[olePigeon]

Here's a nice speculation story about why Apple's really switching to Intel.

Basically, according to the new Intel development tools that are starting to hit the forums, Intel's newest architecture will be similar in design to IBM's CELL architecture. Low power, independent cores that will interact with a main driving CPU.

I guess we'll see!

[turtle777]

You mean that's finally the real Real REAL REAL reason ?

-t

[goMac]

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Here's a nice speculation story about why Apple's really switching to Intel.

Basically, according to the new Intel development tools that are starting to hit the forums, Intel's newest architecture will be similar in design to IBM's CELL architecture. Low power, independent cores that will interact with a main driving CPU.

I guess we'll see!

I thought the bigger speculation in that page is that it would be a non-x86 processor. This leaves the door open for it to understand both PPC and x86.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by goMac

I thought the bigger speculation in that page is that it would be a non-x86 processor. This leaves the door open for it to understand both PPC and x86.

That would then completely destroy the reason for shipping dev PCs with x86 processors.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by olePigeon

Here's a nice speculation story about why Apple's really switching to Intel.

Basically, according to the new Intel development tools that are starting to hit the forums, Intel's newest architecture will be similar in design to IBM's CELL architecture. Low power, independent cores that will interact with a main driving CPU.

So they're switching away from IBM, to Intel, because Intel is going to be more like IBM? That DOES make sense.

[Weyland-Yutani]

Originally Posted by turtle777

You mean that's finally the real Real REAL REAL reason ?

-t

Yeah well.

Why not? I don't see why I should care that much. Sure the PPC is better, sure it has a bright future and sure IBM is heck of a lot more cool company than Intel. Mostly because Intel is chained to the crappo x86 design. And crap it is. No doubt about it - but the article quoted in the original post implies a very importan thing. For Apple, Intel and everyone.

Intel wants to move away from the x86 and has tried that for a number of years now. This could be their chance. Their roadmap for the next decade (revealed next week) may well describe how they plan that move through their new processors.

I don't think Apple and Steve Jobs cared so incredibly much about that as such, but a move away from x86 (with a realistic plan that might well succed) would make the Intel processor roadmap more believable and more likely to succeed. The x86 is a dead-end and Intel knows this. So does everybody else.

If the article is half right in its speculations we might be seeing the way out from x86 and to a modern CPU architecture from Intel. Good stuff. Hope it's not just hot air.

cheers

W-Y

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Salty

That would then completely destroy the reason for shipping dev PCs with x86 processors.

Of course the laptops would not be using this chip, and eventually Apple would migrate to the new mother language.

Seems really unlikely to me though. The author of this article is the same as the author who wrote the crazy Cell article.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by BRussell

So they're switching away from IBM, to Intel, because Intel is going to be more like IBM? That DOES make sense.

It does because Intel has less problems shipping the chips it does have.