Apple to ditch IBM, switch to Intel chips

[Sourabh]

Apple to ditch IBM, switch to Intel chips

Apple Computer plans to announce Monday that it's scrapping its partnership with IBM and switching its computers to Intel's microprocessors, CNET News.com has learned.

Apple has used IBM's PowerPC processors since 1994, but will begin a phased transition to Intel's chips, sources familiar with the situation said. Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007, sources said.

The announcement is expected Monday at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, at which Chief Executive Steve Jobs is giving the keynote speech. The conference would be an appropriate venue: Changing the chips would require programmers to rewrite their software to take full advantage of the new processor.

IBM, Intel and Apple declined to comment for this story.


Read More / Source: News.com

hmm, PowerPC architecture is owned by IBM I guess, i mean patent, so it's not like Intel will make PowerPC architecture based CPU for Apple, maybe Apple is finally switching to X86-64

& programs don't have to be re-codeed, they can simply be re-compiled, thats how many cross plateform programs work, like firefox, single code, when compiled according to the plateform it changes for that

I think they will use Xeons with some cooling techniques, as they are really powerful workstation chips

[Keith Sebastian]

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

I think they will use Xeons with some cooling techniques, as they are really powerful workstation chips

Could not resist but say - why the heck would Apple (masters of streamlined design) use a workstation chip on Apple minis and powermacs Why create a problem (heat) and then search for a solution (cooling)

Originally Posted by gxsaurav

programs don't have to be re-codeed, they can simply be re-compiled, thats how many cross plateform programs work, like firefox, single code, when compiled according to the plateform it changes for that

Not true, going by this report - Some analysts on Monday doubted Apple would soon drop IBM's PowerPC processor for Intel's Pentium chips, which power more than 80 percent of the world's personal computers, noting the momentous task of porting, or rewriting, Apple's OS X operating system, as well as all the software programs that run on PowerPC chips to Intel's.

"It's just too much software to have to change," said Kevin Krewell, editor-in-chief of newsletter Microprocessor Report. "This is just putting more pressure on IBM to fix these problems.".........

"It's like Ferrari going to BMW for an engine," said Richard Doherty, the research director for technology consulting and research firm Envisioneering. "This is seen as a whole changing of church."

Tim Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, referring to Intel chips said: "To port to an x86 platform would be a massive undertaking and I'm highly suspicious of that." ........

"Apple has put so much behind the PowerPC in terms of how much better the PowerPC is than Intel's processors," Enderle said. "It is risky."

Source: Reuters News Network © Reuters 2005

Well I'm thinking - why Intel? why not AMD?


Keith

[goobimama]

Well I'm thinking - why Intel? why not AMD?

Why any of these two jokers? I would like the iMac to be exactly (if not better) the way it is today, at least till I get enough of cash to buy one for myself. Why are they doing this? Its not like Ferarri going to BMW, its like Ferrari going to Maruti Udyog for their Omni Engine.....At least in my opinion.....

Y don't apple just switch to Cell or Xenon CPU

[Keith Sebastian]

Originally Posted by goobimama

Why any of these two jokers? I would like the iMac to be exactly (if not better) the way it is today, at least till I get enough of cash to buy one for myself. Why are they doing this? Its not like Ferarri going to BMW, its like Ferrari going to Maruti Udyog for their Omni Engine.....At least in my opinion.....

haha! well whatever happens, Apple is sure happy with the 5% jump in their stock value since this announcement.

Keith

[borg]

Its interesting to see a company that for almost a decade teased & parrodied Intel processors, finally adopting them. UNtill recently we have seen Apple making comparisons between the PPC Mac & Intel chips & claiming how its PCs were 200% or 300% faster than the latter.


Well, the problem we with the powerpc roadmap. There wasn't much to come on the PowerPC. IBM is too bsy making chips for consoles like XBOX360 & PS3 to devote much time to Apple. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that a 3 GHz PPC G5 is still not been delivered. I think Apple was feeling a bit sidelined & the market pressure lead them to Intel.

hmmm. I too have the same question in mind. Why not AMD?. AMD came out with first 64 bit chip. Also they are cheaper than intel. So whats with this Intel?. Though I am not suggesting that Intel is bad.

[drvarunmehta]

@Apple: Don't try to fix something that ain't broken

[mail2and]

well its not like you will be able to install tiger on your cheapo PEE CEE yet. Probably, it'll be customized x86... and yeah why not? Pentium M is a pretty solid li'l thing... and as portable sales are exceeding the desktop sales... apple HAD to shift to something faster since g5 was too hot for a lappie...

Apple did not ditch IBM, IBM ditched Apple... they promised 3ghz two years ago and haven't delivered yet... Again, the $999 developer Powermac p4 3.6 ghz will be way way slower than the dual g5 2.0 ghz leave alone the dual 2.7 ghz which prolly is even faster than amd x2...

Update: It seems as if ibook, powerbook and mac mini will have pentium M and imac, powermac will have Pentium D though i seriously doubt the performance of a D against that of a dual g5

[cyberia.in]

how sad, now even apple has joined the devil

[premrajeev]

there are ppl in the world who uses apple bcoz of many factors, and i''m damn sure they're not gonna appreciate this shift (if it ever happens completely) . Maybe it's a win for the intel sales guys at the apple..or it might be a warning note for ibm...let's wait nd see what happens..

[borg]

It will be really interesting to see an intel insode logo on a mac. I never thought this would ever happen.

iMac with Penitum 4 !. It looks like its straight out of fiction.

[mail2and]

mon ami, there will NOT be an intel inside logo... even though the processor will be there.... steve jobs will be the last person to put the ugly logos....

but don't worry the imacs and the powermacs won't get intel till WWDC, 2007....

[borg]

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A first look at Apple's Intel Mac (with photos)

By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor
June 22, 2005 - Apple's Intel-based Mac development kits have started trickling into developer's hands, Think Secret has learned.
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The Apple Development Platform ADP2,1, as the systems are officially designated, features 3.6GHz Pentium 4 processors with 2MB of L2 cache operating on an 800MHz bus with 1GB of RAM.

The Intel systems run Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger identically on the surface as ordinary Macs, with the exception of a modified Processor System Preference (from Apple's CHUD tools) that allows the user to toggle Hyper-Threading on or off. Apple System Profiler includes a new line under Hardware listing CPU Features; for the 3.6GHz Pentium 4 this comprises a rather lengthy list of technical acronyms: FPU, VME, DE, PSE, TSC, MSR, PAE, MCE, CX8, APIC, SEP, MTRR, PGE, MCA, CMOV, PAT, PSE36, CLFSH, DS, SCPI, MMX, FXSR, SSE, SEE2, SS, HTT, TM, SSE3, MON, DSCPL, EST, TM2, CX16, and TPR.

Apple's System Profiler reports the graphics card as an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 800. Inside the Intel Mac, DVI support for the video card is provided by a Silicon Image Orion ADD2-N Dual Pad x16.

The motherboard on the system is unmarked except for the word Barracuda. The system's internals are housed inside a case similar to Apple's Power Mac G5 systems but with a different configuration of fans.

Running Windows; Mac OS X on other PCs

Along with running Mac OS X, Windows XP installs without hitch on the Intel-based Mac, just as it would on any other PC, and booted without issue when installed on an NTFS-formatted partition. The only misbehavior sources encountered involved the video card. Initially, Windows refused to budge from an 800x600 setting on a 23-inch Cinema Display. Some prodding managed to get the screen to 1600x1200, but sources were unable to get Windows to take advantage of the entire screen.

Apple alluded to developers at its recent Worldwide Developer Conference that Windows should be able to run on Apple's Intel Macs.

As for installing Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware, attempts to boot from the included Mac OS X for Intel disc resulted in an error message on both a Dell and off-brand PC. The message states that the hardware configuration is not supported by Darwin x86.

Sources have indicated that Apple will employ an EDID chip on the motherboard of Intel-based Macs that Mac OS X will look for and must handshake with first in order to boot. Such an approach, similar to hardware dongles, could theoretically be defeated, although it's unknown what level of sophistication Apple will employ.

Also uncertain is whether the Intel-based development kits seeded to developers already feature the EDID chip or whether the installation disc contains a less sophisticated installation check that simply seeks out one particular hardware configuration--the one given to developers--and will not install on other configurations.



http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0506intelmac.html