAM installation by $150, from $475 to $325. An 80GB hard drive upgrade for the 1.25GHz model, previous available for $80, is now $50. Apple has also replaced the 4x SuperDrive upgrade previously offered with an 8x unit instead, at the same price -- $100.

Interesting move, wouldn't you say? It is a week old. So far, what I have heard is that orders in the queue have been adjusted. Apple always does that of open orders if you did not know that. It has happened to me twice. It is nice to see the $150 price drop for the RAM. It is still more then 3rd party, but have you looked at the Service Source manual for getting the Mac mini open to replace that RAM stick! That does not look like fun at all.

Good move Apple. Making the 1 GB of RAM more affordable was a good discussion, as was changing out the 4x SuperDrive for the 8x model.

I have had a few days to play around with both Keynote 2 and Pages. Keynote 2 seems pretty solid. Pages, even being a 1.0 app, is missing something major, which is going to bring reviews down a few notches. Even on that note, Pages is a really slick app. I do not see how it can really be classified a word processor though. It is much more a page layout tool.

Keynote 2 has big improvements. There is a small bug however. I am not the only one who has it. No one has figured out what causes it. Some people cannot select Insert - Web View and others cannot. I can on my PowerBook but not on my G5. If I create a clean user on my G5 I can select Insert - Web View. My guess right now is that it is a conflict with a startup item or a preference pane, or some other software I run on my main account. I have yet to have time to figure out what the problem is. Once I do, I will surely post about it.

Pages is a great hybrid word processor/page layout application. You really can't call it one or the other. What you can call it is unfinished. Rob Griffiths came up with "OnlyAddPages" as a new moniker. You cannot delete or rearrange pages... without a heck of a lot of work. There simply is no user interface to delete and rearrange pages in Pages. Since Pages is from the team that brought us Keynote, you would think they would have the exact same "Pages" and "Master" pane on the left side of the Pages window, not to mention a "New" and "Delete" button right above that. Hopefully soon.

Since I don't have the time to fully review iWork, I will point you in the right direction. I am happy with the iWork package, it is worth the small price tag for these two great apps.

Rob Griffiths has articles online now about both Keynote 2 and Pages. Be sure and check them out a for a great overview of iWork and a few really great tips.

In celebration of the 21st birthday of the Mac, a German Mac site has posted a video [mirror] from Apple CEO Steve Jobs' public introduction of the first Macintosh on January 24, 1984. "Mac fans will definitely want to check this one out," writes CNET News.com's Ina Fried.

The torrent came down in good time, and I left it open all day as I went to work. Pretty cool video, be sure to check it out!

For no good reason I was rooting through the ADC web site, and found this article "Configuring and running X11 Applications on Mac OS X." I found it most nerdy and very informative. You might as well.

A Web site that disclosed Apple's top-secret plans to bring out a $499 mini computer and a new bare-bones iPod -- prompting a lawsuit from the company -- turns out to be the brainchild of a 19-year-old Harvard University student.

"Nick dePlume" is out of the bag now! He should have an easy time finding legal representation at Harvard of all places.

MAJORITY OF USERS don't care about a graphics card because this majority uses only 2D operations, or should I say they need it just to draw and show picture on displays...

Believe it or not, your Windows performance will depend on the quality of graphics card you have. A faster card might draw something faster than a slower mainstream or entry level card, meaning that even some Office software might perform better if you have a faster 3D card.

Read it and weep fellas. All you Windows users who have laughed at us Mac users with our slow screen redraw in OS X, just you wait until Longhorn.

This mainly happened to OS X when Apple introduced Quartz Extreme. (Screen redraw has always been a problem in OS X, Quartz Extreme fixed that in 10.2.x) Any Mac that did not have 32 MB of GPU was left in the dark, so to speak. Quartz Extreme offloads the compositing of the GUI to the GPU, and frees up the CPU from those mundane calculations. I was miffed when my 500 Mhz PowerBook could not handle Quartz Extreme, it only has a 16 MB GPU.

This same thing is going to happen with Longhorn hits shelves in 2006, or whenever it is released. Your low end or mid-ranged GPU's are not gonna cut the mustard. And the GPU you have in your year old PC surely is not gonna be the best for this new Windows Graphic Foundation calculations.

Interestingly enough Apple is doing the same thing again with Tiger, with the introduction of Core Image.

For computers without a programmable GPU, Core Image dynamically optimizes for the CPU, automatically tuning for Velocity Engine and multiple processors as appropriate.

Thanks to Rob Griffiths for sending me the Inquirer link.