In fact, we asked Apple why there was such a lengthy delay, and their response: "Our last updates were less than six months ago." Six months? Apple, thinking different [sic], is the cow's tail. – Charlie White

What isn't any clearer, of course, is exactly what kinds of technologies are being worked on. Is it MacBook-related, or is it something so different, so secret, that we can't even comprehend it? Hopefully, the blabbermouth Intel exec just wasn't referring to Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pro that we expect to hit stores before the holiday rush. – Nicholas Deleon

Intel and Apple in cahoots on several new technologies [AppleInsider]

All was not sweetness and light, though, where the rigorous testing revealed that even though the Core 2 Duo processors are faster than their Core Duo predecessors, they didn't score the full 20% speedup claimed by Intel. At the same time, battery life wasn't as robust as Intel had claimed, either. Even so, these are still the fastest mobile processors they've ever tested. Especially interesting are the comparisons between a Core Duo MacBook Pro running Windows XP and this Core 2 Duo notebook. Check out the full review after the jump. – Charlie White

Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M65: Intel Core 2 Duo Inside [Digital Video Editing]

The HD-DVD-ROM drive will actually play HD-DVD discs (I seem to remember something about the BWU-100A having a hard time actually playing commercial Blu-ray movies) and the inclusion of an HDMI means that this Qosmio wouldn't be a bad traveling multimedia hub. Windows XP Media Center Edition powers this little choo-choo train.

You can grab the Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV660 from ToshibaDirect for $3,499. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [ToshibaDirect via BIOS]

But we're not going to believe Intel, are we? Trusty testers at Laptop Magazine checked out Intel's claims and it turns out the chip giant's boasts were accurate, even conservative in some cases. The testers used two identical notebooks, where the only difference was one of them had the fastest Core 2 Duo processor and the other had the fastest Core Duo processor. Sure enough, the new Core 2 Duo processor was 22% faster than the old Core Duo, while battery life was still pretty much the same. The newer processor did even better in multitasking operations.

Twenty-two percent faster processor, same battery life? Neat trick. See Laptop Magazine's benchmark results tables after the jump.– Charlie White

Special thanks to Laptop Magazine for the use of these graphics!

Rumors have been circulating for a few weeks now with respect to Apple's designs on the latest Intel mobile processor—Merom—announced back in May. While it's no secret that Apple would like to start including the beefier processors in its MacBook line of notebooks as soon as possible, especially its MacBook Pro, nothing official has been announced. When Jobs hits to "go" button, we'll give you the skinny. – Nicholas Deleon

64 bit Macbook coming in September ? [New Launches]

The single-socket chips will be plenty fast, however, with the processors bringing all kinds of new technology to the party. The extra speed and efficiency is thanks to Intel's 65-nanometer manufacturing process which crams more transistors onto each chip, a gigantic integrated cache that Intel calls the Advanced Smart Cache, and other coolness like wide dynamic execution and smart memory access. The result? Faster processors that run cooler and use less power.

PC manufacturers far and wide are all falling into line, announcing their Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme machines today. For a first look at the performance of these new chips, check out our scoop where we review one of the first Core 2 Duo workstations to come off the assembly line, the Dell Precision Workstation 390. – Charlie White

Intel Extends Core 2 Duo Line with 10 New Processors [GeekZone]
Press Release [Intel]

To tell the Conroes from the Meroms, Intel will add numbers to the end of each chip name between the 4000s to 6000s for Conroe processors and the 5000s to 7000s for Merom. These numbers get higher as the clock speed increases, where the Core 2 Duo processors are expected to launch with five versions starting with the 4200 model at 1.6GHz, up to the fastest 6700 model at 2.66GHz. Look for these new processors to be available in the third quarter of this year.

The second coming of Intel's Core Duo [c|net, via ars technica]