Apple on Intel?

MacCentral ^ | June 04, 2005 | Jason Snell

[Panerai]

So is Apple moving the Mac onto Intel processors?

News.com says so. Other news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, have also reported those rumors.

Meanwhile, analysts and intelligent commentators alike have said that an Apple move to Intel makes no sense.

I tend to be in the latter camp. I honestly can’t see how Apple moving wholesale to Intel processors — forcing yet another platform transition for a platform that’s only now stabilized after the tumultuous march to Mac OS X — makes much sense. Then again, Apple has surprised us in the past, so you can never say never.

If I had to guess, I’d join several of the pundits out there in saying that any new Apple-Intel relationship is more likely about a new technology or new piece of hardware, and not about a wholesale abandonment of the PowerPC chips that have powered the Mac since the mid-’90s. It seems entirely plausible that Apple could build a new class of devices based on Intel processors.

The rumors about Apple-branded PDAs and Tablet PCs have been floating around there for years, and I’ve got no doubt that Apple has created prototypes of such devices. But for Apple to finally release a new computer-yet-not device, the company would need to be convinced that it would truly be a success. (If you haven’t noticed, the Tablet PC — as currently envisioned and promoted by Microsoft — has pretty much been a flop.)

There’s also the possibility that Apple and Intel are talking, not about the main processors of Macs, but about using Intel hardware to support some other sort of technology. For example, WiMax, a promising new wireless networking system that would improve on the existing Wi-Fi technology used in AirPort Extreme.

[Panerai]

More opinions on Apple move to Intel

[Swordmaker]

More Mac -> Intel rumor mongering analysis... PING!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[sharktrager]

The best reason I can think of to believe that Apple is switching to Intel is the fact that Steve Jobs doesn't work and play well with others, and never has.

[sittnick]

The only way to make the switch would be to keep it under wraps until product is almost ready. Otherwise, you can expect to see G5 sales ground to a halt.

[Leonard210]

Eesh! Rumor mongering? This is nuts. Reuters, PC World, Finfacts Business News, etc. This isn't rumor. It's a bloody certainty! I, on the other hand, am stickin' to my guns. They will lose their hardware business if the Mac OS will run on the same hardware as Windows. Overnight! No question. If Intel is going to manufacture a PowerPC chip, then fine, but any other scenario is just suicide. And Jobs knows it. The announcement is supposed to come Monday, so we'll soon know.

[Mad Mammoth]

Apple computers will one day be marveled at over at the Smithsonian Museum of Modern Technology, right next to other novelty products, like the Mr. Microphone.

[Leonard210]

That's OK, but that implies that there's some problem with Apple when they're actually doing fine. (None of us like the politics of the CEO, but we all buy products that have sucky managers 'cause we like the product.) We've been hearin' rumors of Apple's demise since the 80's. Odd that you'd make that prediction at this juncture however.

[Swordmaker]

This isn't rumor. It's a bloody certainty!

Everyone of the articles you reference cite as their source a single source CNET News.com... and that a single article from two authors. That makes it a rumor.

Neither Intel nor Apple have made any comment.

If Apple does announce on Monday, then we will have a "bloody certainty."

[SunkenCiv]

If there is *anything* to this rumor, it probably has to do with Apple's proprietary Intel-based platform, running a ported version of Mac OS.

Wall Street Journal - Apple Eyes Shifting Macintosh Line To Intel Chips
The Wall Street Journal | June 4, 2005 | DON CLARK and NICK WINGFIELD
Posted on 06/04/2005 2:32:50 PM PDT by HAL9000
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1416585/posts

[Leonard210]

I was bein' a bit sarcastic. I kinda do that. :-)

[Swordmaker]

If there is *anything* to this rumor, it probably has to do with Apple's proprietary Intel-based platform, running a ported version of Mac OS.

Or, perhaps an Apple branded PC Mini???? Think about it...

[Leonard210]

Oops. Just got this ping. Now it's a lock. :-)

[6SJ7]

Apple computers will one day be marveled at over at the Smithsonian Museum of Modern Technology, right next to other novelty products, like the Mr. Microphone.

...or, Microsoft 'Bob'.

[Leonard210]

OK, now you're talkin'! Yes. Why not? Apple knows how to build systems. They have a unique style. An Apple branded Windows box is just what the doctor ordered. They should have done it years ago.

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah, that's what I was thinkin'.