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Really switching to Intel!!??
- Thread starter dodonutter
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My recent purchace of a dual CPU PowerMac is beginning to remind me of my purchace of a dual GPU Voodoo 5....... back when 3dFX existed.... Please don't let this happen to Apple 
Mr Maui said:
well i wish we lived in a democracy because i wouldnt pay the irs if my money went to this ******** war. on the other hand i would if it went to schools and hospitals. etc.
I bet that among the posters in this thread, there are many others that meet or beat the number of posts made by me, mine just happen to be bunched together as I was doing other things for 12-14 hours and missed 600+ posts. I do apologize if this is a problem, but I'm not aware of how to respond to multiple posts in one response without opening multiple browser windows and copying / pasting from one to the other to try to respond. My natural instinct is to respond to what I read. Forgive the fact that my 20 or so posts have become bunched together today in this thread.LaMerVipere said:This thread should be re-named "The Mr Maui Q&A Session"
back atcha! 
This was an interesting comment / theorey a person posted on Slashdot.org in relation to this Story.
- IBM and Apple sign a multi chip agreement with very specific clock speed, power usage, production quantities and target dates built into the contract. the first chip is the PPC970.
- Jobs and IBM publicly trumpets that the chip will hit 3GHz in a year's time which is actually well below the contractual promises IBM made.
- Jobs and IBM get humiliated by the fact they didn't even come close and still aren't there after 2 years.
- Jobs throws constant fits and points out that IBM has missed every metric they contractually promised to meet. Jobs also points out that the way the contract is structured that Apple now has a right to a significant chunk of IBM IP and the right to shop for a manufacturer who is able to produce any and all of the chips under the original agreement.
While this is unfolding, IBM has been making the same pie in the sky promises to Sony and MS. As with Apple, IBM begins significantly scaling back the promises made to Sony and MS.
- Jobs get jealous of the attention paid to said console manufacturers
- Jobs exercises the options available and IBM gets taken to the cleaners.
I will restate. The contract Apple has with IBM has a "Moto" contingency. There are extremely tough provisions in the contract that Apple insisted upon to prevent another Motorola scenario from happening. IBM had no problem with the provisions because they were positive the could beet the goals by two in half the time. IBM ****ed up badly.
Apple now owns a large amount of PPC IP and Intel will now be manufacturing and designing PPC chips.
One last comment on the Altivec "debacle." Considering that 99% of the chips IBM will manufacture over the next five years will have Altivec or a close derivative, the debacle is IBM's blindness to the importance of vector processing for so long.
Personally idon't see Intel Makeing a PPC chip as it makes little to no sense for Intel but , it was an intersting thought.
- IBM and Apple sign a multi chip agreement with very specific clock speed, power usage, production quantities and target dates built into the contract. the first chip is the PPC970.
- Jobs and IBM publicly trumpets that the chip will hit 3GHz in a year's time which is actually well below the contractual promises IBM made.
- Jobs and IBM get humiliated by the fact they didn't even come close and still aren't there after 2 years.
- Jobs throws constant fits and points out that IBM has missed every metric they contractually promised to meet. Jobs also points out that the way the contract is structured that Apple now has a right to a significant chunk of IBM IP and the right to shop for a manufacturer who is able to produce any and all of the chips under the original agreement.
While this is unfolding, IBM has been making the same pie in the sky promises to Sony and MS. As with Apple, IBM begins significantly scaling back the promises made to Sony and MS.
- Jobs get jealous of the attention paid to said console manufacturers
- Jobs exercises the options available and IBM gets taken to the cleaners.
I will restate. The contract Apple has with IBM has a "Moto" contingency. There are extremely tough provisions in the contract that Apple insisted upon to prevent another Motorola scenario from happening. IBM had no problem with the provisions because they were positive the could beet the goals by two in half the time. IBM ****ed up badly.
Apple now owns a large amount of PPC IP and Intel will now be manufacturing and designing PPC chips.
One last comment on the Altivec "debacle." Considering that 99% of the chips IBM will manufacture over the next five years will have Altivec or a close derivative, the debacle is IBM's blindness to the importance of vector processing for so long.
Personally idon't see Intel Makeing a PPC chip as it makes little to no sense for Intel but , it was an intersting thought.
i dunnno if anybody has said this yet, because i am not about to read 46 pages of comments, but has anyone thought that apple may not ditch ibm for this. i mean apple is currently using both Motorola and ibm. not just one. apple may be bringing in intel for a mobile processor for a new powerbook. the only problem is the variations in software compatibility.
Mr Maui said:I bet that among the posters in this thread, there are many others that meet or beat the number of posts made by me, mine just happen to be bunched together as I was doing other things for 12-14 hours and missed 600+ posts. I do apologize if this is a problem, but I'm not aware of how to respond to multiple posts in one response without opening multiple browser windows and copying / pasting from one to the other to try to respond. My natural instinct is to respond to what I read. Forgive the fact that my 20 or so posts have become bunched together today in this thread.
Post on, brother. There is plenty of room on this forum for all you want to say.
Caudor said:Dare I say this? It could be that Apple is switching because they are going to announce that Intel will buy Apple.
That would explain a lot.
Now, I said it. Don't hurt me.
Not gonna happen. Intel is purely a chip company, buying apple would take them into about 10 different markets they have no experience with. Apple is also almost certainly not for sale, not mention the fact that its 6.5 billion in cash, in addition to everything else associated with the company, would put a pretty serious price tag on it even if it was.
Finally, even if this was going to happen, I don't think it would really explain the current rumors.
If apple switches to Intel....
(apple computer commerical)
"For a limited time you can get an 17" iMac desktop featuring an intel G5 processor for just $799. But thats not all get a free hp deskjet xxxx printer or a kodak digital camera. Also get free shipping. This deal won't last so order online at www.dell. i mean www.apple.com/tv or call 1-800-APPLE. Great deals on notebooks too"
(Intel inside symbol pops up and then you hear the little ding dingdingding ding jingle)
Intel->PCs-> Dell
huh just made me think of those annoyng dell commercials.
(apple computer commerical)
"For a limited time you can get an 17" iMac desktop featuring an intel G5 processor for just $799. But thats not all get a free hp deskjet xxxx printer or a kodak digital camera. Also get free shipping. This deal won't last so order online at www.dell. i mean www.apple.com/tv or call 1-800-APPLE. Great deals on notebooks too"
(Intel inside symbol pops up and then you hear the little ding dingdingding ding jingle)
Intel->PCs-> Dell
huh just made me think of those annoyng dell commercials.
perhaps intel are just for line of laptops
perhaps intel will be used just for a line of mac laptops (or some other device??)
the g5 laptop might not happen (or at least not soon enough) and the alternative chip might be used for this
also, intel can probably make some chip that is custom for their prospective cutomer, Apple. so it wont be the same as a pc
anyway, my 2c +gst*
we can just wait with bated breath!
* that's goods and services tax for you non-australians
perhaps intel will be used just for a line of mac laptops (or some other device??)
the g5 laptop might not happen (or at least not soon enough) and the alternative chip might be used for this
also, intel can probably make some chip that is custom for their prospective cutomer, Apple. so it wont be the same as a pc
anyway, my 2c +gst*
we can just wait with bated breath!
* that's goods and services tax for you non-australians
I was going to just let this thread go about its business until Monday, where we could actually hear what is going to happen without continually guessing. But, while we're at it, these are my thoughts on the matter:
Apple is not dropping its PPC architecture for x86 architecture. Switching to x86 would be bad on so many levels because the current sales of PPC Macs would grind to a halt and the software developers will cumulatively give Apple the middle finger for making them recompile all the apps after being stroked for years that "PPC is the future."
Who knows if IBM is out of the picture forever.
I bet if Intel is going to make cpus for Apple, they will be some sort of RISC architecture that will make for a smooth transition with newer Macs down the line. Intel is no stranger to the RISC world. Heck, some RISC has even snuck into the Pentium line. Additionally, Intel has made RISC processors for years, including the StrongARM line. It wouldn't shock me in the least for Intel to rollout a strong RISC processor for Apple. I don't think Intel is married to the x86 design. I think they are married to Windows, which insists running on the x86 design. Intel is semiconductor company, but it's still a business out to make money. The money is clearly in the Windows corner, so x86 is king. However, if there's a niche that needs filling, I bet Intel can fill it with RISC processors for Apple. I'll also bet money that Intel has many "secret" projects, including processors designed for Macs, because every manufacturing company has products that "know their enemy." You never know when you need them, and you can also make your own line of products (in this case, the Pentiums) better by knowing you enemy.
Apple is not dropping its PPC architecture for x86 architecture. Switching to x86 would be bad on so many levels because the current sales of PPC Macs would grind to a halt and the software developers will cumulatively give Apple the middle finger for making them recompile all the apps after being stroked for years that "PPC is the future."
Who knows if IBM is out of the picture forever.
I bet if Intel is going to make cpus for Apple, they will be some sort of RISC architecture that will make for a smooth transition with newer Macs down the line. Intel is no stranger to the RISC world. Heck, some RISC has even snuck into the Pentium line. Additionally, Intel has made RISC processors for years, including the StrongARM line. It wouldn't shock me in the least for Intel to rollout a strong RISC processor for Apple. I don't think Intel is married to the x86 design. I think they are married to Windows, which insists running on the x86 design. Intel is semiconductor company, but it's still a business out to make money. The money is clearly in the Windows corner, so x86 is king. However, if there's a niche that needs filling, I bet Intel can fill it with RISC processors for Apple. I'll also bet money that Intel has many "secret" projects, including processors designed for Macs, because every manufacturing company has products that "know their enemy." You never know when you need them, and you can also make your own line of products (in this case, the Pentiums) better by knowing you enemy.
Wow. 5 years of waiting to switch, and I just kick down on a 20" imac, and now they're going to intel x86 architecture?
I could have just stayed where I was.
Jeez, if Steve confirms this on Monday I'm putting it up on ebay.
On the other hand, if it's a bold bid to challenge Longhorn for OS supremacy, then it is indeed
WAR!
I could have just stayed where I was.
Jeez, if Steve confirms this on Monday I'm putting it up on ebay.
On the other hand, if it's a bold bid to challenge Longhorn for OS supremacy, then it is indeed
WAR!
I want to know wh everyone seems to think that just because apple is using intel it means there using x86 why couldnt intel just make a power pc like ibm and moto did.....man i cant wait till monday