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Apple's Intel move good for switchers, non-switchers

updated 07:50 am EDT, Thu June 9, 2005

Mossberg on Apple-Intel


Technology columnist Walter Mossberg says that Apple's move to the Intel chips is good for everyone, including switchers, those considering switching, and even for Windows users: "In the long term, the , which is good news for anyone devoted to that platform or considering switching to it. That's because Intel's processors and other chips will give Apple more options than IBM's products could for building Macs that run faster and cooler, and have longer battery life.... Even consumers who use Microsoft Windows, which runs on the vast majority of computers, will benefit, because the Mac's impact on the industry is vastly greater than its market share. Apple is the most innovative major computer maker, and the only one largely dedicated to serving consumers instead of large corporate customers. Almost everything it does is later copied by the Windows PC makers, so keeping Apple strong and innovating is good for Windows users, too."


by MacNN Staff

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  1. telem

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Dec 1999

    0

    Positive Column

    Mossberg did a good job of explaining.

    I wonder how eager IBM and Freescale will be to develop and deliver faster versions of their chips to Apple in the next 2 years.

    Sure hope that Apple uses some of their cash to help education software developers move from OS 7, 8 & 9 to X on Intel.

  1. rtamesis

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Jan 2000

    0

    Tanglewood

    What probably convinced Steve Jobs to switch to Intel is what Intel has in store in its roadmap two years from now. That appears to be the timeframe for the release of a 64 bit, multicore chip unpolluted by Intel's previous designs called Tanglewood, which is designed by Peter Bannon and his old DEC Alpha team. The DEC Alphas were the fastest processors available in the 90's. Consistently outperforming everything. 64-bit, multiprocessor from day one with a very elegant, efficient design. For several years now Peter Bannon and his old Alpha design team (over 300 of them) have been working on Intel's next generation 64-bit designs. Their first design for Intel is planned for a 2007 release. This will probably go into Apple's high-end desktop Macs when those machines are switched over to Intel processors.

  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    0

    Good for windows users?

    The whole "PC makers will copy apple" is a joke. There have been minor attempts in the past to duplicate some of their designs, but in the end, there still isn't a PC out there where anyone spent any time at all going "Hey, now let's make this PC look like you'd want to showcase it on your desk".

  1. michaeljohn63

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2005

    0

    Nice summary for consumer

    Walt is always good for an article that tries to see the best of things in Apple, while acknowledging possible potholes down the road. Apple is lucky to have him at the WSJ.

    As to the whole business of Windows running on the Macs, I am guessing that Apple is being coy about that, making no promises, because, like another poster said, Apple's trajectory for porting the Mac to Intel may coincide with technology from Intel which is not (yet) supported by Windows. In fact, Intel may want Apple on board to put pressure on Microsoft to more quickly port its products to new Intel technology. Here's the scenario: right now, Intel comes out with a chip that requires a pretty good rewrite of parts of Windows. MS says, no thanks, we're doing fine as it is. Intel hems and haws, and then waits. Now, Intel can say, "fine, we'll also be giving it to Apple, which is a nimble little company that will boast that its got a better engine than Windows machines." Microsoft gets off its butt and gets to work. All in all, Intel may stand to gain the most from Apple's switch, by giving it substantial new bargaining power over Microsoft--the threat of an Apple intrusion into Microsoft's previously locked-down monopoly. I am betting Apple knows this and has used this to negotiate a h*** of a contract.

  1. rtamesis

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Jan 2000

    0

    Breaking MS's monopoly

    I agree with the above post. For years, Intel's chip designs were married to Microsoft Windows'limited requirements. With Apple on board and more willing to try the latest in bleeding edge technology, Intel now has the freedom to explore new chip designs and force Microsoft to keep up to keep Windows compatible rather than have Microsoft dictate things.

  1. rtamesis

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Jan 2000

    0

    More on Tanglewood

    Here is an article in 2003 about Tanglewood for those interested in learning more about it. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07/10/intels_tanglewood_pumped_full/

  1. Roehlstation

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    0

    Still the funniest thing

    Apple going to Intel for their chips and Microsoft going to IBM for their Xbox chips.

  1. resuna

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2005

    0

    Alpha irrelevant.

    Intel can not fix the x86 by getting "Alpha Experts" working on it. The problem with the x86 is not the implementation, it's the instruction set. It doesn't matter what the implementation is, the compiler still has to deal with an inadequate (or, for x86-64, barely adequate) register bank and a poorly organised and irregular instruction set. No matter what the processor does with the resulting mess, it's got to sit there and interpret instructions that are shuffling registers around or moving data to the "right" registers that have nothing to do with the actual problem the code has to solve. And for floating point it's worse because half the FP instructions are just there to shuffle the floating point stack.

    They can do a really great job on the implementation, but they won't get the kind of quantum leap in performance they'd get from a new API. AMD just made a *little* change in the API to increase the size of the register banks and got a huge performance win from it... using the "64-bit" meme as a marketing hook to get people to do the upgrade. But Intel can't do that, the "64-bit" card has been played already and it won't work again.

  1. pdot

    Senior User

    Joined: Aug 2000

    0

    Shuttle XPC

    I find the small form factor computers from Shuttle to be the most Apple like. Some of the older designs were a little on the ugly, rugged-geeky, way, but the recent ones have some of the most aesthetically elegant looks on the x86 side. Even their cooling ideas seem G5 inspired.

    BTW, as of two weeks ago, I got myself a Shuttle SB81P to tie me over and to play around with until I get an Apple laptop early next year. Now, I guess I'll be stuck using Windows XP until late next year. I find I need to be more tolerant on a regular basis when using XP. Also, XP seems to be a attention queen compared to OS X. Of course we all know this already; just confirming it.

  1. pdot

    Senior User

    Joined: Aug 2000

    0

    Shuttle XPC cont...

    I forgot to say that I find it very preculiar that soon after I bought and moved over to an Intel CPU for my primary system, Apple decided to make the switch as well. Coincidence? I think not!

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