Apple goes Intel. Why?, Apple Options

[lepetitmartien]

The big problem we face is altivec, it'll need work from editors, and it means $$$ upgrades AGAIN in the end for us. And it's a bore.

I'm rather confident on the hardware (given the hints about the forthcoming Intel CPU) even if I think that having Power5/6 would have been great, but it's not a safe road unfortunately. Now lets see a few things…

- Winsh... will run most possibly, it can be useful even for us (need samplitude ?)
- on the game prospect, for the same reasons, it's not sure games will be brought to mac…
- No one will be able to say macs are crap because we'll run on similar platforms.
- It's an opportunity to bring more switchers if the computers are affordable… they could have the best of both worlds.
- Hey, we'll have computers in mactel and PPC… it does mean also, if IBM or Fresscale comes with a marvel, nothing impeach Jobs to tell us: "hey, just one more thing, PPC is not dead" And apple will be on both intel and PPC still (and why not AMD one day and either way we'll be safe for the future. On that part Jobs is keeping options open. The move is necessary to bring us more power and certainly cheaper computer (hope hope), but as there's a transition, it will keep opportunities open and we have a trojan horse to invade wintel (bwahahaaa). I'm sure Steve didn't say everything. He keeps doors open, and he's free of ANY founder or at least he'll be fast. We move to a multiplatform OS, it is what it means, even if the hardware is specific. if the aim is to have a 20% market share, it makes sense.
- next year will be a great time to have G5 nodes

Now, please, no Intel stickers on our mactel, it's just plain UGLY.

[coldharbour]

The big problem we face is altivec, it'll need work from editors, and it means $$$ upgrades AGAIN in the end for us. And it's a bore.

I think the loss of Altivec will be mostly compensated by the overall increase of processor speed by the time first Intel-PowerMacs are introduced.

[stratology]

"- No one will be able to say macs are crap because we'll run on similar platforms."

Everyone will be able to say Macs are crap because we'll run on similar platforms.

[lepetitmartien]

An interesting article on Ars Technica, not far from my personal mood…

[stratology]

Ars Technica was always one of the best sources I used for arguments for PowerPC, against Intel, their articles about G4/P4 (and OSX etc.) are among the best on the web..

Saw Siracusa's article yesterday, not far from my personal mood either..

Frank

[jeffca]

Hey, Guys!

If you read between the lines of Steve Jobs keynote at WWDC and take note of the backdrop projection screen, it's all there. While Jobs was diplomatic, the Keynote screen shows an image of a G5 and has "3.0 Ghz?" next to it.

Apple, apparently, has not been happy with IBM missing big deadlines and offering poor CPU yeilds like Motorola used to and is now in a great position to bail on them.

I'd love to have a G6 with 2 dual-core CPU's, but that just ain't gonna happen. Too bad, but then it's not going to affect me one way or the other. I just need the fastest box I can get with OS X on it. The processors don't matter as long as they are beasts!

jeff

[lepetitmartien]

It's clear Steve decided that enough was enough, IBM may have its schedule, but Apple must go on whatever happens.

We have some details on the development kits Apple "rents" $999 to developers. It's on XLR8yourmac. Remember it's only a development platform, nothing to do with the real thing when it will come.

And Steve said and re-said, there's more PPC product coming in.

Meanwhile, I my G5

[lepetitmartien]

here is the post of a friend on Gaygeeks.org

Here's two interesting posts from the Vintage Mac mailing list on the Apple - Intel thing. Pretty interesting, I think.
ocdude38

Post 1:
Despite all that, the developer documentation that Apple released specifically says that the new platform will use a BIOS, not Open Firmware. Anand on http://anandtech.com covers some of this (http://anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2439). You can also download the documents for yourself and read them if you want. I breezed over them just to get an overview. As I said before this wil be VERY, VERY, VERY good for the Apple platform. Are you aware that the 128MB ATI 9200 Mac Edition costs $125+? The same card for a PC can be purchased for $39.99 at Newegg!!!!!!!! THAT is why BIOS based motherboards will be better than OpenFirmware. The chip makers should only need to produce one BIOS that will be compatible on any x86 platform when Apple starts using the new motherboards.

Post 2:
Apple's move to Intel designed chips caught me by surprise a much as anyone.
I was certain that Apple would use Intel to build PowerPC chips in the same
way Apple moved AltiVec to IBM designs.

The move to Intel designs for laptops designs make sense as the M series are
a superior design to desktop Pentiums (NetBurst, heat, hide design problems
with clock speed, yada yada)

The move to Intel for desktop machines seems foolish on it face until you
look at the time frame for their integration into the high-end Macs.
High-end Macs migrate to Intel LAST at the end of two years. What is
happening in 2 years at Intel?

That appears to be the timeframe for the release of a chip designed by a
very NON-Intel design team. Specifically, the old DEC Alpha team. If anyone
remembers DEC Alpha's they were the fastest processors available in the
90's. Consistently outperforming everything. 64-bit, multiprocessor from day
one with a very elegant, efficient design. DEC was, unfortunately, a
foundering company with a very 70's management style and vision. As a result
a superior chip design lost in the market place. Compaq knew even less than
DEC so the design team jumped ship. HP was even more clueless. For several
years now Peter Bannon and his old Alpha design team (over 300 of them) have
been working on Intel's next generation 64-bit designs. Their first design
for Intel, not-polluted by previous Intel in-house missteps, is planned for
a 2007 release. Interesting timing is it not.

Here is some background:

* "Intel's Tanglewood pumped full of DEC Alpha goodness"
* "Intel Appoints New Fellow"
* "Mister Tanglewood tapped as Intel Fellow"
* "Intel's 64-bit Man Appointed 'Fellow' Status"

Apple's high end machines may be running on an Intel CPU but it may be
unlike any other Intel cpu seen before. Designed by a team that has been
producing elegant, efficient designs (two words not used to describe Intel
designs) a more than a decade before IBM had a 64-bit desktop design.

I LOVE this post

[lepetitmartien]

And Apple posted in its news a link for the column of Walter S. Mossberg, so he must not be saying that much stupidities

[abcdaniel]

Oooh, then maybe OSX will go 64bit! And maybe my softs will go 64bit! And maybe my G5 will live happily evver after!

Things are starting to sound sweet, thanks for digging it up lepetitmartienn! If these coming Intel processors materialize. maybe I'll scrap the G5... nah, it's too cool.