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Macintosh Moving to Intel Processors [Updated]

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I can't see many people buying PPC-based Macs after this. Thats the downside obviously. If Apple can weather that and the developers play Apple's game, this is going to be a good thing. Imagine if Apple stuck to PPC and failed to come out with a G5 PB for another two years. Apple had no leverage with IBM. IBM could just take its sweet time. This feels bad, but I am optimistic that this will allow Apple to thrive in the long run.

One thing works out nicely for me - my Rev A PB AppleCare plan runs out just at the right time for me to buy one of the Rev B x86-based Powerbooks. Bring them on!
 
FoxyKaye said:
Exactly - this has me most concerned about the switch to Intel. Would developers create two ports of the same program, will Rosetta support OSX x86 software on a PPC, or will folks simply say "screw this."
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If that is the case you would be a complete idiot if you bought a Mac today since there wont be any apps you could run in one two years time.
Imagine buying a new PM G5 2.7Ghz now, just to find out that you ahve bought an extremely overpriced doorstop... :mad:
 
Look, others have said stuff like this, but I'll rephrase it in the way I'm thinking about it:

This really may not have been Apple's decision to make. They faced a future with IBM/Freescale of limited potential (from Apple's official p-o-v), months more of waiting just to get to 3 GHz, aging laptop CPUs, etc. IBM was giving them the cold shoulder, Freescale had its own problems, what to do? Options are limited. They chose to jump ship, but to me it feels more like they were pushed than did the jumping wholly of their own desire.

So if you don't like it, blame IBM, which in turn would point to the Mac's small market share as why in the end they just didn't give enough of a damn. If you do like it, well, we have a lot of questions yet to be answered and I think it's still very unclear how this is going to work exactly.
 
aap said:
I hope you are right, nutter. But I still have an eerie feeling about this. If you are right however, than I am 100% behind this move. I hope to see an official statement on this by Apple soon. :confused:
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There isn't anything to worry about. Apple has been working on this for 5 YEARS! They know what they are doing. Everyone needs to cut Apple a little slack. I'm pretty sure they know more about their company then you armchair execs do.. :rolleyes:
 
bosrs1 said:
Get it through your heads... YOUR DELL WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RUN OSX!
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Maybe not, I guess we will see. It won't take very long to hack a generic x86 PC to run it. I know humans, they do things just to say they can do them. It will be done.

It seems however it just made the job of running Windows on a Mac a lot easier!
 
SiliconAddict said:
Bookmark this page.....In 2008 everyone is going to be singing Apple's praise for their smart move. You people are sad.

This is the best move Apple could have done and for those who are saying they will never use Apple again. Shut up. You know you will. You will be right there with everyone else oooing and awing at the dual core PowerBook Pentium M's at 2Ghz. You will be impressed at the 2Ghz Mac Mini that will probably come out at MW '06. You will freak at the dual CPU cual core PowerMacs at 4Ghz in 2007. So please stop. You are acting like a bunch of babies.
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Amen
 
I have never seen such intellectual people on here act like a bunch of ignorant fools.

1. The chip has nothing to do with viruses. Its the OS. There will not be more viruses.
2. You will not be able to install OSX on a PC.
3. You will not be able to run Windows programs on a Mac (unless you have VPC)

One of the absolute worst posts I ever saw on MR (where is that thread about making your blood boil), was one in this thread, that said someone would stop buying Macs if they put an "Intel Inside" sticker on the computer. Um, they are burnt into the computer...you can peel it off (though I don't think Steve would allow that on a computer). The worst it might be a static sticker.

Now, where is the member that had the "Craptel Inside" avatar?? :D ;)
 
Nutter said:
I don't understand why people who have recently bought a Mac should be upset!

All major applications will be compiled for both PPC and X86 for at least the next four or five years, if not longer, considering that Apple intents to keep shipping PPC Macs until 2007. Even brand new applications developed with Xcode will support the PPC, as in 95% of cases it won't be any extra work at all to compile for both.

The only effect will be that developers will stop optimising code specifically for the PPC, and if certain API features eventually become X86 only, developers will start to drop support for the PPC, as happened in the 68k to PPC transition.

But this won't happen for years. I expect that a PPC Mac will be able to run almost every single application released within the next four to five years, and most applications even after that.

Having said all that, convincing potential customers that this is the case over the next two years is going to be difficult for Apple.
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Spoken like a man that had not just recently bought a 17" PB...

Don't get me wrong, I'm getting my use out of this machine. But it still sits pretty badly with me. I get a sinking feeling that my 5 year window I was expecting to get out of it just shrank to 3 years instead.
 
SiliconAddict said:
Bookmark this page.....In 2008 everyone is going to be singing Apple's praise for their smart move.
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I really, really hope you're right. Nothing would please me more. But you cannot, truly, claim you aren't the least bit worried about all this...?
 
weezer160 said:
...shocked. :confused:

I really don't know what to think. It's like finding out that your dad or mom really isn't your mom, but it's someone you've been harking because of an apparent defect and you've turned out be misinformed. Yeah, a little betrayed I feel (no, I'm not related to Yoda), but excited. I got sick of empty promises and vaporware from IBM and we haven't even been with them two full years!
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Or finding out that your lover just got a sex change, but you're willing to try the gay thing, but because technically speaking it really isn't?
 
Last of the TRUE Macs

I'm feeling quite comfortable with my new dual 2.0 G5.

To me this will be the same as owning my pre-CBS 1964 Fender Jazz Bass.

Looking forward, I hope now that the newest Pro Workstations on the horizon will have all the professional connectivity features that we've been hoping for.

This could be a great move if handled properly.

Before I bought my G5, I did look seriously at the Alienware workstations.
Honestly, my thoughts at the time were "too bad they have to run Windows".

It will be crucially important to know just how restrictive Apple and Intel will be about hardware compliance.
Those guys spending $5000+ on an Intel based ALX will want OSX too.
And it would be difficult for Intel to say no to their finest workstations.

What will be VERY interesting is how this will affect the enterprise customers using high end Xeons AND XServe

Many of us spent years wishing there were more options available for our Macs and now this will change everything.

With Intel's resources in their court, Apple and primarily OSX are going to
change the way people work.

The MotherShip just hit that iceberg.
 
Naysayers

I will put the people who see this as the end of Apple in the same bag where I once put these:

- The "iPods-will-never-sell" People
- The "That-No-screen-shuffle-iPod-is-worthless" People

and

- The "Dude-it's-physically-impossible-to-fit-a-20-incher-on-an-imac" People.

Try not to fight too loudly in my bag.
 
Neuro said:
This is great news, OSX will absolutely rock on high-end Intel chips.
....
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Yep, I agree. Aren't the new SGI Prism Desksides based on Itanium chips? These machines are very rapid by all accounts! I know they have propriatory SGI architectures (no bus etc....) but surely Apple could come up with something just as good. Apple takes on the mighty SGI ;-) Mmmm.......

APPLE FOR EVER
 
Guess I won't be buying a powerbook anytime soon then.

It's going to suck when x86 software starts coming out and you can't run it on your PPC mac.

This really is going to kill older macs.
 
MacTruck said:
If apple has been running a dual OSX team for x86 for 5 yrs then why isn't OSX for x86 available for all right now. Only developers get that? If it only takes 2 days to convert a program from PPC to x86 like they showed in the keynote why don't we have them now? 2 yrs? Come one. More Tech BS.
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Couldn't agree with you more MacTruck.

I think everyone that's been with mac for all of these years while they bad-mouthed Intel should feel lied to today.
 
Oh, and anybody looking for a quick unload of their now "unsupported" hardware, I'll take a dual processor G4 1Ghz or higher. I'll give you $200. /sarcasm on/ That's about all you're gonna get for your old stuff now /sarcasm off/
 
Eric_Z said:
Ha, ha, ha....

I bloddy know that. The point, though, is that nobody in their right mind will develop for OSX-PPC now. So that means zero new apps ... oh what fun. Not to mention that rosetta only seems to do PPC->x86 and not the reverse.
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Yes they will. Intel OSX isn't out for another year. PPC development isn't going to stop overnight. As the year goes on, software will be developed for both platforms... fat binaries, translation or separate binaries targeted.

As long as there are sufficient PPC users, software will be developed and this continue to be the case for a long while yet.


Mac Maven said:
There is no way Apple will be able to handle this transition well. They've demonstrated time and again that they can't even deliver bug-free incremental updates to OS X, and now they're claiming they will be able to complete this desperate, radical change? There's no positive spin to put on this "transition." Most people will continue to avoid the Mac, and Apple's installed base will rightly feel sh*t upon. The RDF has worn thin this time. The Mac is truly dead.
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Software is a complex beast. Show me software - upgrades - or otherwise - that do not have problems.

Apple have knowledge of hardware transition and they will use that for the smoothest ride.
 
The interesting thing is that Steve said OS X has been leading a secret life for the past 5 years...able to run on both PPC and Intel.

So why didn't anyone see this in the code? I know some geeks are pulling apart the code. How did they sneak that around everyone?
 
Eric_Z said:
I bloddy know that. The point, though, is that nobody in their right mind will develop for OSX-PPC now. So that means zero new apps ... oh what fun. Not to mention that rosetta only seems to do PPC->x86 and not the reverse.
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Why? It's still the same development environment, Xcode. It's going to be pretty easy to target both CPUs in new development up front, all the pain will be for people dealing with existing applications.
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
How about some more info on those "roadmaps". I really hope that P4 isn't your "solution"... :eek:
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As Apple said the PowerMac won't make the trans until 2007. That is 2 years away. The P4 by then will be a memory and Intel will easily have dual core's across the board. Even Intel knows they've hit the end of the road with the P4. Bet that Intel demoed some highly secret CPU. Its rumored to be based on the Pentium M's arch.
 
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