Apple CEO wanted Intel move 5 years ago
updated 07:15 pm EST, Wed December 7, 2005
Apple CEO, Intel move
In a recent interview with News.com, Freescale Semiconductor CEO Michel Mayer told of his company's evolving business model and revealed that Apple CEO Steve Jobs wanted to switch the Mac to Intel processors . Freescale Semiconductor is one of the 10 largest microchip manufacturers in the world, but Mayer said the company is in the midst of an "evolution of existing businesses" that will distance it from the personal computer market. When asked if he was present five years ago during the discussions when IBM convinced Apple to adopt the G5, Mayer said "in my previous job, I ran IBM's semiconductor business. So I've seen both sides of the Apple story, because I sold the G5 to Steve [Jobs] the first time he wanted to move to Intel."
Mayer's comments about Apple's transition fuel rumors that the Apple's move to the Intel architecture had been planned as early as five years ago, and recent statements by Jobs himself indicated that Apple worked hard to keep its five-year long Mac OS X for Intel project a well-kept secret, according to AppleInsider.
"So today for the first time, I can confirm the rumors that every release of Mac OS X has been compiled for both PowerPC and Intel," Jobs said in June when he announced Apple's plans to go Intel. "This has been going on for the last five years," he said.
It makes sense...
12/07, 08:27pm reply
Only Jobs would have been able to get Apple to develop OSX for Intel and PPC at the same time. Jobs probably knew it was inevitable, or just plain planned it, expecting to have problems with the G4 and the G5.
In the end, its secrecy was important. If this got out back in 2000, Apple might not have made it through the MHz drought of the G4 and G5.
Eriamjh
Addicted to MacNN
Joined: Oct 2001
Is this reallya surprise?
12/08, 12:01am reply
Because I remember reading in Macweek years ago.. that Jobs wanted to embrace the Itanium... and that was going to be the future of computing (64bit). I am not surprised here.
bigdawgh_11104
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Dec 2005
Don't forget Next
12/08, 03:45am reply
People always seem to forget that NextStep/OpenStep was available on Intel - which is the foundation of OS/X - so I don't think it's a surprise that having made the strategic decision to develop a cross-platform technology at Next, Jobs didn't throw away that aspect when he came back to Apple.
The same is also true for BSD / Darwin and most of the other open source components.
JulesLt
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Joined: Jul 2005
classic
12/08, 08:49am reply
prolly one of the reasons he didn't do it on intel years ago was that Classic would have been a real b**** to port over. Classic is not as much of an issue now.
Glasspusher
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Joined: Oct 2000
yeah
12/08, 03:55pm reply
That was right about the time the intel builds of rhapsody stopped
eswinson
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Joined: Jul 2002