whats the differenc e between the centrino technology and like the mac technology they use for wireless internet? i was just curious hearing about centino and thiking what does mac use is it airport ? or another wifi name of some sort...
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Centrino technology vs ?
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Centrino supports 802.11b, which is the original Airport standard. Newer macs support the 802.11g standard which they've named Airport Extreme. AEx is faster than Airport but is backwards compatable to Airport networks, just at Airport speeds.
Intel is pretty good at taking yesterday's news and shining it up all pretty acting like it's new.
Intel is pretty good at taking yesterday's news and shining it up all pretty acting like it's new.
-Riko19
Centrino uses the original wireless ethernet protcol IEEE 802.11b
The original AirPort was IEEE 802.11b as well.
However, the AirPort Extreme is now IEEE 802.11g, the next generation - though the two "b" and "g" are interoperable, but at "b"'s speeds.
"b" is referred to as WiFi
"g" is regerred to as Wireless G
Centrino is simply a higher-upstream (read: chip manufacturer, not computer maker) adoption of WiFi, that's all. Not all that new. Evolutionary, not revolutionary.
[EDIT] Umm. Yeah, what Navy said. Jynx, Navy
An arrogant Centrino user at a Starbucks here in the West loop saw me hotspotting my 12PB and said
"Oh, that's a Mac?"
Me: "Yes."
Centrino user: "You on the wireless?"
Me: "Yep!"
Centrino user: "Where's your net card?"
Me: "Don't have one." (don't get technical on me guys, I was talking at his level)
Centrino user: "Wow! My Centrino can do that! Boy, Apple's really been responding well to this new tech. How long have Macs been able to do this?"
Me: "About five years."
Centrino user: dumbstruck, beat, beat "But the Centrino's only been out for a few weeks."
Me: "I don't want to hurt you, but welcome to marketing."
Centrino uses the original wireless ethernet protcol IEEE 802.11b
The original AirPort was IEEE 802.11b as well.
However, the AirPort Extreme is now IEEE 802.11g, the next generation - though the two "b" and "g" are interoperable, but at "b"'s speeds.
"b" is referred to as WiFi
"g" is regerred to as Wireless G
Centrino is simply a higher-upstream (read: chip manufacturer, not computer maker) adoption of WiFi, that's all. Not all that new. Evolutionary, not revolutionary.
[EDIT] Umm. Yeah, what Navy said. Jynx, Navy
An arrogant Centrino user at a Starbucks here in the West loop saw me hotspotting my 12PB and said
"Oh, that's a Mac?"
Me: "Yes."
Centrino user: "You on the wireless?"
Me: "Yep!"
Centrino user: "Where's your net card?"
Me: "Don't have one." (don't get technical on me guys, I was talking at his level)
Centrino user: "Wow! My Centrino can do that! Boy, Apple's really been responding well to this new tech. How long have Macs been able to do this?"
Me: "About five years."
Centrino user: dumbstruck, beat, beat "But the Centrino's only been out for a few weeks."
Me: "I don't want to hurt you, but welcome to marketing."
Originally posted by Freg3000
It would be funny if it wasn't such a perfect example of Apple's failure to market their wonderful technology intregration with their computers.
yeah, i guess. Apple has had Airport for ages, and still hardly any people know about it.
but at least we have it, so all current Apple users are happy. It is kind of a shame how apple hasn't really done the marketing that Intel has, but Apple doesn't have that kind of money to throw around. Intel has basically started making their chips out of burnt $100 bills. They're about that expensive, and just as highly researched.
I'm very put-off that Intel is doing this as their idea. It creates a lot of tech problems for me when I have to explain to clue-repellent idiots that it's not all that new OR original.
I'm very put-off that Intel is doing this as their idea. It creates a lot of tech problems for me when I have to explain to clue-repellent idiots that it's not all that new OR original.
i have almost the same story as mr. obrien. a friend, very windows zealot-ish, asked me why apple was on thew wifi bandwagon. I asked him if he had ever heard of 802.11b. he said yes. then I said, macs have had that for over 4 years.
yeah most PC users are ignorant about airport.
here's my story: today the tech/comp teachers at our school were deciding whether or not they should get laptops with centrino and a school-wide wifi network (which i suggested...but not with pc's) or just a couple of desktops.
i happened to be showing off the new iPod (on applemusic.com) to some of my friends, the comp teachers looked at us drooling because the new iPod was so sexy.
the teachers: does that have centrino?
me: no...it has airport extreme which is better than centrino
the teachers: Oh that's nice that apple's finally doing wireless but i'm sure centrino is better. When is apple putting centrino in their notebooks and how fast is airport extreme? what is airport extreme anyway?
me: Uhh AirPort, aka Centrino/802.11b to you has been available for Macs since god knows when. Airport Extreme, or 802.11g, is much cooler and faster...
(and they're in shock as they ask me how i'm surfing the net when there's clearly no cables anywhere, as i was sitting on the lawn in front of one of my classes)
me (continued): Oh that's easy. one word. Bluetooth.
(comp teachers mutter to themselves, act like typical PC geeks when they're in front of a superior mac user and leave)
here's my story: today the tech/comp teachers at our school were deciding whether or not they should get laptops with centrino and a school-wide wifi network (which i suggested...but not with pc's) or just a couple of desktops.
i happened to be showing off the new iPod (on applemusic.com) to some of my friends, the comp teachers looked at us drooling because the new iPod was so sexy.
the teachers: does that have centrino?
me: no...it has airport extreme which is better than centrino
the teachers: Oh that's nice that apple's finally doing wireless but i'm sure centrino is better. When is apple putting centrino in their notebooks and how fast is airport extreme? what is airport extreme anyway?
me: Uhh AirPort, aka Centrino/802.11b to you has been available for Macs since god knows when. Airport Extreme, or 802.11g, is much cooler and faster...
(and they're in shock as they ask me how i'm surfing the net when there's clearly no cables anywhere, as i was sitting on the lawn in front of one of my classes)
me (continued): Oh that's easy. one word. Bluetooth.
(comp teachers mutter to themselves, act like typical PC geeks when they're in front of a superior mac user and leave)
True, but so is just about every manufacturer. There's a marketing term for this that I learned and forgot... It usually involves changing the name but keeping the old technology.
A couple examples:
Dodge's Hemi engine
Apples Dock (not a great example because it's an improvement and quite different than the taskbar)
Apples Airport
Nikons Vibration reduction and Sigmas Optical Stabilizer (following Canons Image Stabilization-I'm a camera buff)
Shoot, I know there are probably thousands of these, but I can't think of any more off the top of my head. I always find it annoying though
Actually, the Dock is based off of the Dock in NeXTSTEP/OpenSTEP which was before Win95. So, you could say the task bar was actually a rip off of the Dock.
I love explaining to PC people that Apple has done pretty much everything years before the PC people. They always act like you're lying and the PC people did it first. Especially with AirPort.
I don't know if any of you know about "Project Greenlight" (a screenwriting/directing contest run by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon), but after going in there for quite a while, PC users just really are oblivious to all things Mac. Whenever someone asks "How do I make a PDF in Win9x/XP?" the answers are always long, either involving a 20 dollar app or the full Adobe Acrobat program. They're all pretty much dumbfounded when I say the Mac has that built in and can do it from any app. But, I've converted about 5 of those PC users over to the Mac so far, so it's getting better.
I really think Apple just needs to quit it with the cute commercials. Yeah, I like em, but the average PC user could care less. And that's who we need to be making commercials for. Most of the Mac faithful either know when something's coming out before it does, or catches wind of it once it's released. But the PC user has no idea. Apple needs to start making commercials SHOWING what it can do. Show a person USING an iPod and all the things you can do with it. Show a person ripping a CD and buying music online. Show a person using Mac OS X to create PDF's and other little things that the Mac does straight out of the box. Show the Mac PLAYING games. Start making commercials showing EVERYTHING a Mac can do (well, not everything, that'd be a long commercial), and then you'll start seeing marketshare rise.
And I'm just rambling, so I'll quit now.
enoch
So, you could say the task bar was actually a rip off of the Dock. I love explaining to PC people that Apple has done pretty much everything years before the PC people. They always act like you're lying and the PC people did it first. Especially with AirPort.
I don't know if any of you know about "Project Greenlight" (a screenwriting/directing contest run by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon), but after going in there for quite a while, PC users just really are oblivious to all things Mac. Whenever someone asks "How do I make a PDF in Win9x/XP?" the answers are always long, either involving a 20 dollar app or the full Adobe Acrobat program. They're all pretty much dumbfounded when I say the Mac has that built in and can do it from any app. But, I've converted about 5 of those PC users over to the Mac so far, so it's getting better.
I really think Apple just needs to quit it with the cute commercials. Yeah, I like em, but the average PC user could care less. And that's who we need to be making commercials for. Most of the Mac faithful either know when something's coming out before it does, or catches wind of it once it's released. But the PC user has no idea. Apple needs to start making commercials SHOWING what it can do. Show a person USING an iPod and all the things you can do with it. Show a person ripping a CD and buying music online. Show a person using Mac OS X to create PDF's and other little things that the Mac does straight out of the box. Show the Mac PLAYING games. Start making commercials showing EVERYTHING a Mac can do (well, not everything, that'd be a long commercial), and then you'll start seeing marketshare rise.
And I'm just rambling, so I'll quit now.
enoch
Apple, Intel, and Microsoft ads are not the only source of information technical. Virtually every newspaper today has a technology page. Many television stations have technology reporters. There is even a technology cable channel, TechTV. Think about this now--there is this large cadre of people who think that Centrino wireless is something new. Yet, you have Wi-Fi networks all over the place. Wireless routers have been popular for quite some time now. This is the the real problem. These Wintel users are not ignorant because Apple hasn't told them the truth. They are ignorant because they want to be ignorant.Originally posted by übergeek
yeah most PC users are ignorant about airport.
here's my story: today the tech/comp teachers at our school were deciding whether or not they should get laptops with centrino and a school-wide wifi network (which i suggested...but not with pc's) or just a couple of desktops.
i happened to be showing off the new iPod (on applemusic.com) to some of my friends, the comp teachers looked at us drooling because the new iPod was so sexy.
the teachers: does that have centrino?
me: no...it has airport extreme which is better than centrino
the teachers: Oh that's nice that apple's finally doing wireless but i'm sure centrino is better. When is apple putting centrino in their notebooks and how fast is airport extreme? what is airport extreme anyway?
me: Uhh AirPort, aka Centrino/802.11b to you has been available for Macs since god knows when. Airport Extreme, or 802.11g, is much cooler and faster...
(and they're in shock as they ask me how i'm surfing the net when there's clearly no cables anywhere, as i was sitting on the lawn in front of one of my classes)
me (continued): Oh that's easy. one word. Bluetooth.
(comp teachers mutter to themselves, act like typical PC geeks when they're in front of a superior mac user and leave)
Oh Christ more Mac centric FUD... and what is cooler about 802.11g than b? I am confused by your "cooler and faster" statement.Originally posted by übergeek
yeah most PC users are ignorant about airport.
here's my story: today the tech/comp teachers at our school were deciding whether or not they should get laptops with centrino and a school-wide wifi network (which i suggested...but not with pc's) or just a couple of desktops.
i happened to be showing off the new iPod (on applemusic.com) to some of my friends, the comp teachers looked at us drooling because the new iPod was so sexy.
the teachers: does that have centrino?
me: no...it has airport extreme which is better than centrino
the teachers: Oh that's nice that apple's finally doing wireless but i'm sure centrino is better. When is apple putting centrino in their notebooks and how fast is airport extreme? what is airport extreme anyway?
me: Uhh AirPort, aka Centrino/802.11b to you has been available for Macs since god knows when. Airport Extreme, or 802.11g, is much cooler and faster...
(and they're in shock as they ask me how i'm surfing the net when there's clearly no cables anywhere, as i was sitting on the lawn in front of one of my classes)
me (continued): Oh that's easy. one word. Bluetooth.
(comp teachers mutter to themselves, act like typical PC geeks when they're in front of a superior mac user and leave)
http://www.intel.com/intelinside/weblinks/english/sitelets/yes/cmt/centrino_techspecs.htm
Centrino will support 802.11 a/b/g before the end of the year. Of the 3, g is by far the least stable spec. Most of the time, any b devices attached to a g network will slow the entire network down to b speeds. g has less range than a or b. a and b are better for multiple wireless hubs covering a vast physical area than g. a is as fast as g. a is not compatible with g. So, when you take your new whizbang PowerBook with Airport Extreme (what a lame name by the way) to a local park or some other thing that has 100 or so wireless stations providing 802.11a service, you will be out of luck.
Oh yes, when is Apple going to be offering tri-mode wireless cards (a b and g)? The reason I ask, is because they already available (for a while now) for those PC's we all hate so much, in the same miniPCI internal form as AE cards:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...614S&m_19=TM14&m_22=NOMSBE&c=us&l=en&kc=6W300
(not sure if the link will last long...)
Well ther we go someone else just not happy of the new technology, it has to be better than 802.11b otherwise they wouldnt bring them out.
i have freinds who say its great they love this new wireless standard card.
i have freinds who say its great they love this new wireless standard card.
As many posts have mentioned, what Intel is touting for Centrino in their ads (wireless networking) is not something totally new. Nonetheless, the entire architecture of the Pentium-M (the new Pentium mobile processors) is new, and many PC reviewers have heaped praise upon praise on the new chip's processing power. You can read two such reviews here:
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.html?i=1800&p=15
http://www6.tomshardware.com/mobile/20030205/centrino-18.html
Whatever one may think of Intel's Centrino advertising campaign, the fact that the Pentium-M has received lots of praises in the industry for its new architecture, incredible processor speed, and longer battery life is something Apple and its customers need to pay attention to.
We can argue until our faces are blue that Apple was the first to come out with WiFi computing for the masses (or whatever). But at the end of the day, Apple still needs to compete against Dell, HP, IBM, etc. for the hearts and cash of potential customers. Should we thumb our noses at the latest offerings from Honda or Toyota just because Ford was the first company to mass produce the automobile?
Also, if there is a company peddling yesterday's technology, it's Apple. The G3 and G4 are hopelessly outmuscled by Intel and AMD. Yes, the "Megahertz Myth" exists, but the performance gap has widen too far and has become a chasm. To paraphrase one reviewer, Apple isn't cramming two processors into their top-of-the line desktops out of the goodness of its heart. Maybe the 970 will give Apple the firepower it needs to compete against Intel and AMD, but we'll have to see.
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.html?i=1800&p=15
http://www6.tomshardware.com/mobile/20030205/centrino-18.html
Whatever one may think of Intel's Centrino advertising campaign, the fact that the Pentium-M has received lots of praises in the industry for its new architecture, incredible processor speed, and longer battery life is something Apple and its customers need to pay attention to.
We can argue until our faces are blue that Apple was the first to come out with WiFi computing for the masses (or whatever). But at the end of the day, Apple still needs to compete against Dell, HP, IBM, etc. for the hearts and cash of potential customers. Should we thumb our noses at the latest offerings from Honda or Toyota just because Ford was the first company to mass produce the automobile?
Also, if there is a company peddling yesterday's technology, it's Apple. The G3 and G4 are hopelessly outmuscled by Intel and AMD. Yes, the "Megahertz Myth" exists, but the performance gap has widen too far and has become a chasm. To paraphrase one reviewer, Apple isn't cramming two processors into their top-of-the line desktops out of the goodness of its heart. Maybe the 970 will give Apple the firepower it needs to compete against Intel and AMD, but we'll have to see.
Actually, very often, things are available for the PC first, but it takes FOREVER for it to be adopted by them. Point in case, USB was out for PC first. But shortly after, Apple abandoned ADB, seiral, and parallel ports completely and moved the standard to USB. PCs still use PS/2 ports for mice and keyboards, LPT ports for printers, and sport serial ports just for the heck of it. They still haven't moved on. Sure, you could find USB a while before it was on the Macs, but it still hasn't been completely adopted by PC companies. Same thing with WiFi. PCs had it first, but Apple came along and made it a standard. Finally Intel is catching up and deciding it is time to make it a standard, too.
A funny note on the whole USB thing. Does anyone know who DEVELOPED USB? None other than Intel. lol. Developed by PC companies, yet still not adopted. Hence why we like macs. They have it all together!
A funny note on the whole USB thing. Does anyone know who DEVELOPED USB? None other than Intel. lol. Developed by PC companies, yet still not adopted. Hence why we like macs. They have it all together!
well from the benchmarks ive seen, centrino is really great. i forgot what major pc magizine i get that i read it in, but the best battery life so far a has been 7 hours from the toshiba, where im comparable test the powerbooks get 3-4 hours. but like all things, i will have to play with it and talk to some people over a magizine, although i do believe their benchs would be accurate.
iJon
iJon
iJon. I think you are referring to the Pentium M laptops. There are a lot of P4s with centrino technology, but all that means is that they are WiFi compliant. True, the Pentium M is now the best when it comes to battery life. Lets just hope Apple can up the ante and squeeze the battery life out of the G4. Oh, and btw. I am helping my g/f get a new laptop, and she is getting one with a Pentium M in it. I have a P4 laptop currently, so I'll keep you posted as to how much better it really is. We will have same-clock-speed processors, so it will be a true Pentium M vs. P4
Originally posted by mac15
we've been infront of centrino for so long. We've had wireless support since 1999. And then Intel trys to advertise as if it there own. Were upto 54mb a sec now, comon Intel and M$ , your almost there
I do hate to shatter your ideas here, but i have a friend who works in the Wireless dept of (coughs) intel. They've been sitting on the 11.g standard for ages because of the huge incompatibility problems. Basically, from what i understand, during the development of 11g, networking gear manufacturers had a basic idea of how 11g would work, so they put together a range of so called 11g wifi gear, which does work (80% of the time) with the completeled 11g standard. BUT 11g changed its workings towards the end of the completion of the project (i don't know too much about this kinda thing btw) so the 11g 'standard' that everyone thought would be, was not! So there's a load of 11g stuff out there that doesn't work with other 11g stuff. Apple, unfortunately, is one of the ones who jumped on the boat a little too early. From what my friend has said, intel were waiting to see the outcome of the 11g thing before they unveiled they new range of wifi gear. Basically, on the horizon are Centrino notebooks and pcmcia cards that comply with 11b, 11g AND the upcoming 11a standards 11a uses a different frequency to 11g/b so these new cards/machines will be dual band (11a runs on a different frequency). AND, get this, these newer centrino notebooks/cards come with GPRS and autoswitching Bluetooth- then eventually 3G. pretty impressive if you ask me. 11a is supposedly going to be replacing 11g, for many reasons, one of the factors is that Bluetooth interferes big time with 11b/11g stuff since they both run at the same frequency (2.4Ghz i believe).
i *think* i'm right on this, someone please interject and correct me if i'm not.
[edit] oops, i guess i kinda glossed over yzedf's post.
Oops
I stand very much corrected. Thank you.
Of course, you could argue that this is one technology that was mainstream on the PC side of things before Macs. Not many of these as pointed out so often in this thread.
Originally posted by 000111one111000
Actually, the Dock is based off of the Dock in NeXTSTEP/OpenSTEP which was before Win95.
I stand very much corrected. Thank you.
Of course, you could argue that this is one technology that was mainstream on the PC side of things before Macs. Not many of these as pointed out so often in this thread.
-bennetsaysargh
Well, I'll put my .02 in with some rather relative specs. But I find that this is what IT guys use so here goes:
802.11a is twice the frequency (~5.4ghz-ish) twice the range and twice the price of 802.11b, and it runs at 54kbps.
Persoanlly I prefer "a" but again, the equipment is so darned expensive. "b" got there first, so it's wider-accepted.