[DM-MUG] The Intel move...an interesting discussion which may be of interest

Sun Jul 10 09:58:22 CDT 2005

Thanks Victoria for one of your helpful posts.

A couple of points from my own point of view. I needed a computer 
which would be faster and run OS X. (For one thing I could not share 
printers between our two machines when one was running OS 9 and this 
has been a big help now).  I had put it off for a long time but I 
finally bought a Mini. As one of the posters said I should be able to 
use it for a lot of years. So I don't regret it(( I bought my 6500 
just at the end of the previous chip switch and all software came in 
"Fat" apps.). One should emphasis that in 5 years Apple has faced the 
questions--such as how to get their software to run on an Intel chip. 
Personally I think that Apple was forced into this decision. 
IBM/Mortorola were unable to deliver on promises for faster chips and 
the Intel based systems were devastating Mac sales on on speed alone. 
It became a matter of survival.

At 9:01 AM -0500 7/10/05, Victoria L. Herring wrote:
>>C
>>Hi Walt,
>>
>>My take is that the poster has it pretty much right on the money. 
>>Apple is switching to Intel because of Intel's ability to meet 
>>development and production goals; their emphasis on low-heat, 
>>mobile-
>>enabled chips; and the PowerPC required too much overhead expense 
>>on the part of Apple. Although the PowerPC has always been the 
>>better design, Intel has consistently been able to squeeze the 
>>maximum out of their designs. As we've all seen, IBM and Motorola 
>>have had difficulties delivering on the promise of their designs.
>>
>>The migration to Intel is based, from a developer's perspective, on 
>>the use of Universal Binaries. A Universal Binary is a compiled 
>>application that will run on OS X/PowerPC or OS X/Intel. Developers 
>>using Xcode to create Universal Binaries will be able to convert 
>>their apps in most cases with a minimum of effort. This is 
>>important not only in looking at how rapidly software will be 
>>ported to OS X for Intel; it also means that because the same 
>>binary will work in either hardware environment, the software you 
>>buy now will work on your PowerPC computer, the Universal Binary 
>>software you buy in a year will work on your PowerPC computer, and 
>>the Universal Binary software you buy in two years will work on 
>>your PowerPC system.
>>
>>At some point Apple will drop the Universal Binary approach, and 
>>developers will create apps optimized specifically for Intel chips. 
>>I think it will take a while for that to happen, though. It's 
>>important to remember that Apple has been creating Intel builds of 
>>OS X (an operating system - the most complex piece of software on 
>>your computer) for five years now. OS X was intentionally created 
>>to be as platform neutral as possible. Given these two pieces of 
>>information, and Apple's unrivaled track record at managing 
>>transitions of this kind, I'm convinced that buying a PowerPC 
>>machine now will not be a bad investment.
>>
>>I actually just picked up a new 15" PowerBook last week, because 
>>I'll no longer have the luxury of hooking my 12" PowerBook (which 
>>is a fantastic little machine) to a CRT monitor at the office 
>>(unfortunately students don't get their own offices at the law 
>>library). I needed a bigger screen, and for a nanosecond I pondered 
>>getting a Dell laptop. Then I came to my senses.
>>
>>Here's a pretty neat bunch of quotes from developers about how easy 
>>it is to port apps to Universal Binary format:
>>http://developer.apple.com/transitionquotes.html
>>
>>As a side note, I think Apple's strategy and execution in the last 
>>three years or so is better than it's ever been. The fact that 
>>they've been preparing for this contingency for so long and are 
>>willing to make such a big move in a proactive fashion makes me 
>>think we'll be seeing many more exciting things from Apple in the 
>>next few years.
>>
>>Erik Schmidt
>>
>>
>>On Jul 9, 2005, at 11:17 AM, Walt Atwood wrote:
>>
>>>  I also subscribe to a local Mac user group's e-mail list.
>>>
>>>  One gentleman on the list, an amateur videographer, has the 
>>>following to say
>>>  about pending G5 processors. Anyone care to comment on this?
>>>
>>>  --WA
>>>
>Message: 1       
>    Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 15:00:25 -0400
>    From: dgh <zaphod at madbbs.com>
>Subject: dual core G5s
>
>IBM has officially announced the dual core G5 chips in Japan today.
>Officially labeled the PowerPC 970MP, the chips pack several power
>conservation features that allow frequency and voltage demands to
>adjust on the fly. It's also possible to completely cut power to one
>of chip's cores when high performance computations are not needed.
>
>According to IBM, the 970MP will be made available in speeds ranging
>from 1.4 to 2.5GHz. It's believed that Apple has been working with
>prototypes of the chips since 2004 and could use them in a
>forthcoming update to its Power Mac G5 desktops, the company said.
>
>What this all breaks down to is that Apple should have a new dual G5
>dual core Power Mac Tower sometime in the very near future. Jobs had
>said in his keynote speech last month that there are still "great" G5
>machines in the works and I'm sure that the dual core, dual G5
>machine should be available soon.
>
>Of course, one of the main problems facing Apple is to get people to
>buy one now, knowing that Apple is switching to Intel starting next
>year. If you were planning on buying a new tower Power Mac G5 before
>they announced the Intel switch then you should still get the G5
>tower. Switching to Intel is a move that is not a speed/performance
>based move. The G5 architecture is still a superior design, with the
>super fast bus, RAM, and other connections, the G5 is one of the
>fastest computers available (and a dual/dual G5 will increase that by
>50-70%). Any "new" software that comes out for Intel Macs will also
>work on G5 based Macs, so software shouldn't be a concern. Plus, if
>you are getting one because you want to do video or multimedia or 3D
>work, then the G5 is still a better answer than Intel because it is
>not known whether Apple can get their high end apps (Final Cut Pro,
>etc.) rewritten for Intel by the time the machines hit the market.
>
>dave h.
>
>--
>Victoria L. Herring, Attorney, Civil Rights, Discrimination & 
>Employment Law, <http://www.HerringLaw.com>;  Travel research and 
>planning, <http://www.JourneyZing.com>;  Des Moines, Iowa, 
>515-255-4475.
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-- 
Ray

Des Moines, IA Mac Users Group
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