According to this news article, Apple Computers is going to switch to Intel processors. I’m a happy Windows XP user, so maybe I shouldn’t comment, but to me this seems like a really bad move. The fact that Macs are different from Windows boxes has always been the backbone of the Mac “culture.” Now, a key element of that culture is going to disappear. Only the OS is going to be differnet.
What do the Mac-using Dopers think of this?
I’m not a Mac user, but I think this move is terminally stupid. First, Mac hardware becomes nothing more than a PC with a pretty box. They just screwed themselves out of the hardware market. Second, by dropping IBM now they lose out on utilizing the Cell processor, which could be really successful if enough people get behind it. That cuts them off from being able to use all that distributed processing goodness creatively. Third, the x86 architecture sucks – no more building supercomputers out of future Macs, for you could buy a bunch of Dells with the same functionality and have them be much cheaper.
The only good thing that might come from this is the boost in sales of OS X by moving it to the x86 architecture.
Well, if the future strategy is to move to software and out of software, then it’s a brilliant move. That said, I would definitely consider dualbooting XP/OSX.
Well, the original report came from CNET and none of the usual Mac rumor sites, which is a little strange.
On one hand, PPC development has been a lot slower than Apple would like. It was June 2003 that Steve Jobs announced on good word from IBM that they’d have 3.0 GHz G5 Macs within a year. Right now they’re still stuck at 2.7 GHz. No doubt Steve has pitched several fits in IBM’s direction.
Then again, third-party developers would yet again have to make a big shift. First it was 680x0 processors to PPC, then from classic MacOS to OS X. Not another major shift!
Lots of speculation has cropped up in the usual places over the past few hours. Maybe Intel will make PPC chips for Apple instead. Maybe Apple will be using Intel chips in a non-Macintosh project. Maybe Jobs has deliberately put out false rumors to catch leakers.
And if you really want to be confused, consider this.
Monday’s gonna be interesting, whatever happens.
Doesn’t pass the smell test for me yet, I’m gonna wait and see what, if anything, happens monday.
::coughbullshitcough::ahem 
The article I cited specifically mentioned replacing PowerPC chips with Pentiums, but I’m not sure if the author of the article knows this, or is just assuming.
For all we know, CNET’s “sources” could be Rob Enderle and John Dvorak, who are well-known computer tech pundits who, when it comes to Apple, are consistantly wrong. Not much love for CNET in the Mac rumor world anyhow.
I don’t think it’s going to happen, but it would have great advantages. Lots of people would switch to Mac software if they could use hardware they already have. I’d consider it, but I’m not considering getting a whole new Mac box.
It sounds pretty tough porting an OS to another microprocessor though, that’s got to be an assload of work/money.
Yup.
Enderle being famous for claiming that the Mac would definately switch to intel chips in 2001 or so, and that your iMac can kill your family.
I think this is all based on a meeting between Intel and Apple. There’s a lot of things that one could make for the other without so drastic a thing as swtiching Macs over to PowerPCs.
My hope is that maybe intel will start manufacturing PowerPC chips.
What makes an Apple computer an Apple computer? The chip? The packaging? Its outward design? Or the OS?
I always thought that Apple computers have their own chips, so it is quite a surprise that they are using IBM chips. I believe it is more of an OS and the user-friendliness of the entire system that makes an Apple an Apple. The chip and underlying architecture may not be important.
Then again, maybe I am wrong.
That Apple is in talks with Intel is not suprising - Intel makes more than CPUs. It could be for wireless chips (WiMax), embeded processors for the nex iPod or simliar device, etc.
But articlkes claim a CPU switch. Apple almost certainly has OSX running on Intel (Darwin, the core already does), but whether it will actually make the switch I find unlikely. But then again I didn’t think Bungie would get bought by Microsoft.
see also http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050603-4970.html?27256.
Brian