Apple to become Intel Inside(tm)?
Hell (once more) freezes over:
Following weeks of speculation, a new report on CNET News.com suggests that will Apple use next week's World Wide Developers Conference to announce a transition to Intel-based Macs.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will announce a phased transition to Intel-based microprocessors after what has been an increasingly rocky relationship with IBM.
According to the report, Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007.
Well, that's a bit of a surprise, no doubt about it. Reaction has ranged from incredulity to speculation (probably unrealistic) that Intel will produce PowerPC chips specifically for Apple.
I guess that the recent announcement that IBM can find the time to design CELLs for Sony and PowerPC's for both Microsoft and Nintendo at significantly higher clock-speeds than G5's put the final nail in the Apple-IBM relationship. 3GHz G5's were due last (2004) summer - we're still waiting, at 2.7GHz.
Consequences? If they _are_ going to x86, then Mac OS X itself will make the transition pretty easily, while the OS X applications will need to be re-compiled and optimised for the new architecture. Microsoft's response will bear watching, especially if the x86-compatible OS X isn't locked not to run on IBM clones.
Interesting times ahead: that's for sure.
Following weeks of speculation, a new report on CNET News.com suggests that will Apple use next week's World Wide Developers Conference to announce a transition to Intel-based Macs.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will announce a phased transition to Intel-based microprocessors after what has been an increasingly rocky relationship with IBM.
According to the report, Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007.
Well, that's a bit of a surprise, no doubt about it. Reaction has ranged from incredulity to speculation (probably unrealistic) that Intel will produce PowerPC chips specifically for Apple.
I guess that the recent announcement that IBM can find the time to design CELLs for Sony and PowerPC's for both Microsoft and Nintendo at significantly higher clock-speeds than G5's put the final nail in the Apple-IBM relationship. 3GHz G5's were due last (2004) summer - we're still waiting, at 2.7GHz.
Consequences? If they _are_ going to x86, then Mac OS X itself will make the transition pretty easily, while the OS X applications will need to be re-compiled and optimised for the new architecture. Microsoft's response will bear watching, especially if the x86-compatible OS X isn't locked not to run on IBM clones.
Interesting times ahead: that's for sure.
| Permalink 
|
