Apple's rumored move to Intel: Good or Bad?

[Carlo]

Rumor or not, it's all over the news.
Will a shift to Intel help Apple?

What are your thoughts?

[chairman]

IMHO in can work both ways. Good because intel is a microchip giant capable of investing more time and money into R&D. Bad because the PowerPC chip has performed well so far. Some hard core mac fans might also think this move is a sell out. Hmmm.... Let's see what happens.

[jozepc]

intel?? hmmm... why not AMD.. AMD is kicking the ass of intel in price and processor speed

[mistermoya]

Won't they have to re-program their OS and software if they make the switch? That may cause a lot of problems for Apple if that's the case.

[bluboi]

if apple switches to intel, does that neccessarily mean that they will be using the x86 architecture? Isn't it possible that intel might design a different set of chips for apple that are risc based?

[HooHaw]

Originally posted by jozepc
intel?? hmmm... why not AMD.. AMD is kicking the ass of intel in price and processor speed

I agree. Also, AMD is much smaller than Intel giving Apple a lot more leverage. Probably enough leverage, in my opinion, for Apple to 'induce' AMD to design a PowerPC compatible CPU.

[alfa]

good move for us... INtel's manufacturing size might drive apple's processor's down and eventually apple computer prices down

[mikaelrules]

If Intel makes a RISC proc specifically for macs which is (hopefully) compatible with existing PPC programs, I think it is good since apple would not have to rely on IBM only for the G5 (and Motorola for the G4).

If apple makes a move to the x86 architecture, what's good is it opens a whole lot of possibilities for hardware and it should be easier for Windows software manufacturers to port their programs to the Mac. Then again, due to the large amount of hardware avaiable, we would probably need to be installing a lot of drivers and/or have more trouble due to third party devices, at it is in Windows. Also, all existing Mac apps will have to be ported to the x86 architechture since I dont think x86 can emulate PPC well. (PearPC)

[booblanco]

Intel? Wow. Just imagine how fast Apple can introduce new models with Intel's flexibility, speed, and economies of scale..

Remember that IBM had recently spun-off its PC division to Chinese firm Lenovo and decided to focus more on server operations and services. IBM is not in the best position to push G5 technology any further - it's taken them a long time to deliver on Jobs' promised 3GHz speeds and slap G5s on Powerbooks. I hope they can at least stay on board for Apple's server operations. Either way, Apple wins.

I'll be disappointed if talks with Intel turn out to be just a rumor.

[Edited on 6-5-2005 by booblanco]

[jerrytieng]

If Apple ports OS X to the x86 architecture, it will complete it's transformation from a hardware to a software-and-digital-lifestyle-company and it would open up a whole new market for OS X - which is probably the most profitable product in the Apple lineup in terms of gross margins.

IMHO, the only way for Apple to continue growing and get a bigger share of the market is to accept that it is a software company (like Microsoft) rather than a hardware company (like HP) or a major direct-seller/distributor/assembler (like Dell).

I would very much like Apple to:

1) create 2 versions of OS X
one for x86 boxes and one for the PowerPC in order to keep diehard Mac fanatics happy (somehow, I'd think half of the PhilMug people will not be happy seeing me run OS X on my Acer laptop hehe)

2) buy Adobe, expand .Mac, put Spotlight online and compete with Google, license iPod to more manufacturers
given that it's a connected world, it doesn't matter what machine your software runs on but what service you deliver to your users. having a whole slew of online services and products to take advantage of secret hooks.. ahem.. better integration.. with OS X will ensure a better experience for users and a potent tool against the Windows monopoly

Really, it would be much, much easier for customers to SWITCH if Apple SWITCHes as well, don't you think?