Apple to ship Macs with Intel Chips?

[Steve]

There's a lot of chatter on the net at the moment about Apple switching to Intel chips for future products. Could this be true? The BBC reports:

If the rumours about the switch prove correct, the move will end a decade-long relationship between Apple and IBM.

When IBM began making chips for Macs in 1994 that deal ended a single-source relationship Apple had with Motorola.

Even now Motorola subsidiary Freescale produces chips, known as PowerPC processors, for Apple's notebooks and the Mac Mini. IBM produces PowerPC chips for Apple's G5 machines.

The Mac Mini could be the first Apple machines to move to Intel chips with the more powerful machines following in 2007.

This would be quite a shift to make, but is it going to be a good move? Let us know your thoughts!

[canman]

Reading theinquirer and they said they would use AMD chips.

[Gordy]

Its true , been annouced at the keynotes, can't help but feel that this is massive backward step particularly considering amd are far better than intel.

[Kumagoro]

i dont reckon it will be x86

[Gordy]

It is , p4 3.6ghz has just been used to do the keynote.

[Steve]

Apple's stuff is getting less and less proprietary. Surely for them this is a bad idea? Or have I missed something here?

[Gordy]

Nope your bang on tbh

[Steve]

http://www.hexus.net/content/press_r...VfSUQ9MTcwNg==

Apple's official press release.

[DR]

I am amazed that they have made this move...

[rajagra]

If Windows is:
"A 64-bit OS
Running in 32-bit memory spaces
With 16-bit applications
With an 8-bit instruction set
Originally written for a 4-bit microcontroller
By a 2-bit company
That doesn't care for 1 bit of competition"

what does that make an Intel-based Macintosh? (*)
What a mess!

(*) Rhetorical question. Probably an improvement, I know.

[Gordy]

I am amazed that they have made this move...

Can't agree more, the only thing I hope they can do is try to mac the mac hardware as apple specific as possible otherwise they are going to suffer a massive backlash I fear.

[skirkham]

maybe they had no choice to change from powerpc

cell is the big money chip now for IBM now and maybe it just not worth it for them to develop powerpc chips anymore

I doubt apple could afford the costs that they will have if they go for cell

so they had to pick intel, amd not an option really still even though they are producing the best chips they have no idea how to make that count in the market.
The question apple have to ask is whos going to be around in 10 years and the ways it going it definatly going to be intel

[Steve]

Jon Peddie has his say:

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=46911

[Sire Eris]

sorry people but i disagree.
apple should do this as it will open up the os market and give joe public an alternative to microsofts offerings. yes there are other os's out there but to put it bluntly will your mum use unix/linux?
i think that she may use an apple mac due to the chip change(big name safety), lowered hardware costs (assumed by me), no spyware nasties(yet), no virus threats(yet) and marketing clout (style counts for a lot of people).

please remeber that most here are the minority of the population who have the I.T. wisdom/knowledge/skills in abundance and do not represent the masses.
the masses have the cash to make this work for apple in a big way.

ps speling is opshunal.

[ChunkyLover53]

When Intel moves away from the netburst architecture, (towards pentium M) as they plan, they will be able to compete with AMD again... this should be very interesting... (an OC'ed pentium M at stock volt beats an AMD fx55 in stock)

Therefore, I do not see it as a miss if they do not have 'AMD inside®'

[skirkham]

x86 mac version no spyware nasties(yet), no virus threats(yet)
yet is the right thing

i imagine microsoft are going to love apple moving to to x86 the one thing that pc owners hate more than microsoft are mac's
and now they will have a chance to mess around with them without buying one