The Re-Birth of RISC Computing (PowerPC/POWER))

[yamabushi]

If Apple ever decided to go after the embedded market there might be a business case for keeping PPC compatibility alive. The vast majority of PowerPC chips sold were for the embedded market and continue to have a strong presence.

Enabling the most recent OS to run natively on modern PowerPC or POWER designs could help if Apple was ever serious about the enterprise market even if most units shipped used Intel CPUs. It would also be nice if there were versions of OS X offered to run under a virtual machine for enterprise use.

 

[SuperJudge]

It would also be nice if there were versions of OS X offered to run under a virtual machine for enterprise use.

OS X Server does this already out of the box. You can also trick VMWare and VirtualBox into thinking a regular retail version of OS X is the server version and virtualize that way. It's pretty cool, actually.

And also, Apple's biggest margins are already in the embedded market where they're now using custom ARM silicon.

 

[raysfan81]

I'm fine with Apple using intel. However, I'm not liking how Apple seems to be trying to dumb down osx so every idiot who owns an iOs device will love it. They could care less about us OSX users on the computer and only care about their mobile devices.

 

[stevemiller]

i have a ppc g5 (my first mac) next to my '08 mbp, and while the g5 will always be dear to me as my first mac experience, i really can't see this difference some of you are describing. the g5 has leopard and the mbp has snow leopard, and in everyday tasks, you wouldn't be able to tell which system you were running. when it comes to heavy lifting tasks like video encodes and rendering, the mbp does stuff twice as fast.

so yes, these machines were awesome in their heyday, and the apple experience was so refreshing compared to everything else at the time, but i think its a mistake to equate that nostalgia with some sense of permanent superiority to all that has come since then. everything is relative, and while an apple computer may stand out less today then they did then, they're still more powerful and capable computers.

as for the iOS-ification of things, there's a lot of stuff that coming down the pipe that is if limited interest to a more savvy user, i agree; but for the most part they're just extras that can be ignored. now if the app store and launchpad became the ONLY way to install and launch apps, i'd definitely be worried, but for now i'll just drag them off my dock and install quicksilver

also, i think the new final cut strikes a perfect balance of friendly add-ons and some powerful new ways of working with media. seeing that demo definitely reminded me of the gutsy way of rethinking problems that first enamoured me to apple

 

[Nameci]

I think the rebirth is coming the sooner than we expected. And most of the Intel guys are not happy about it.

It may not be via POWER, it could be via ARM.

 

[zen.state]

I think the rebirth is coming the sooner than we expected. And most of the Intel guys are not happy about it.

It may not be via POWER, it could be via ARM.

Just wondering.. what do you know that makes you think this?

I would love a switch back to some real hardware. Although I am now an Intel Mac owner (gift) I still love PowerPC hardware much more.

 

[Nameci]

Zen, I am not really geeky. But we have been using ARM for some embedded applications during my previous job. When I have read about the rumor, I just seem to see and feel it coming. Apple will always be finding for ways to keep voltage down on all of their products except maybe for the MP. That way they can keep the device cool and can attain a longer battery life in between charge.

If you have been a coder you will agree with me that the speed of the application will mostly not depend on the power of the chip but on how optimized and lean is your code to run on a specific system. I am not viewing it as a consumer coder because I am not one.

Most of the CPU horsepower is only important to those people who are really living on the spec sheets. But not for ordinary folks like me. And those "pro" crowd is not the current market for Apple. That is the reason why the iPad just clicks.

Basing on posts from other threads on this forum, it seems that some people are feeling hard to accept change. I would love a return to PowerPC as well if you would ask me, but ARM is still a RISC architecture isn't it?

 

[zen.state]

Zen, I am not really geeky. But we have been using ARM for some embedded applications during my previous job. When I have read about the rumor, I just seem to see and feel it coming. Apple will always be finding for ways to keep voltage down on all of their products except maybe for the MP. That way they can keep the device cool and can attain a longer battery life in between charge.

If you have been a coder you will agree with me that the speed of the application will mostly not depend on the power of the chip but on how optimized and lean is your code to run on a specific system. I am not viewing it as a consumer coder because I am not one.

Most of the CPU horsepower is only important to those people who are really living on the spec sheets. But not for ordinary folks like me. And those "pro" crowd is not the current market for Apple. That is the reason why the iPad just clicks.

Basing on posts from other threads on this forum, it seems that some people are feeling hard to accept change. I would love a return to PowerPC as well if you would ask me, but ARM is still a RISC architecture isn't it?

Interesting thoughts..

The ARM is a RISC CPU yes.

 

[Diesel-Benz]

wrong thread.

 

[Riky.loebis]

Zen, I am not really geeky. But we have been using ARM for some embedded applications during my previous job. When I have read about the rumor, I just seem to see and feel it coming. Apple will always be finding for ways to keep voltage down on all of their products except maybe for the MP. That way they can keep the device cool and can attain a longer battery life in between charge.

If you have been a coder you will agree with me that the speed of the application will mostly not depend on the power of the chip but on how optimized and lean is your code to run on a specific system. I am not viewing it as a consumer coder because I am not one.

Most of the CPU horsepower is only important to those people who are really living on the spec sheets. But not for ordinary folks like me. And those "pro" crowd is not the current market for Apple. That is the reason why the iPad just clicks.

Basing on posts from other threads on this forum, it seems that some people are feeling hard to accept change. I would love a return to PowerPC as well if you would ask me, but ARM is still a RISC architecture isn't it?

great opinion,,,,,,

i'm agree with ur last setences (bold), i'm think if apple still use intel processor and not different with PC (Hackintosh).

sorry if any mistake with my words ,,,,

thx