On Monday, Apple is expected to announce they are switching to x86:

Link

What does this mean for the rest of us PPC users? Will the cost go up? Will IBM focus on its customized PPCs for the XBox, etc...?

If it is to be true, than it's a blow for other PPC based desktop computers. Losing the (relatively) high volume of PPC processors used bu Apple, means lower volumes of desktop geared PPC processors will be more expensive (and maybe even not even interesting anymore for Freescale/IBM). I think

I think I'm reading that kind of news every week since a few years ;)

If this is true then we miss some extra information...
I don't believe that apple is looking to change hardware platform but a hardware leverancier!

In other words I believe that intel is planning secretly to make RISC processors equivalent the PPC's.

[ Edited by liquidbit on 2005/6/4 12:24 ]

Looks like a total nonsense to me.

Even if OSX could (easily) be adapted to Intel processors, all existing OSX apps would still be tied to PowerPC.

Unless they suddenly find some magic way to emulate PowerPC on Intel processors I don't really see any sense in it...

Maybe a way to put pressure on IBM ? Too late now that they are gonna equip all next generation consoles that will sell WAY more than Macs...

Leo.

[ Edited by Leo on 2005/6/4 10:40 ]

@Leo

That magic way called compiling!
Look the source & makefiles of the opensource applications for example...

@ALL
Does that means that the IBM PPC world comes to end?
Any ideas of porting MOS on intel?

[ Edited by liquidbit on 2005/6/4 13:33 ]

Itanium is not x86 but runs x86 code unchanged.

Intel could make an Itanium for Apple that runs PPC code unchanged.

Just a thought.

@mdma: that way it would be possible but that's very unlikely... (is there a little-endian Itanium ?)

Leo.

Intel becoming a PowerPC licensee makes more sense i think. Especially as the Cell spec has been made open by IBM.

Intel Cell CPU anyone?

I'm sort of surprised but, thinking about it, Apple could take a bite out of Microsoft Windows in a way that Linux just hasn't been able to do.

Apple could do PC manufacturer bundling deals like Microsoft does.

Apple has a user-friendly OS competitive with Windows in ways Linux just isn't.

Apple has a range of commercial software developers who will port their stuff over to X86 along with MacOS.

Apple has great name recognition and can continue to leverage the success of iPods and the like.

As I understand it, the port to X86 is not supposed to be difficult because MacOS is based on Darwin/BSD. It won't be like the traumatic transition from 68k to PowerPC AFAIK and involve so much emulation stuff... It should be much easier, it seems to me. So I see it as something that could, possibly, reshape the whole computing for the masses landscape.

Does it threaten PowerPC users? I don't know about that. I don't think it hurts them really, except maybe in the very long term. The wisest choice for Apple might be to support both processor sets. If I were Steve Jobs I would have Apple focus on the software for X86, like Microsoft does. Apple should stay out of the "dedicated" hardware business, with te exception of non-exclusive manufacturer bundling
arrangements. In other words release the OS on CD or DVD a la carte for X86 for $149 to $199 to sell at BestBuy or Karstadt or whatever, and then do your manufacturer bundling deals too.

And then on the PPC side Apple could continue business as usual to whatever degree is waranted by the systems they are selling. I personally would continue to favor PPCs because they tend to be low power and cool and different. But Apple could have both worlds, possibly.

It'll be interesting to hear what Jobs announces Monday.

I for one find it hard to buy, but comming from cnet makes it a lot more then it ever has been. They are not your average rumor site. i find it more possible that intel may be able to make the power line of chips or a chip thats close enough to run stuff. It makes no sence to me at all for Apple to alienate users of current hardware. They just did some monor updates to the hardware and the mini is a huge success. I hope for the sake of cnet that they just got the x86 part wrong and not all of it. If I were apple and this killed off my sales I would do something about it. Rumors that effect sales dont make people happy.

Quote:
I think it doesn't. AFAIK, Itanium has nothing to do with x86, but Intel did a JIT-style emulation library, a software, which provides binary compatibility with existing apps, when needed. But this needs support at the OS level. Very much like PowerPC emulates 68k in MorphOS. They just doesn't call it "emulation" but "IA-32 Execution Layer"...

I think it's rumours spread by Apple to put pressure on IBM in their
negotiations. Really ditching PPC makes no sense, technical or
otherwise. IBM making something PPC-compatible.. well, I don't know if
it would be worth the trouble for them.

But even if it's not rational, I guess it might be that Steve Jobs is
asking IBM for the impossible. He's known as a guy who doesn't always
listen to reason (which is, I guess, sometimes good, as 'reason' may
not always be wisdom). Maybe this time he's trying to pressure IBM to
do something that makes no sense for IBM, but which Jobs just isn't
ready to back down on. I hope not.

Quote:

I thought there was two ways of running x86 code on Itanium. Hardware decoding of the x86 ISA and a faster software JIT they brought out when everyone said how slow the hardware method was.

Maybe I've just had too much to drink tonight!

Quote:

I heard this story on NPR a couple weeks ago. I'll believe it when I see it. This rumor has been around since the mid-90's.

--Aaron

the only thing that is even remotly possible is that Intel is going to make custom PPC chips for Apple. not that apple will switch to x86. and either way i think its totaly fake.

Oh, I think Apple doesn't take a real advantage to look at x86 'cause it's a low level proccessor and also if OSX is a linux based core (Darwin) they will get low performance on actual intel machines. I think best way to win on microsoft is that all most important software houses begin to develope to all the other platformes(but it's only a dream).

Quote:

Actually, Darwin is a BSD kernel.

--Aaron

A funny comic
User freindly

nels

[ Edited by nels664868 on 2005/6/5 10:13 ]

I think this is just a rumor or else Intel is gonna make a PPC
compatible chip. That would ROCK! Intel's chip fab is pretty damn
good these days

However just putting OS X on x86 would be bad.
If Jobs is worried now about a few thousand people shoehorning Panther
onto Oldworld PCI Powermacs and possibly 'borrowing' the CDs from a
Mac owning friend to do it, what's he gonna do when XpostFacto's x86
equivalent comes out so you can 'evaluate' OS X on any old cheap clone
hardware?? Piracy killed the Amiga in part, and it was a smaller
machine niche-wise than Apple's machines. Piracy will kill Apple in a
year and a half if they go x86. Piracy even hurts M$ (sob) and they
are HUGE in the computer world.

I look at their website, and they seem not like a company about to
change hardware-they'd just be throwing away all that R and D for a
platform that looks to be in its prime-the new G5s don't even need L3
caches because the memory bus is so fast to the CPUs. To get that
kind of dual proc speed even with Athlons, isn't a cheap $70 clone
mobo from Fry's. And the CPU cooling requirements of top-end x86
units aren't too different from a G5-in other words, liquid cooling
is a good idea for either platform. No huge gain there.

Plus, all that time they spend in benchmarks to prove their system is
twice as fast as x86? What about that? I think that even if there''s
a germ of truth to this, we are FAR, FAR AWAY from knowing the whole
story. Time will tell, I guess..

06.06.2005 19:32 MEST

Steve Jobs discloses the secret: Apple switches to Intel.


I do not welcome this decision, they hit their current customers a
hard slap into the face.

well this f***ing sucks. i hope apple as a company does a terrible death due to this (and there stock will show it). i cant wait for longhorn now. wow i am one of the hardest people to make mad but this one has really really done it. i am going to laught so hard when apple looses all its current user base. mabey that will teach them a lessen. like when a dog pee's on the carpet and u rub its nose in it.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20050606corp.htm

Sad news for "historic apple users"...

[ Edited by bigdan on 2005/6/6 21:02 ]

Otellini: Buy Apple

Quote:

Sadly, I'd say that unless IBM has something huge in their pocket,
this is the bend in the end for the PPC as a desktop CPU

But the reality of it is, Apple have had long-term, repeated problems
with getting fast enough CPUs, and in enough quantity, for years now
with Moto then IBM. How much of that is really Moto/IBM's fault and
how much is Job's overzealous marketing spew, I don't know. But this
is a sad day for everyone not on the x86 bandwagon. Maybe Jobs has
just gotten sick of making promises of faster boxes and not getting
them because of supply problems from the PPC camp..

Sad, sad deal

I think I heard l33t h4xx0rz laughing with joy already!