by Earl Moore on April 23, 2008
So, we all thought that Apple’s days with the PowerPC CPU were behind it and that all future devices would be based on Intel processors. We might have been wrong!
According to reports, Apple has purchased for $278 million cash a semiconductor company, PA Semi, which designs energy efficient CPUs based on IBM’s PowerPC architecture. Yes, the same type of processor that Apple used in its product for many a year. The same type of processor that universal binary applications would still be able to run on today.
I noticed that on PA Semi’s web site it proclaims “Green Computing” and after all “Earth Day” was yesterday. 
What an interesting and unexpected turn of events!
Let the Apple product speculations and rumors begin. 
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Related links of note:
9to5mac - What is the PWRficient processor from P.A. Semi?
Forbes - Apple Buys Chip Designer
GigaOM - With the iPhone in Mind, Apple Buys Chip Maker
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by Earl Moore on April 21, 2008
- click image for larger version -
[ ISO100 110mm f/11 1/250sec ]
The past couple weeks have been “blooming crazy” here in central North Carolina. There were a multitude of bees zooming about my head as I took this shot…which come to think of it is a good thing, since so many bees have disappeared the last couple of years.
But it’s no wonder my allergies are about to drive me “crazy.” 
by Earl Moore on April 21, 2008
I’ve been reading up on the subject of outdoor/nature photography techniques in hopes of honing my knowledge and skills in preparation for a major trip (and photo opportunity) that’s planned.
The last half of May my wife and I are going to fly to Seattle and embark on an Alaskan cruise. The one week cruise will include visits to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria before returning again to Seattle.
Once back at Seattle we’re renting a car and taking several days to explore the beautiful northwest, before checking in at Portland for the return home.
So in addition to all the normal planning, I’m trying to decide what lenses, filters, storage devices, etc. that I want to take in order to get the most bang for the my buck as far as photography goes.
At the moment my planned camera gear is such:
Camera:
- Nikon D200 with spare batteries and multiple memory cards;
- Canon PowerShot SD550 (pocket camera)
Lens:
- 10-18mm f/4.5-6.5 wide angle zoom;
- 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR midrange zoom; and
- 50mm f/1.8 prime.
I don’t think it would be worth the weight to take along my 200-500mm f/5-6.3 lens, especially since I’m not taking a tripod and all shots will be handheld.
Beside UV and Circular Polaroid Filters I’m not sure is there’s any other filters I might want?
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I’m starting to get excited about this trip.
by Earl Moore on April 19, 2008
It’s that time again when trees are pollenating and driving my allergies crazy. Luckily, I only suffer sever allergies for a short period in the spring.
As I was growing up I had severe hay fever only when I was working our farm helping my father mow, rake, bale and put-up hay. With increasing age my allergies have expanded to include allergic reactions to tree pollen in the spring.
While I’d love to be constantly out and about this time of year, I usually end up seeing much of it from the inside of an air conditioned room or through an anti-allergy drug induced fog peering over the edge of a kleenex while I’m mopping up my eyes and noise.
Maybe that’s why Fall instead of Spring is my favorite time of year.
by Earl Moore on April 16, 2008
Safari is Apples’ web browser available for both Mac OS X and Windows PCs.
Apple has released version 3.1.1 of its Safari web browser which included fixes for several security issues.
The upgrade is a 39mb download and is available for both Macs and Windows PCs.
This upgrade is highly recommended for all Safari users.
