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'Intel Based Mac' Rumor Roundup...

Mac fans haven't either

iindigo said:
You said it... :rolleyes: seems nobody wants to support PowerPCs :(
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How many posts on this Mac-central board have been about how slow the PPC chips are over the years? How many posts have been about the lumbering pace of updates of PPC? How many people on this Mac fan site bitched when the mini came out with it's "old" PPC based CPU? Apple can't win, stick with PPC and get hammered by their own cutomers, or do something about it and get yelled at for doing it. If mac users and Steve himself are tired of the rate of progress of PPC, who is really left to support PPC chips?

Isaac
 
Maybe this is just for Mac OS X Server

One possibility is that Mac OS X is not going to X86 but maybe the server might. It is the only product that makes sense.
*There are not a lot of applications written for it.
*The price of it is high enough so they won't loose that much money
*IT administrators want to see if it is a good alternative to WIN/Linux but don't want to buy massive amounts of Apple hardware and be locked out if it doesn't work out

Also consider the source of all of this fiasco (WSJ/CNET). They basically only look at the economics of the technology, not at the feasibility of it. On paper, X86 looks better from a business standpoint, more supply and lower prices. For a user/programmer standpoint, it should only be used as a latch ditch effort if the PPC development has stopped. Considering all of the PPC gaming consoles and the rumors of the 970MP, I find this highly unlikely.

There is also a report that states that one of the big reasons to the move would be the hardware DRM that is present in the Intels processors. This is total BS, if Apple really wanted to have hardware DRM, they can easily install that without having to make a whole architecture change.

In short I believe that this is one persons speculation blown out of proportion.
 
LaMerVipere said:
A version of Windows?

User-friendly?

Fast?

Stable?

rofl.gif


Oh lordy, I love these boards at times like this, everyone truly goes nutty. As if getting a different (and likely, faster) processor is going to be the end of Apple.

Whatev'

rofl.gif
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A different processor is going to make me have to throw out computers that I paid good money for in a year or two, that is the problem. Do you really think OSX 10.5 is going to be made in two flavors? My guess if you are stuck with PPC like I am, you are going to be stuck with 10.4, because 10.5 and up will all be focused on x86.
 
isaacc7 said:
How many posts on this Mac-central board have been about how slow the PPC chips are over the years? How many posts have been about the lumbering pace of updates of PPC?
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Amen to that. It seems as though Apple is damned if they do and damned if they don't by some of those out there. Meanwhile, regardless of what happens on Monday, I highly doubt that the majority of the Mac community will suddenly be leaving the platform and running out to buy a Linux or Windows box any time soon...
 
Everybody is wrong... the big news tomorrow will be... now get this... a TWO-button Apple Mouse... hahaha
Everybody's been flipping out, and I think that there are as many that agree with those that don't.
What is clear is that for once nobody here knows anything about tomorrow. I think Apple has been toying with the rumor sites with this lack of info or this misinformation. That Intel announcement is something that I can't see happening no matter if the possibility does exist. For once they managed to keep us in the dark completely about what is going to happen tomorrow morning. Maybe it isn't really all that big or important as we expect it to be, or... could it be a breakthrough in Apple history and something really really big? I'm starting to think the first option is more likely, and that there really won't be any big announcements...

I just hope that tomorrow I won't be reading any stupid "I told you so!" posts.
 
Lancetx said:
Amen to that. It seems as though Apple is damned if they do and damned if they don't by some of those out there. Meanwhile, regardless of what happens on Monday, I highly doubt that the majority of the Mac community will suddenly be leaving the platform and running out to buy a Linux or Windows box any time soon...
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I won't leave it, I will find a way to get rid of my old PPC Macs and get a new one even though I will take a loss and I would imagine that most on here will, but the commercial and education market will take a huge hit.

I have never had much luck running PC's and that is why I own a Mac. I know that even a single Pentium 4 will trounce a dual G5 in performance, but in the end all new software and hardware gets expensive.
 
This is a huge sign of the impending apocalypse, right?

I have a bad feeling that these rumors are dead on. Kind of makes me feel a little empty inside.
 
Abercrombieboy said:
I won't leave it, I will find a way to get rid of my old PPC Macs and get a new one even though I will take a loss and I would imagine that most on here will, but the commercial market will take a huge hit.
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Fair enough. As for me, I personally don't care either way what happens on Monday as long as it's for the long term good of Apple. OS X is why I abandoned Windows over 2 years ago for the Mac, not for the PPC CPUs. If switching to Intel means I'll have to buy a new Mac next year, then so be it. My only hope is that whichever way Steve Jobs goes with this that it will be for the best overall in the long term. And I still trust the man's judgment when it comes to doing the right thing for the company.
 
D*I*S_Frontman said:
My money is on Intel doing something with Apple's portable line, or perhaps the rumored tablet PC.
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Tablet PC, maybe, as that would be something different. But having Intel on the laptops and PPC on the desktops doesn't make sense: they would be supporting two different platforms and I don't think any emulation or fat binaries would make that much easier.

No, if they x86 for the established lines, they're going in all the way. Otherwise, I agree it might be for servers, non-Mac machines (like a tablet) or ARM for the iPod.

The WSJ and the NYTimes are the two most reputable newsources in the world (I'm just waiting for the Beeb to say something). If they say Apple's going x86 they've checked their sources too. Alas, a shame, as I'll have to wait even longer to switch.
 
Abercrombieboy said:
A different processor is going to make me have to throw out computers that I paid good money for in a year or two, that is the problem. Do you really think OSX 10.5 is going to be made in two flavors? My guess if you are stuck with PPC like I am, you are going to be stuck with 10.4, because 10.5 and up will all be focused on x86.
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Apple doesn't make money with you keeping a computer for more than two years...
So you're agreeing to the idea: a different processor wouldn't mean the end of Apple. It would mean they have something new (and possibly better) to sell. You have to spend money to upgrade if you want the newest technology, OS and applications.
 
News sources vs rumors

Even if news sites (NYT, etc) are saying "Apple switching to intel x86", did anyone consider they may be extrapolating too? (Intel = x86)

Or even just (gasp) reporting all those rumors as "facts"?

Being the NYT doesn't protect them from making mistakes.
 
Abercrombieboy said:
I see where they are showing a store having 10% off on different products right now. Powerbook, iBook, and Mac Mini is included in that offer. I will go on a limb and say Pentium M's will be installed in those starting tomorrow.
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I've tried to keep up with this thread and the other one, but Life makes it difficult. What 10% are you referring to? Is it a reseller's discount, something the brick-and-mortar Apple Stores are offering? What is it?
 
Superhob said:
What if Apple introduces an Intel based ibook on Monday?

They can't just simply make the announcement and expect people to wait for 1 year before the "new" macs show up. This would be devestating for their sales from now until the time they release the new macs.

I think they will introduce a new machine (ibook or other) on Monday to go along with the announcement. This way, they will calm the fears of anyone who thinks that this move will be very difficult and time consuming.

I refuse to believe that Apple would shoot themselves in the foot by making the announcement without the concurrent introduction of intel hardware running Tiger to bolster their position.
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This is what I was wondering. Place one today. allow the leading edge people to take the hit and there will be plenty.

Plus have a real product and not vaporware within 6 weeks
 
You know, those of you who are complaining about what a traumatic switch this will necessarily be are forgetting (actually, ignoring those who have mentioned it before me) about the fact that it would be very plausible for an Intel/Apple computer to include technology by Transitive which allows instructions for one architecture to be dynamically translated and executed on another architecture at almost native speeds. So developers could continue to target the PPC for the next few years and everyone who owns a Mac with either Intel or PPC inside could use their software. It could actually be pretty painless for everyone.

Someone else agrees with me.
 
Abercrombieboy said:
No one has seen Longhorn...it just might match Tiger and if it does, it would be a much safer purchase then a company that throws out everything and starts over every few years. Think...they threw out the Apple II and went with the Mac. Then they threw out the 68K Macs and went with the PowerPC. Then they threw out the Mac OS and went with Mac OSX...now they are throwing away the PowerPC and going with who knows what...I think Apple is smoking something because they can't keep their focus on something for more then a few years at best.
.
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Go to this site http://www.winsupersite.com/longhorn/ it shows movies of people demoing LH. It doesn't look more visually stunning as OS X in my opinion. Don't know about the stabliity and speed factor .
 
oskar said:
Apple doesn't make money with you keeping a computer for more than two years...
So you're agreeing to the idea: a different processor wouldn't mean the end of Apple. It would mean they have something new (and possibly better) to sell. You have to spend money to upgrade if you want the newest technology, OS and applications.
Click to expand...

Agreed many consumers will probably be ok with this. I am just saying as a teacher, people who have to make purchases with the tax payers money won't. A school with 3 computer labs with 20-30 computers each is a lot of money to loose in just one school. The problem with this is a school pays A LOT of money to buy software and they can't buy it over and over. We have switched to mostly Windows computers in the school and with what has happened here, that will be a big savings for us. When Longhorn comes I bet all of our education titles that we have paid thousands for will still run just fine on it. Many say the education market does not matter anymore, but it does, unless Apple has finally conceded defeat in the Education and Small Business areas.
 
Yvan256 said:
Or even just (gasp) reporting all those rumors as "facts"?

Being the NYT doesn't protect them from making mistakes.
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You fall into a numbers game: sure the NYT can be wrong and has been before. I'm sure the WSJ and the B have been too. But for all of them to be wrong? Reporters can say "so and so other newservice reported the following" and write a story but someone along the line, especially in these larger name services, will catch up and check their own sources. None of the services want egg on their face. From what I've read this is especially true of the latest WSJ report.

Haha, and thanks for the link MVC ;D That just about does it, doesn't it?
 
kikuchiyo said:
You fall into a numbers game: sure the NYT can be wrong and has been before. I'm sure the WSJ and the B have been too. But for all of them to be wrong? Reporters can say "so and so other newservice reported the following" and write a story but someone along the line, especially in these larger name services, will catch up and check their own sources. None of the services want egg on their face.

Haha, and thanks for the link MVC ;D That just about does it, doesn't it?
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Yep, I thinks it pretty clear that some Intel chips are going to end up inside some Mac products.... ;)
 
Abercrombieboy said:
I am not smoking anything...sorry I don't use drugs so don't insult me. If Apple is jumping the PowerPC and heading to the x86 just like this, who is to say in 4 or 5 years they won't get pissed at Intel and make another jump. Who can keep up with that? They already made one from 68K Macs to PPC, whereas the PC's have been stable with x86. I am not going to argue, with everything I read, x86 is much more modern and much faster, I just think that the consumer wants to buy a computer that won't become a paper weight in a year or two.

No one has seen Longhorn...it just might match Tiger and if it does, it would be a much safer purchase then a company that throws out everything and starts over every few years. Think...they threw out the Apple II and went with the Mac. Then they threw out the 68K Macs and went with the PowerPC. Then they threw out the Mac OS and went with Mac OSX...now they are throwing away the PowerPC and going with who knows what...I think Apple is smoking something because they can't keep their focus on something for more then a few years at best.

Do you know where this hurts the most...The BUSINESS AND EDUCATION market. They cannot afford to throw it all out and start over everytime Apple gets a new wild idea. I wonder why Apple has lost so much education business over the years. This will only loose them more. I PROMISE that.

I am not against improvement and progress but in the PC and Windows world it is gradual and a HUGE importance is put on compatibility so schools, government and businesses can keep up. Apple just continues to throw out and start new.
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I think that sometimes when you're the little guy and see your marketshare decreasing you need to try something new. Of course x86 is dominant on PC..why would they need to switch? Does Dell need to explain the mhz myth?
 
Looks like I'll be eating crow monday. Now BBC, and NYT report the same story. Damn this is going to hurt!

Hard to blame Steve. Moto and IBM's disappointments have persisted 14 yrs now.
 
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