If Apple decided to go back to PowerPC, is it a good idea?

[Power Macintosh]

What if Apple decided to go back to PowerPC, would it be a good idea? Are you in favor of Apple going back?

Okay then. I'll take that as a no.

 

[S.B.G]

I believe that it is exceptionally unlikely that it would ever happen. I also think it would be a step backwards. I can see Apple switching to ARM before going back to PPC.

 

[jtcedinburgh]

What if Apple decided to go back to PowerPC, would it be a good idea? Are you in favor of Apple going back?

What if we all went back to black & white televisions without remote controls? Or video cassette recorders? Or cars with gear levers on the outside?

Sometimes, progress is inevitable and one can never, ever go back...

I, for one, welcome my i7 octo-core Nettle Bridge retina++ overlords...

 

[theSeb]

Excuse me whilst I giggle.

 

[thewitt]

Not going to happen. No technical advantage to return to that processor design.

 

[CausticPuppy]

PowerPC as we know it, i.e. a cpu for general purpose computing, is gone. It's now an open standard (The Power Architecture) and its descendents include the Cell processors used in the PS3 and XBox 360.

 

[balamw]

I believe that it is exceptionally unlikely that it would ever happen. I also think it would be a step backwards. I can see Apple switching to ARM before going back to PPC.

This. Far more likely we'd see full OS X on ARM than PPC.

B

 

[maflynn]

Highly unlikely

They abandoned the PPC platform because the chip makers, IBM and Moto were unable to keep up with intel on the performance front. Additionally both chip manufacturers continually had issues providing apple with chips in quantity.

It makes zero sense to abandon a platform that has revitalized and transformed the Mac.

 

[CausticPuppy]

Apple could easily switch to AMD or ARM processors because that wouldn't involve completely shifting architectures.

 

[Power Macintosh]

Of course it's unlikely! I've known that since the transition!
Since the PowerPC was more powerful than Intel before, it's a good processor.
Would you be pleased if Apple went to PowerPC?

 

[theSeb]

Of course it's unlikely! I've known that since the transition!
Since the PowerPC was more powerful than Intel before, it's a good processor.
Would you be pleased if Apple went to PowerPC?

It was a good processor, but not when it came to power consumption. Intel is far too ahead now. ARM is the real threat to Intel to now, and they know it, as has been pointed out above.