Apple's A4 Processor is Based on Cortex A8, Not A9?

[840quadra]

A few people have been saying that the iPad will still need a computer to run.

I hope it's not the case though except for optional file transfers.

If you can now register to create an itunes account on the iPhone and therefore iPad and assume for a moment that all content you want will come Safari/ iTunes and all music and video can all be streamed at will is there really anything on it that it needs to be connected to a computer for?

I can't see why it wont work straight out of the box and never need to be connected at all.

I hope it doesn't need to be connected to a computer when first purchased. It was a major annoyance for me when I got both models of iPod touch that I have owned. My current iPod Touch has not been connected to a computer for all of 2010. I can download podcasts I need, and install applications wirelessly. The only thing I can't do currently is manage and created specific types of playlists, which is the only reason I would sync at this point.

 

[diamond.g]

Yes we have gone a little off topic. We were talking about Paging, and how the iPhone OS really can't, doesn't do that. We then migrated off to talking about "what if you paged to an SSD", and you can see how that ended.

Apple doesn't list detailed tech specs, but the industry believes that the iPad uses NAND flash, which is the same (or similar depending on exactly what chips are used) as is in the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Eh it is slightly relevant. If the iPad isn't using SSD type storage, then the tricks in place to minimize cell wear probably aren't in place either. Which would be a good reason to not allow paging to storage.

But then again, how much space is each app allowed to create to store things like user preferences and notes? It would seem that a person could write to that (like you would store a note or something) and then read from it as if it is a buffer. When you run out of ram push data into that buffer and free up memory. Or is that specifically not allowed?

 

[darkblu]

I always laughed at those debates. My ph.d. involved a RISC processor, and I designed PowerPCs and SPARCs as part of my employment. I also designed x86 processors as part of my employment.

Under the hood, not a heck of a lot of difference, and compilers love x86.

you got me surprised now. in what way do compilers love x86, other than insane amounts of effort poored into the problem?

 

[cmaier]

you got me surprised now. in what way do compilers love x86, other than insane amounts of effort poored into the problem?

That's exactly the way. And in response x86 adds little bits of ugliness to fill in the holes where the compiler guys get stuck.

 

[DMann]

You must worry a lot then - it seems that any MacRumours thread
degenerates into name calling and ad hominem arguments.

You ought to know...

Amusing, since most "polish a turd" stories refer to what the
turtlenecked overlord can sell to the fanbois!

 

[cmaier]

Dobberpuhl has left the building. Gone to Agnilux.

Frankly, I know the guy and he's a jerk, so Apple's better off, as long as the rest of the team sticks around.

 

[lilo777]

Dobberpuhl has left the building. Gone to Agnilux.

Frankly, I know the guy and he's a jerk, so Apple's better off, as long as the rest of the team sticks around.

Well, we know that he is not the only one who went there.

I read somewhere that PA Semi had about 150 employees. Obviously not all of them are equally important to the success of the team.

 

[gto55]

PA SEMI *******-ed apple ?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10465618-64.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0


March 13, 2010 9:36 AM PST
Apple loses key chip executive
by Brooke Crothers



Dan Dobberpuhl, the PA Semi founder and CEO who came to Apple with the acquisition of his company, has apparently jumped ship to work at a chip-related start-up.

Apple acquired PA Semi in April of 2008 for $278 million. At the time, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company was purchased to design system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods. Dobberpuhl was the leader of the team Apple hired.

Apple did not respond to inquiries about whether Dobberpuhl was still at Apple. Several sources said Dobberpuhl's departure was not recent and may have happened as long ago as last fall or possibly before that. Sources said they believe Dobberpuhl has joined Amarjit Gill, a former PA Semi principal, at Silicon Valley start-up Agnilux.

Dobberpuhl isn't alone. Other key PA Semi team members have left Apple, including one of PA Semi's leading members, Mark Hayter.

Linley Gwennap, president and principal analyst of The Linley Group, said Dobberpuhl was the leading light at PA Semi.

"He was the CEO at PA Semi and leader of the team, and one of the guys that was driving the whole thing," Gwennap said. But "those guys are start-up kind of people, and within the structure of Apple, they may [have been] chafing."
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced its A4 chip along with the iPad.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced its A4 chip along with the iPad.
(Credit: Credit: James Martin/CNET)

It is not clear if the PA Semi team hired by Apple contributed to the design of the iPad's A4 chip, which Apple describes as a "custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip."

Ashok Kumar, an analyst Northeast Securities, believes, like other analysts, that the central processing unit, or CPU, inside the iPad's A4 chip is based on a design from United Kingdom-based ARM, which licenses intellectual property to a number of large chip suppliers, including Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia.

But while some chip talent is leaving Apple, others are joining. Last year, Apple picked up Bob Drebin, former chief technology officer of the Graphics Products Group at chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, who is now listed as a senior director at Apple.

 

[Fast Shadow]

It's a free country, they're not slaves.

 

[TheCoffeeBoy]

Edit: Doh! wrong thread/tab, so sorry for the necro.