Author: Darrel Briley
Date: 01:38:34 06/05/05
As has been rumored previously.
Apple to switch to Intel chips starting in '06-CNET
Reuters - 6 hours ago
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research)
plans to announce on Monday that it will switch ...
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=8697271
Coming on Monday: Intel-Based Macs?
PC World - Jun 3, 2005
One of PC World's esteemed competitors (hint: Its initials are News.com) is
reporting that Steve Jobs will announce at Monday's Apple World Wide Developer
...
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/000706.html
Apple to ditch IBM, switch to Intel chips
ZDNet - Jun 3, 2005
Apple Computer plans to announce Monday that it's scrapping its partnership with
IBM and switching its computers to Intel's microprocessors, CNET News.com has
...
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5731398.html
And Finally...
http://news.com.com/Apple+to+ditch+IBM%2C+switch+to+Intel+chips/2100-1006_3-5731398.html?tag=nefd.lede
Apple to ditch IBM, switch to Intel chips
Published: June 3, 2005, 5:08 PM PDT
Last modified: June 3, 2005, 5:11 PM PDT
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
TrackBack Print E-mail TalkBack
update Apple Computer plans to announce Monday that it's scrapping its
partnership with IBM and switching its computers to Intel's microprocessors,
CNET News.com has learned.
Apple has used IBM's PowerPC processors since 1994, but will begin a phased
transition to Intel's chips, sources familiar with the situation said. Apple
plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in
mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007, sources said.
The announcement is expected Monday at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in
San Francisco, at which Chief Executive Steve Jobs is giving the keynote speech.
The conference would be an appropriate venue: Changing the chips would require
programmers to rewrite their software to take full advantage of the new
processor.
IBM, Intel and Apple declined to comment for this story.
Related Story
Apple and Intel: film stars?
The high-powered pairing could set
the stage for a Hollywood ending. The Wall Street Journal reported last month
that Apple was considering switching to Intel, but many analysts were skeptical
citing the difficulty and risk to Apple.
That skepticism remains. "If they actually do that, I will be surprised, amazed
and concerned," said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. "I don't know that
Apple's market share can survive another architecture shift. Every time they do
this, they lose more customers" and more software partners, he said.
Apple successfully navigated a switch in the 1990s from Motorola's 680x0 line of
processors to the Power line jointly made by Motorola and IBM. That switch also
required software to be revamped to take advantage of the new processors'
performance, but emulation software permitted older programs to run on the new
machines. (Motorola spinoff Freescale currently makes PowerPC processors for
Apple notebooks and the Mac Mini.)
The relationship between Apple and IBM has been rocky at times. Apple openly
criticized IBM for chip delivery problems, though Big Blue said it fixed the
issue. More recent concerns, which helped spur the Intel deal, included tension
between Apple's desire for a wide variety of PowerPC processors and IBM's
concerns about the profitability of a low-volume business, according to one
source familiar with the partnership.
Over the years, Apple has discussed potential deals with Intel and Advanced
Micro Devices, chipmaker representatives have said.
One advantage Apple has this time: The open-source FreeBSD operating system, of
which Mac OS X is a variant, already runs on x86 chips such as Intel's Pentium.
And Jobs has said Mac OS X could easily run on x86 chips.
The move also raises questions about Apple's future computer strategy. One basic
choice it has in the Intel-based PC realm is whether to permit its Mac OS X
operating system to run on any company's computer or only its own.
IBM loses cachet with the end of the Apple partnership, but it can take
consolation in that it's designing and manufacturing the Power family processors
for future gaming consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Ninendo, said Clay Ryder, a
Sageza Group analyst.
"I would think in the sheer volume, all the stuff they're doing with the game
consoles would be bigger. But anytime you lose a high-profile customer, that
hurts in ways that are not quantifiable but that still hurt," Ryder said.
Previous Next Indeed, IBM has a "Power Everywhere" marketing campaign to
tout the wide use of its Power processors. The chips show up in everything from
networking equipment to IBM servers to the most powerful supercomputer, Blue
Gene/L.
Intel dominates the PC processor business, with an 81.7 percent market share in
the first quarter of 2005, compared with 16.9 percent for Advanced Micro
Devices, according to Dean McCarron of Mercury Research. Those numbers do not
include PowerPC processors. However, Apple has roughly 1.8 percent of the
worldwide PC market, he added.
Apple shipped 1.07 million PCs in the first quarter, and its move to Intel would
likely bump up the chipmaker's shipments by a corresponding amount, McCarron
added.
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos and Richard Shim contributed to this report.
Maybe in 2006 or 2007 Intel will have an answer to AMD's overall performance
lead...maybe not.
This page took 0.01 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.