Wow, Apple’s keeping the break-neck pace, with an Intel version of the Mac Mini.

Interestingly, it offers configurations with an Intel Core Duo or an Intel Core Solo. This was an expected step, although still exciting to see, as it likely is a precursor to the same type of configuration for the last remaining consumer-level Mac, an iBook replacement (very, very likely to be called a MacBook, sans the “Pro” moniker).

Not surprisingly–although I didn’t anticipate it–the Mac Mini comes with the new Front Row technology, which it is really perfect for, even more so than the iMac. Plug this sucker into your TV and set it in your home theatre setup, plug it into an AirPort Express, and you’ve got an immediate access station to music, video, and photos from your network.

Suddenly, I want one of these.

If you’re familar with the Darwine project, then this isn’t anything new. And this tidbit of news itself is already a couple weeks old, but I never got around to posting it, and I wanted to bring it up.

Darwine is an open source project for Macs (via OS X’s open source Darwin) that piggy-backs on the WINE open source project for Linux. Basically, it is a project to allow Windows applications to run on your computer without the Windows operating system. It does this by emulating the Windows APIs.

So a Red Hat box could run a Windows application side-by-side its X11 apps. This is obviously a bit easier on an x86 build of Linux; thus the separate project–Darwine–for running Windows apps on Mac OS X on a non-Intel processor. Well, with the advent of Mac OS X going Intel native, this task just got a whole lot easier. Which is a relative statement, of course, because in general the premise of the project is very challenging, and notably also very volatile. For instance, the project is limited in what applications can run, and this is after years of development during the stagnant period of Windows XP inactivity. With the release of Windows Vista, undoubtedly the project will be broken yet again for quite some time.

But my purpose isn’t pessimism. My featured article today (MacSlash: Darwine Not Functional On Intel Macs) reports the great progress they’ve made in getting Darwine to work on Intel Macs, and ponders the possibilities of future progress. It is exciting to see this development; it is very sad that this project will probably never have the time or development energy to mature into something that can be used on a wide scale.

Nevertheless, it is worth keeping an eye on!

This is a great development that should reassure all Mac enthusiasts that Apple’s switch to the Intel architecture was a decision made for us, the customers, and not just for Apple’s sake.

Think back to the Sawtooth PowerMac G4s. Back then (Sept 1999), Apple promised the new Macs in 400MHz, 450MHz, and 500MHz iterations. Before shipping, Apple had to announce that the speeds were to be adjusted to 350MHz, 400MHz, and 450MHz due to matters outside their control–otherwise known as Motorola’s ineptness. As an added irritant, Apple had to maintain the same pricepoints for the three iterations, meaning people buying a 450MHz PowerMac at a midgrade pricepoint were now paying the price for the top-of-the-line model, since it now was the top-of-the-line model.

Enter Apple’s first product release with Intel as its chip supplier. Apple releases the product ahead of schedule, and when it comes time to finally ship the MacBook, Apple again alters the speeds, but this time they are increased from 1.67GHz and 1.83GHz to 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz. Why, for good measure, they even offer an upgrade option to 2.16GHz. Furthermore, these improved speeds are offered at the same pricepoints. So now the fella buying a 1.67GHz MacBook Pro just got upgraded to the 1.83GHz model for free.

This type of activity, spurred on by an obviously better B2B interaction between Apple and Intel, and just more competence on Intel’s part in comparison to Motorola, is just the kind of thing we want to see.

Read the article: MacWorld: Apple ships faster than expected MacBook Pro.

As usual, John C. Dvorak’s articles are abrasive yet stimulating. His article this week inherently bashes Apple’s game plan yet simultaneously giving the good ol’ pat on the back for something Apple probably isn’t really doing.

Please read his article: Apple on the Brink.

The premise is that Apple is “brain-dead” for not wanting to release OS X into the entire x86 jungle; yet, he opines, that is not what Apple really intends to do, and that, instead, Dvorak sees Apple’s bluff in his crystal ball.

And it really is a fantastic concept he has forecasted. I thoroughly enjoyed indulging myself in the unfolding of events that he described. As much as I would like seeing it happen the way he described, and as clever as Jobs et al have been of late, I find it very difficult to believe that the scenario that Dvorak has described is even remotely close to the truth. Frankly, I don’t think that he does either. Beware: This pat on the back is likely a slap in the face, if only we had turned around to pay attention.