Intel is presenting is new Nehalem-EX CPU with 8-core and 16-threads.
It’s really likely that we will see it on refreshed Mac Pro line up, with 8-core 16-thread mono-cpu basic system, and 2-cpu 16-core 32threads system on custom design (as well as 6-core 12-threads or 4-core 8-thread entry-level customized Mac Pro).
Hope to see it fast 
Here in canada, we saw the first bunch of iMac Core i5 and Core i7 on the Applestore Refurb, with iMac Core i7 at 1949$, 370$ less, a good deal
And at least it is a proof that Apple delivers them, finally!!!
I tried Martian Slingshot to synchronize 2 folders between my desktop hackintosh and my MacBook Pro, I began with my main shared folder, my 160GB+ picture folder and subfolders. Seems to work flawlessly, even if interface was not as cute as I expected.
But I quickly discovered that SlingShot launch repetitively gnutar (each minute with synchronization from my MacBook Pro), with a good amount of memory and a real CPU-hog, using 100% of one core (mono-threaded tool! again!) on my computers for long time, and slowing them down with many hard-drive access (temporary files).
Sorry, but I expect a synchronization tool to work flawlessly, to be able to work under the skin (launched in background), that SlingShot doesn’t enable, and moreover, I expect it to be respectful of my computer resources while I use it, to let me do MY work instead monopolizing more than 50% of the resources of my Core2 Duo laptop!
So SlingShot, that is a commercial application is really not for me. I will continue to look for a simple application, elegant, fast, running in background, to synchronize my work between my Mac OS X computers at home…
nVidia’s Ion was a chipset designed for Intel Atom processors found in netbooks and low-cost desktop. Based on a GeForce 8400 evolution, with 8 or 16 SP (Scalar Processors), it integrate chipset and graphic processor in one-chip.
Due to Intel licensing schema, and moreover the desire for Intel to close chipset market to nVidia, Ion 2 could no more integrate the chipset, so it’s only a graphic processor with same 8 or 16 Scalar Processors, interfaced by PCI-Express (1 to 4 lane, 250MB/s to 1GB/s) with new Intel CPU. It is accompanied with dedicated video memory, DDR2 or DDR3, up to 512MB.
When a graphic processor comes alone, with it’s dedicated memory, communicating with a PCI-Express bus, it’s just called a graphic card. That’s Ion 2, a dedicated graphic card extension. No more an integrated chipset with graphic processor.
Worse it have to copy it’s generated 3D images or HD video decoded images to the IGP integrated on the new Intel CPU, and it’s a huge amount of data in Full HD: 1920×1080 x 24bits x 24fps ad-minima, or 150MB/s! And interfaced on a Netbook with PCI-Express x1, theorical bandwidth of the bus will be 250MB/s, leaving nothing to exchange data 
I don’t think it’s a great idea, Ion 2 is just another GeForce 8400 in disguise, too slow to really play games, too expensive and consuming too much power to be competitive with dedicated HD Video hardware decoders (that don’t do 3D), in fact this “graphic accelerator” is on the same performance-level than integrated GeForce 9400M of Mac Mini or MacBook Air/MacBook.
Probably not the expected middle-level 3D chip that everyone would have expected to be able to play on netbooks!
This week-end my conjoint and me did a road-trip from Montreal to Toronto, for the Mirror Awards (Canadian hairdressers contest), and we have been deceived: finalist in 2 categories, my beloved ones doesn’t won any
But this is not the point here. We didn’t really enjoyed Toronto and we couldn’t have a reservation for the CN Tower restaurant, I dreamed to eat at 351m (450 feet) with a panoramic view! So we decided to go to see Ottawa, and quickly drove there…
To find a hotel, some (good) restaurants, bars, night-club to go out, we stopped at a coffee. Our iPod is not easy to use to browser many pages, look to the map with enough space on the screen, so I used myMacBook Pro 17″ (yes screen is bigger and totally gorgeous! lol!).
But here got the point, I couldn’t connect easily, we go to a Starbuck coffee, were it happens the connection was so slow it took minutes to display just one page. I was digusted.
What we needed was an iPad, something with a bigger than smartphone (and iPhone) screen, easy to use, able to take the micro-SIM card of my iPhone or have it’s own 3G plan, for me to browse locations on Ottawa while moving, discuss things, use the time lost in our car as a cool time to discuss our envy, and quietly choose an hotel, do an hotel reservation online while in the highway, select a restaurant to enjoy sea food, look at ratings and comments…
Finally we do it from an iPhone, but hotel reservation screen was really too large for it, and even if everything goes well, I do an error on the date: default date was tomorrow instead today on their page and I couldn’t see it if I didn’t check it by zooming!
We ended-up with a suite on Best Western, and sea food on Metropolitain Brasserie. A restaurant that is so a french brasserie, and so good, that I thought many parisian brasserie may take lessons! The suite was real great too
But with an iPad it would have been more simple, much more enjoyment to use while on the road, that I think it will be my next toy when the 3G version will be available!