Apple: We're Switching To Intel

[Tenniru]

stream.apple.akadns.net/ (The WWDC Jobs keynote)

www.lowendmac.com/musings/05/0607.html (An article about it and other things)

When I heard the rumors I didn't believe them. After all, they had been floating around since the '90s with the "Star Trek" project to get System 8 on the x86. I knew the WWDC conference was today, and I expected something, but not this.

Nevertheless, Apple has begun a mass architecture switch of a size they have never done since they went from the 68k Motorola processors to the PowerPC back in the mid-90s.
Now it seems Steve Jobs is tired of IBM's troubles delivering the G5s. So, starting in 2006, Apple is ditching the PPC in favor of Intel-made PCs.

Apple showed off a Mac/Intel demo machine today, using a 3.6 GHz Pentium 4. These are the same machines that will go to any developer who buys one (for $999), as will be described later.

Does this mean price cuts? Almost certainly. The already-cheap Mac Mini is expected to pick up an Intel processor in early '06, followed by the iMacs around '07.

There are also the announcements that the version of OS X for the Intel machines are going to have a "real-time" PPC emulator codenemed "Rossetta". (Much like the 68k emulator on the PPC Macs after the first conversion.) Also, Apple is providing an Intel-Mac (people are already calling these things "Macintel" machines) to developers now, giving them a year to start porting things before changes happen.

Also, in the style of the "fat" programs that worked on both 68k machines and PPCs, there will be "Universal Binaries". Apple's existing Cocoa and XCode (2) programming tools should make it easy to port these things to the new hardware to run natively. XCode 2 already supports the Fat Binary.

So, opinions? Is this a good move?
Where is Squiggles when you need him?

[Sabator]

[21:10] <Tenniru_> Sabator?
[21:10] <Sabator> A LOT
[21:10] <Tenniru_> Could you please reply to my Apple/Intel topic on the MCMB?
[21:10] <Sabator> Guh?
[21:10] <Tenniru_> It fell back to page 2 and I don't think anyone saw it.
[21:10] <Sabator> k.

[Tenniru]

You could be less subtle about a hired bump.

Although you'd think something of this... news-ness would have more chatter.

[Housekeeper (loljanitor) Faddy]

If that movie "Pirates of Silicone Valley" is accurate to any degree personality-wise, Steve's a jackass.

He is a discrace to everyone with my first name.

My first name is far too overused. And people STILL screw up the spelling.

Eh. I kind of thought it was good to keep Macs away from Intel. To keep up the uniqueness of them and all.

That work for a reply?

[Tenniru]

Good. Needs more salt, though.

Granted, I've always thought of the Mac uniqueness as the OS. The UNIX backbone, along with the other rather simple things that make it blaringly diffirent from Linux and Windows, are still there.

As for Steve, you should do some reading on Steve Ballmer before you go after Steve Jobs for disgracing the first name.

[Artemus]

Er...but IBM sucks?

I dunno, I think I'd like an Intel PC more than an IBM PC.

[Tenniru]

That's pretty much why Apple did the switch.