Macintosh Moving to Intel Processors [Updated]

[MacTruck]

Jobs said new Macs with Intel processors would be out by next years' WWDC (June '06). Didn't you see the keynote?

Yeah, also said 3ghz G5 would be out in 1 yr. Oh, that deadline past last year. Promisses are just that. When I see it I will believe it.

 

[SwiftLives]

After reading the press releases, I haven't seen any mention of Apple moving to a 32-bit x86 processer. Just an Intel processor that's not a Power PC.

Anyone know what Intel has up their sleeve for next year?

 

[crazydreaming]

Two things:

Why is a cooler processor so important in a desktop computer? I can see it in a laptop, but could someone please fill me in?

WHERE IS OUR NEW iBOOKS?!! They are way past due according to the Buyer's Guide. What are those who've been waiting for this day to do?

 

[oskar]

What would that be? When I mean investment I mean money. Lets see, I have to open another graphics studio and need 13 machines. I have to buy licenses for all of those machines, which should I go with, apple or microsoft. Ok, I pick apple because its cool and I feel hip. Now 1 yr later I have to buy all new machines and software licenses if I want the latest program that does those renders better. Could have gone with microsoft where the hardware and software will be around for yrs to come.

Apple=BAD INVESTMENT.

Get your 13 PC's.

 

[bosrs1]

Yeah, also said 3ghz G5 would be out in 1 yr. Oh, that deadline past last year. Promisses are just that. When I see it I will believe it.

Difference is the G5 promise was one that was dependent on IBM... this one is dependent on no one but Apple.

 

[jZilla]

I don't think people who feel negative about this should be blamed or attacked. They simply did what Apple has always asked of their most devout fans: They believed in Apple.

For years Apple has been lambasting the x86 architecture and today they've done a total 180 and embraced it.

Just like the third major transition for Apple is going to take time, so is the mental transition for the millions of fans and users.

Well said. I only think PPC is better because I was convinced by Apple! ;-)

 

[shompa]

The keynote crash for me after 10 sec.
Tiger Quicktime 7.01 pro.

I need a PeeeCeee to watch their keynote

 

[tdewey]

Yeah, also said 3ghz G5 would be out in 1 yr. Oh, that deadline past last year. Promisses are just that. When I see it I will believe it.

And that's why Steve moved to Intel because IBM made him break his promise.

My prediction: Pentium-M PB's WWDC 2006, All Intel by January 2007.

 

[Mac_Freak]

Oh but come one now, mathmatica did it in 2 days with BOB. So that is available right?

Could be, but still there is no use for them. Even if, why confuse consumers about a change that is gona happen in a year or so?

 

[MacTruck]

Get your 13 PC's.

I will, and in 2 yrs you will too only you will pay $3000 a piece for them.

 

[oskar]

And that's why Steve moved to Intel because IBM made him break his promise.

My prediction: Pentium-M PB's WWDC 2006, All Intel by January 2007.

That's probably what's going to happen, but I would think that they would have to be new processors designed for the Mac. They have a full year to work on them, before they can make any announcement.

 

[admanimal]

After reading the press releases, I haven't seen any mention of Apple moving to a 32-bit x86 processer. Just an Intel processor that's not a Power PC.

Anyone know what Intel has up their sleeve for next year?

The Universal Binary developer's guide tells you how to make sure your applications are compatible with IA-32, i.e. Intel's 32-bit instruction set, i.e. the x86 architecture.

 

[tdewey]

After reading the press releases, I haven't seen any mention of Apple moving to a 32-bit x86 processer. Just an Intel processor that's not a Power PC.

Anyone know what Intel has up their sleeve for next year?

Google Intel roadmap.

 

[neocell]

I am somewhat confused. If OSX has been compiled for both PPC and Intel for the last 5 years why switch now, why didn't they do it 5 years ago? Steve said the biggest mistake he (maybe Apple, can't remember which) made was not using an Intel chip. And why Intel. If it's just made for a CISC chip why not use something like AMD that is more similar to PPC in floating point performance, cheaper and cooler (temp). But again, why now? Isn't STI supposed to be releasing the Cell processor based on the PPC which is orders of magnitude better than top Intel? It just seems strange. Obviously Steve knows what he's doing, has thought of all these things, but I just wish that information could be conveyed a little more thoroughly to us

 

[kcmac]

Two things:

Why is a cooler processor so important in a desktop computer? I can see it in a laptop, but could someone please fill me in?

WHERE IS OUR NEW iBOOKS?!! They are way past due according to the Buyer's Guide. What are those who've been waiting for this day to do?

You want my iMac G5?. A cooler chip might help it out.

 

[minimax]

To whom it nay concern,
Thank Steve on behalf of the Mac community for killing the future of the Macintosh and relegating us all to a dead 32 Bit X86 architecture filled with lackluster hardware with no standardization (ever wonder why Windows crashes a lot). Has he been hanging out with Gil Amelio? If I had wanted OSX on an X86 based PC, I could have just downloaded Darwin X86 and loaded it on my 300 dollar PC. I remained loyal to the Macintosh because of the hardware... Because it was an affordable and stable RISC based architecture for the average consumer. You've also slapped everyone in the face who shelled out big money for their PPC Macs by making our machines instantly obsolete and killing any further development for the platform. Not everyone can afford spending thousands of dollars on a new computer and software every year or two unless your wealthy like Steve and Bill or make high 5 or low 6 digit salaries. We better be happy with our current software versions and hardware.
I've supported the X86 world on a professional level for over a decade. The unreliable X86 hardware and software is what made me a Mac user on a personal level to begin with; take the fact that X86 based hardware tries to cram peripheral cards and components into the first 15 interrupts considering that there are thousands. And you thought the old days of extension conflicts were bad. After a while, considering how small the Macintosh market share and install base is, I can see Adobe and the other mainstream App builders dropping support for the Mac. Why should they continue to build apps. If they were really interested in building Unix based versions of their software for X86, why haven't these companies already developed apps for the existing versions of Unix, the Linux variants and the BSD variants on which OSX is based?
Apple better pull off something really spectacular to keep me on board. I'm sure that there are a lot of other Mac users who feel the same way as I do. A PC is nothing more than a cheap pocket calculator, an appliance. The Mac had class, something that set it above every other computer and made people willing to spend a premium to get it. How will Apple justify that now?
It will be interesting to see how many consumers will pay a premium for X86 based Macs, when a similar PC from Dell, Gateway or any one of thousands of clones will cost half as much. After all I seem to recall Steve killing all the Mac clones in 1996 and buying off Power Computing. I still have a Power Tower Pro running around somewhere. Maybe Apple will just become a software company that sells music and MP3 players. This could be death for Apple. I hope everyone at Cupertino updated their resumes. Maybe Steve can turn the Cupertino campus into low income housing. Good thing he has Pixar.

AMEN to that.
People that are convinced moving to the Intel x86 platform will be a step forward probably still believe in fairytails too.

 

[bosrs1]

That's probably what's going to happen, but I would think that they would have to be new processors designed for the Mac. They have a full year to work on them, before they can make any announcement.

That may be what is going on. We're definitely going to get some Apple only Mobos and such in our new AppleIntel machines. Apple has 500 people in Santa Clara working with Intel now. Almost double what they sent to Motorola/IBM when they designed the PPC.

 

[RobDeep]

As long as Apple continues to create beautiful, reliable hardware paired with it's excellent OS, I don't really care what CPU's they are using. I welcome this change. Kind of exciting. Of course now we have to play a lengthy waiting game :-/

 

[DTphonehome]

Give this guy a frigging medal. (Isaac if it isn't clear). Man, I feel like I'm in a roomful of a)kids or b)mac zealots who understand NOTHING about business and the realities of the marketplace. The same zealots who ... in all likelihood ... don't have much money to spend and are too small a group for APPLE to please because, simply, they either can't be pleased or their demands serve such a small percent of the market that it doesn't make sense to meet them.

Seriously people, it's guys like you that give the 'sane' MAC users a terrible name. This isn't a cult, this isn't a crusade, this isn't frigging STAR WARS (Sith/Palpatine????? WTF) and this isn't some geek driven war against an "EMPIRE" This is business and at the end of the day my conmputer is a TOOL. Not the essence of my life.

Damn man. I'm speechless.

Japanese submariners???? Dude, if I was steve I would personally beseech you to leave my platform because it makes the rest of my potential users look like IDIOTS.

eV

THANK YOU!!! My jaw is hanging open reading some of these moronic posts. I second the motion to have all crazy zealots pried from their "now worthless" macs. I'll take one, please.
--DT

 

[Fender]

I hate the fact that PCs are covered in stickers at the time of purchase, but holy crap some of guys are so hung up on damn things. What happened to you as children involving stickers? I'm not even sure you have to put them on the systems... my Alienware Area-51 didn't come with any Intel sticker.

 

[Applespider]

I am almost positive that Intel requires branding. Every other PC company that uses them legally brands them. I am hoping however that it is an embedded logo that will look real nice instead of a cheesy sticker. Sure you can pull the sticker off, but on the showroom floor it will look horrible.

From what I've read on other sites tonight, Intel help the manufacturer with their marketing costs if they use the Intel logo/sticker/jingle which of course helps them keep their costs down.

The Mac may ship without a sticker but then none of us can complain if it's a little more expensive... I'm hoping for an Intel 'inside sticker' where there's a sticker but it's stuck on the interior of the case rather than the outside!

 

[guez]

you say MHz, I say GHz

I disagree. If Jobs had a crystal ball, then Apple would have switched sooner. Having a crystal ball does not magically produce 3.5 MHz (I think you meant GHz) G5s. The crystal ball would just reveal that IBM would not deliver the goods.

Whoops.

My point was not that crystal balls _produce_ results, but rather that they allow you to _predict_ them. If Jobs had predicted that he would deliver a 3GHz G5 in 2004 AND if he had a crystal ball AND if he was telling the truth, we would (by extension) have at least 3GHz G5s by now. Of course, this is all nonsense, since it is notoriously impossible to talk in a logical manner about counterfactuals...

 

[shompa]

There is a magic processor that runs Longhorn and OS X... it's called the Pentium 4.

Yeah! And the dual core 32 bit pentium 4 is combined 64 bit.
You can also run Windows on half the screen and on one processor and OSX on the other processor and half of the screen.

Intel Rulez - Steve "Darth" Jobs

 

[uncle_sam_ie]

Apple has done a very bad job of explaining this to the average joe who's looking to buy a Mac. Like a lot of people I too was planning to make a Mac purchase soon. Now I think I'll put my money away until next year because I want to be on the right side of the fence if there're making the switch. A lot of people are going feel the same I'm afraid. All those Apple store's are going to be very quite for the next 11 to 12 months.

 

[bosrs1]

AMEN to that.
People that are convinced moving to the Intel x86 platform will be a step forward probably still believe in fairytails too.

For every one doomsayer there are 5 people who are seriously considering the Mac now.