On Jun 6, 2005, at 15:02, Stephen Jonke wrote:
See:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html
New Intel-based Macs to make their appearance next year. Software will
be distributed in a "FAT" fashion to run on either. Existing PowerPC
binaries will actually be able to run on the Intel-based systems via
something called "Rosetta", which is described as "dynamic binary
translation" or something like that.
Hey, I think this is good news, especially with regard to Powerbooks -
there was no future in site for the Powerbook based on PowerPC. The G5
showed no signs of being portable, and the G4 is pretty much a
dead-end. Apple has to switch to Intel in order to produce a viable
laptop. Of course you have to wonder why they didn't go with AMD which
seems to be getting the better press, but then if they are going with
Intel there is nothing that should stop them from later choosing to
use some AMD processors too, at least I wouldn't think so.
Am I the only one who is completely perplexed by this
switching-to-Intel announcement? I don't get it. I see it as a move
of desperation, done only in order to upgrade the PowerBooks. And
Wintel laptops aren't *that* much faster than top-of-the-line
PowerBooks...
There are a few specific points that make no sense to me:
- it seems to me that Intel is nearing the end of the line with the
Pentium 4s.
- the future is (was) looking very bright with the G5/Cell processor
- the G5 is a 64-bit CPU; the Pentium 4 is a 32-bit CPU. Yes, the
end-user machine might be an Itanium, but the developer machine is a
Pentium 4, so that's all we have to go on.
It seems to me that this will make it harder to sell Apple hardware:
Buyer: "So this new $1,000 iMac has an Intel CPU in it?"
Seller: "Yes."
Buyer: "So why should I buy it instead of that $300 Dell? They both
have the same CPU, Hard drive, and RAM specsi, and they have the same
USB, Firewire, ethernet, and modem ports."
Seller: "Uhh....."
How are we going to explain to Joe and Jane Sixpack why they need to
spend the extra money on our beloved Macs? Is Steve Jobs going to turn
Apple into another NeXT - software only? If so, it seems to me he runs
the risk of turning OS X into another OS/2. Consider this
conversation:
Buyer: "So this new $300 Dell comes with Windows right?"
Seller: "Yes."
Buyer: "And to get OS X I have to spend another $130?"
Seller: "Yes."
Buyer: "Why should I spend another $130, more than one-third of the
cost of the computer, just for an OS?"
Seller: "Uhh....."
I just don't get it.
Daniel
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