Apple to switch?????

D

dcoon81

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Apple has held talks to use Intel chips in its Macintosh line. Neither would confirm a change in the relationship, and it's unclear if Apple will shift away from IBM.
• IBM Is 'Back on Track,' CEO Says
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This Reuters story revives one of the oldest Mac rumors around... Apple switching to Intel?

The rumor originated at The Wall Street Journal:
The report, citing two industry executives with knowledge of recent discussions between the companies, said Apple will agree to use Intel chips.

Apple has seriously considered switching to Intel at least twice in its history. One previous project code-named Star Trek actually ported Mac OS 7 to Intel based hardware in 1992. Most recently, internal IBM documents noted that Apple considered switching to Intel but felt it would cause too much trouble:
Apple believed that using Intel would deeply affect its current customer base. Using an Intel architecture might solve Apple's short-term megahertz dilemma, but customers would have to suffer through a slow transition from PowerPC over the long term.

Such a switch would traditionally require recompilation of applications, but Page 2 rumors have suggested the use of Transitive Technologies' software which claims to "dynamically translate and accelerate binaries" up to 80% performance matching, as well as unconfirmed reports of x86 seeds of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).
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I have seen this rumor on another site. I am not a member of the wall street journal.com so I am unable to get the full story. Has anyone else heard this? Can someone inform us of the full story if you have access to it.

It's the second headline down the middle of the page.

Thanks

D

Link to WSJ.com - Apple and Intel? :confused:
 
dcoon81 said:
I have seen this rumor on another site. I am not a member of the wall street journal.com so I am unable to get the full story. Has anyone else heard this? Can someone inform us of the full story if you have access to it.

It's the second headline down the middle of the page.

Thanks

D

Link to WSJ.com - Apple and Intel? :confused:
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Oh, please. Apple needs merchant chips. Intel has a huge merchant chip operation. This has nothing to do with changing processors.
 
apple uses intel chips in the xserves. that's all it is. intel are currently the worst chip manufacturer, lagging way behind AMD in all benchmarks. there is no sense in moving the desktops over to intel. the PPC chips are only going to get better now that so much R+D is going on at IBM with the liquidation of it's x86 pc building sector, and the fact that all three next-gen console are using PPC-derived chips. the only way is up with IBM IMO
 
Apple is designing a video game console with intel inside. Intel sees 25 million young game players seeing PowerPC inside logos on game consoles for the foreseable future and they know this is not a good thing. Many children will see the IBM PowerPC logo before they see the Intel inside logo and this can not be a good thing for them.
 
mi5moav said:
Apple is designing a video game console with intel inside.
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I always wondered where you pull these things out of.

anyways, once a year (often right after the latest OS release) we hear these stories about "APPLE SWITCHING TO x86!!!" and year after year, nothing happens.

and besides, it is way too much of a hassle to switch. And why do you think Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are using PPC processors in the next gen game consoles...?
 
Lt Major Burns said:
apple uses intel chips in the xserves. that's all it is. intel are currently the worst chip manufacturer, lagging way behind AMD in all benchmarks. there is no sense in moving the desktops over to intel. the PPC chips are only going to get better now that so much R+D is going on at IBM with the liquidation of it's x86 pc building sector, and the fact that all three next-gen console are using PPC-derived chips. the only way is up with IBM IMO
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XServes use PowerPC's too. They're G5, including the RAID Xserves.
 
My head hurts.

Is it possible to port OSX to x86 yes. Is it feasible? Yes again. Why? Slap it on a custom motherboard with OpenFirmware and that's one less thing they'd have to worry about. So they can still maintain that iron clad grip on their hardware platform. Mac users automatically assume that an x86 conversion would mean Apple loses their grip on the hardware. Problem is... the people hoping for this conversion are the ones who want to build a cheap PC and put OSX on it.

That's the #1 reason why Apple won't switch to x86. NO ONE WILL BE HAPPY. They'll just wind up pissing of everyone. The PC users won't get their cheap shot at OSX, Mac faithfuls will feel betrayed.

So instead, steady the course and keep doing what Apple has been doing and everyone will be happy. Except the shlubs who don't own a Mac.
 
Intel does also have the StrongARM CPUs, so Apple might be using these for something else. ::sleepy::

Also, Intel has other chips that have been found inside Macs for some time now. Not sure exactly what they do, but I've seen them in there. ::sleepy::

And then there's also Darwin, which runs on x86. ::sleepy::

This is old news that's been picked up just now by some fool in a top-name magazine company and decided to run with it. I'm so tired of seeing this come up each and every time. ::sleepy::
 
The intel chips used in XServe's aren't the CPU, they're a "minor" chip (compared to the CPU) for network or something. And the XServe does not have a g5 in it. it has ATA controllers, and RAID controllers, and other "specialised" hardware, and no "multi-use" components like a G5 cpu.

can someone please stop/close/ban threads about stupid crap like this all the time?
 
The Xserve absolutely has a G5 in it. The XServe RAID does not, it's just a set of hard drives (and controllers and such). Right?

I know this topic is annoying and keeps coming up, but this is the first time I can recall where the information came from something resembling a legitimate source. Or am I wrong? I only recall these Intel threads having sourceless speculation.

I, for one, am fine with this topic coming up a lot. The forum is called News, Rumors and Discussion. If it were called 100% Confirmed Facts, I'd be disappointed. ;)

I'll repeat the same thing I've said every other time this topic comes up. I could care less what chip is inside my Mac. I don't care if it's a G5, G6, Intel, AMD, Silicon Graphics, Cell, whatever. All I care about are two things, that it run OS X and that it is FAST. If the G5 gets me there, great. If some kind of Intel thing happens and runs OS X perfectly and is FASTER than the G5, then great, sign me up.
 
Pengu said:
The intel chips used in XServe's aren't the CPU, they're a "minor" chip (compared to the CPU) for network or something. And the XServe does not have a g5 in it. it has ATA controllers, and RAID controllers, and other "specialised" hardware, and no "multi-use" components like a G5 cpu.
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First off, you should get your facts right before replying...
According to Intel marketing materials, the Xserve RAID uses Intel's IOP 331 chip, a derivative of the XScale processor. The IOP chip, which is used in many storage systems, is designed to speed the task of shuttling data in and out of a computer system.
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There is absolutely a G5 processor in the Xserve Check the link!
Pengu said:
can someone please stop/close/ban threads about stupid crap like this all the time?
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And second, no one asked you to reply in the first place.
 
mindbend said:
I'll repeat the same thing I've said every other time this topic comes up. I could care less what chip is inside my Mac. I don't care if it's a G5, G6, Intel, AMD, Silicon Graphics, Cell, whatever. All I care about are two things, that it run OS X and that it is FAST. If the G5 gets me there, great. If some kind of Intel thing happens and runs OS X perfectly and is FASTER than the G5, then great, sign me up.
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I agree. No Mac users could/would tell a difference if there was an x86, PowerPC or 68000 (:eek:) processor in the computer. As long as it runs OS X, and runs OS X well, I'd be happy.

And how does Intel = x86? Maybe Apple is wanting Intel to make PPC chips... who knows.
 
I dont think so that Apple will use Intel for xserver or PowerMac. Only problem is that IBM is face heat issues because the G5 is too hot for Powerbook, eMac, and Mini Mac. Apple couldnt solution this. IBM is struggle with it. My thinking that Apple is going to use Intel for Powerbook, eMac and Mini Mac that can sell cheaper than what Dell can sell. So, I am betting on Apple will sell both Intel and IBM on Mac.
 
Apple is already using Intel chips, just not intel desktop processors. Why should contacts between Intel and Apple mean a major switch? :confused:

Apple uses components and embedded processors from many manufacturers in the iPod and Airport products and of course also chipsets in its desktop machines (controllers etc.) Again, why do so many people immediately jump to the conclusion that talks betwen Apple and another manufacturer will have a complete system architecture change as a consequence? :confused:

We have perhaps just completed the change from OS 9 to OS X, do you really think Apple would want to tax developers and consumers alike with another mayor change? I don't think so. :rolleyes:
 
Now would definitely NOT be the time to make the move. Sure, IBM's having some difficulty moving the G5 forward, but hey, Intel and AMD are having trouble, too. The clock speeds on the PC side haven't gone up much (any?) more than the G5 in the past two years. The future of the PPC looks brighter compared to x86 now than it has in years. We've got the only major 64-bit chip with real OS support, and we've got multiple cores right on the horizon (as do the x86 makers, true, but there's no gap big enough to justify a move). Even the future of the G4 is looking up; supposedly we might see G4s sporting dual cores before G5s, and if they do, they ought to fit in PBs (rumor has it, anyway; grain of salt required as always).

Seems like all the informed discussion here, about it all being about RAID controller chips and the like is right on target. (I know, the idea of educated opinions based on established facts being right IS a little hard to swallow... ;) )

I see absolutely no reason why Apple would even consider the move NOW. If they were ever going to do it, it would have been 3 or 4 years ago. Each passing day makes it less and less likely, IMHO.
 
i agree with mikuro. the PPC market is only going to grow with the console support, and amd/intel are not that farther ahead, in terms of clock spped, and in terms of real world speed, it's all about level, with intel actualy lagging behind slightly
 
Man I wish I had a nickel every time this stupid rumor comes up. How many years have this prosperous rumor been going around?
 
Satcomer said:
Man I wish I had a nickel every time this stupid rumor comes up. How many years have this prosperous rumor been going around?
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I think someone mentioned when OS7 came out in what '92.
 
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