Apple moves to Intel Chips!?

Oh, I just thought of one thing: whenever you plug in a digital camera it automatically opens iPhoto and imports the picture for you. you don't have to wait for a driver to install, either. it has auto detected 3-4 cameras and imported from them without any clicking through installation guides and etc. like I had to do on my PC. Maybe that has changed, but I think it's a pretty "user friendly" feature on the Mac. Same goes for printers.. It just works. Never have to setup a driver, even for networked printers you've never used before. It shows up in the menu, you click "that one", and it prints... Oh, here's another: Automatic internet connection type stuff. I have a wireless cell phone modem kit for the road and cable modem at home. When I had the cable installed the outgoing mail didn't work for some reason.. So, I connected the phone and sent outgoing mail over it (which was really slow, like 56K) and was still able to use the cable modem without any intervention on my part. This thing just "knew" what pipe to use for this or that, and it worked. Just worked. I never told it what to do, it just worked.. Oh, and that wireless cell modem just "works" on the Mac as well. The so-called "drivers" are built into the OSX. On Windows, you need the "futurevision" dialer software which costs $40... With Mac, it's built-in and works the second you plug the phone in via USB cable.. The longer I type, the more little things like that come to mind that reminds me of what I love this computer so much.. It really is "user friendly" come to think of it. Peace.
 
To be honest, I am really tired of this subject because it has been running around the Mac boards all weekend. Some threads have 100+ pages of people going crazy. Folks talkin' about they will never buy another computer again, ever and others saying that if Apple switches that they will feel betrayed. I don't know about you but I worry more about making a living than worrying about what multi-billion dollar, multi-national companies are doing. Simply put I like OS X and I want the best hardware to run it. Period.

But let me add the following thoughts to my original post. "If" Apple were to switch to Intel it is most likely because IBM hasn't been able to advance and/or manufacture the G5 to meet Apple's demands. Also, keep in mind that Apple needed a mobile chip yesterday. The G4s pale in comparison to the Pentium M both in performance and power management(battery life).

The G5 is a good chip but it has only moved 700 MHz in the last two years and they haven't shown us a mobile version yet. And yes, Intel and AMD have had trouble too but at least they have mobile chips, dual core chips, and have added more L2 cache to their line-up to offset the MHz slow down. If Apple can deliver a faster Mac with no hassle why the hell not go to a different chip?

Also, keep in mind the only reason a lot of Mac users don't like Intel is because Apple told them they suck. Don't be a pawn of marketing. There are pros and cons to all chips. Swallow the pride.
 
Too bad most of them will never even notice the MAC is running on an intel chip.....unless they open it up. Sad. The Mac cult doesn't realize what *could* happen. The downfall of M$. Longshot.....I mean Longhorn is still set to be released in 07'. 07'.....For Christ sake!! Now is the perfect time for Apple to steal market share. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that SJ and Apple know what they are doing!! :happy:

~reservoir~
 
Res, I thought Longhorn was set for an '06 release? Has that changed?

It's interesting how Jobs metioned OSX would run on an Intel chip with no problems. Hmmm, how bout a machine that dual boots OSX and XP? That would be sweet.
 
Hi all... I live about 1 mile from the Apple Headquarters campus. It was interesting that somone mentioned that Apple might be promoting a falsehood to counteract the leaks about future products, however I stay close to Apple happenings; hard not too when it is in my hometown and in the local newspaper. I don't think, however, that this is Jobs' way of doing things. He doesn't usally focus or that type of reaction. Rather, he perfers to blow thier socks of with something new. That is is style. Unfortunately, his spearheading ideas are often ahead of what others are ready for. Case in point: the Cube Mac. Ultra modern with no fan, but not very popular. By the way, there is a local lawsuit against Apple regarding a private party stating that Apple is liable for sending out faulty power supplies for thier laptops. Depanding on the number of laptops you have owned, you may be entitiled to some green.
 
It's for real, and official. This time next year, Macs will be shipping with Intel brains. By 2006 the transition will be 100% complete.
 
Yep. It's official. Just got off the live WWDC feed. Steve Jobs announced it in the keynote.

The lower-end Macs will be running on Intel by Mid-06'. The transition *should* be complete according to Steve Jobs by the end of 2007.

~reservoir~
 
The NYT article stated that Adobe and other software companies will have to configure thier programs to work with Intel's chips. This seems a bit strange since the OS is the main driver for software. However, this seems a very frightening prospect for thos of us who ahve already invested thousands in an IBM driven G5 tower. Does this mean we are now left in the cold, facing the purchase of a new computer within the next two years?
 
Beaker, I doubt it. Apple seems to respect its users' pocketbooks as far as apps go--for example, Classic Mode supports almost all OS 9.2 applications. I would have to surmise that future applications will detect the CPU and install whatever files are necessary--transparent to the user.
 
Frizzle Fry said:
Beaker, I doubt it. Apple seems to respect its users' pocketbooks as far as apps go--for example, Classic Mode supports almost all OS 9.2 applications. I would have to surmise that future applications will detect the CPU and install whatever files are necessary--transparent to the user.
Click to expand...

I'm gearing up to purchase a new HD editing suite.

Talking to different sources, what kept coming up for Mac products was "Don't do it (buy G5's) from the problems with new OS versions, and switching processors, you'll have to rebuy all your software every few years or settle with crappy bridge versions". I tended to discount this advice because I thought things were running smooth now, so why would they make a change ?

I am so glad I am only in the preliminary stages of this HD suite. According to my timeline, I'd be buying a G5 and FCP suite right on the edge of the switch over.

Mike from HD for Indies said this about the new chips - "So all my list of complaints seem to be true - We'll have to buy new Macs to take advantage of the (eventually) faster hardware, we'll need software crossgrades (which won't be cheap) etc..."

I can't possibly see how a FCP Studio bought in 6 months will run smoothly on a new Macintel G5, or for that matter how in 2 years time a new FCP Studio will run smoothly or be optimal on a dual G5 of today. Especially (from what I've read) the emulation software "rosetta" isn't as robust as the current "classic9".

I knew this HD world would entail some bumps in the road, but I didn't expect Mac to veer off , and onto another road completely.

I feel like I got lucky on this one. If I had bought a whole new HD suite with FCP Studio/Blackmagic card etc... , and they announced this...
Thank You Hvx for making me wait. My patience has already been rewarded.


And Mac. Maybe my business doesn't add up to much, but when you negate all your software advances with a complete change of the core processor, then it's an easy choice. For those who already own Macs and FCP, you probably still have 2-4 years left in utility (my guess) . By then you'd have to upgrade completely anyway. And for those waiting for the new Macintel G5's (2007 for sure), you'll be fine to, as I'm sure most interoperability will be worked out by then. But for those of us in the middle, it looks like it would be a big mistake to buy.

It'll be interesting to see how this effects future sales (in the next 2-3 years).
But as Mike from HD for Indies writes " ...and this kind of disruption and discontinuity is EXACTLY what kills business. If Apple didn't have the happy glowing buzz about iPods amd iTunes, they'd be dead meat."
 
So what exactly does this mean?
I just bought a dual 2.0, and im sure i'll be just fine for the next few years, but what about the people that were waitng for wwdc? wouldnt this just kill apples sales? if i didnt need this g5 right now and diceded to wait for wwdc and heard this news, i wouldnt buy and apple until the switch was completly made. if others were thinking the same that means there are going to be a ton of apple products just sitting on the shelves. am i wrong?
anything else anouced other than the intel switch? like new products?
 
There's a balance with all things technology. I've become tired with keeping up with the latest thing. Now I just buy what I need.

Case in point: I need a Mac for my ProTools setup. I'm missing some key functionality by using ProTools on a PC. So in the next few months I'll buy a G5. Even after this announcement I still feel comfortable buying that G5. I might even grab a copy of FCP while I'm at it, because even though I've always been an Avid user, I'm curious. And I feel comfortable buying that copy of FCP.

It will be 2007ish before the Intel chips make it into the PowerMac line. By that time, I'll probably want / need a new one anyway.

As far as coding goes, Apple has always been very fair (in my opinion) regarding upgrade price. I would expect no different when FCP for Intel Processors hits the market. It will likely be in the free - $300 range. If your G5 and FCP hasn't made you that much money in two years then you had no reason to buy it in the first place. :)

My two cents.

Chris
 
There you go. You’ve got the software tool you want to use, so you choose your hardware accordingly. Simple wisdom.
 
With the reported stability of Mac OS, I wouldn't think Apple users should be concerned about backwards compatibility. Heck, all I ever hear is how stable OSX runs! Why is there so much speculation on whether Intel's processor sets will work?

On the PC side, I've been running XP Pro with SP2 update on a PII 266 (hey, that's impossible!!!) for a number of years now without any trouble whatever. This is our old computer and it's largely been replaced with P4 and PIII machines now, but we still keep and shuffle several gigs of MP3s on there along with several g's of older digital photos.

With Jobs at the helm, you will certainly have years of functionality left in those old beater G4 and G5 IBM towers of power. Say it with me: "What, me worry?"

e
 
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