[Hidden-tech] Apple moving to Intel chips

[Will Loving]

Apple's switch to Intel has come about primarily because IBM has not yet
been able to produce a low-power (and cooler) G5 for laptops and the 3Ghz G5
desktop processor promised two years ago to be delivered "within a year", is
still not here. While the PowerPC processors Apple uses are related to IBM's
main family of Power processors, they are specialized and a small part of
IBM's chip market. IBM has simply been unwilling to put the resources in to
keep development moving at the pace that Apple needs and expects.

The RISC based PowerPC chips that Apple has been using are in general a
"better" processor design, but Intel (spurred by competition from AMD) has
done amazing things in the last few years. The chips Apple will be moving to
are a not yet available version of the Pentium and will have a lot of room
to grow and offer performance increases in future years.

The software transition will be easier for some than others, at least based
on currently available tools. It all depends on what the software has been
developed in. Some bumps will happen along the way, but I expect Apple to
handle this transition as well as it has handled the last two, from 680x0
chips to PowerPC and from OS 9 to OS 10, very well.

The long range possibilities for Mac users to be able to run Windows
programs at near full speed are also very exciting.

Will

Will Loving, President
Dedication Technologies, Inc.



on 7/8/05 6:17 PM, Trace Meek at tqm at tracemeek.com wrote:

> I'm still stuck on a G4 iMac (and a G3 PowerBook).
> 
> The G5 chip (manufactured by IBM --
> http://www.apple.com/g5processor/ibmprocess.html) apparently does run
> mighty hot; perhaps this is one of the reasons why we haven't yet seen
> a G5 PowerBook.
> 
> I suspect that Apple's recent revelation about switching to Intel chips
> (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html) might be
> intended to address this issue, among others.
> 
> 
> On Jul 8, 2005, at 10:44 AM, kreekle at kreekle.com wrote:
>> 
>> I was wondering if anyone has had problems with G5s. I've heard that
>> the fans are inadequate and there are problems with overheating.
>> This may have only been a problem when they first came out.
>> 
>> Also, other people have said this but I thought I'd mention that Quark
>> 5 is really buggy. I'd go to 6.5 or stay with 4.1.
>> 
>> ---------- Original Message -------------
>> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] A complicated Mac/Quark scenerio - help!
>> Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 19:41:21 -0400
>> From: Will Loving <will at lovingcomputing.com>
>> To: Diane H K <artdirector.diane at comcast.net>,
>> Hidden Discuss <Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
>> 
>> 
>>    ** Be a Good Dobee and help the group
>>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>    ** Remember you must be counted to post .
>> 
>> The beige Minitower is officially supported only up to 10.2.x  You can
>> use
>> XPostFacto (check VersionTracker.com) to make it run 10.3 though I've
>> had
>> mixed results doing this. Sometimes it works just fine, other times
>> there
>> are weird issues that crop up. The only way to know is to try it.
>> There are
>> also issues about having to partition the hard drive into two sections
>> (with
>> the first one less then 8GB) and install the OS in that first
>> partition.
>> 
>> Keep in mind that 10.3/10.4 does best with lots of RAM and that you
>> will
>> likely need to buy more RAM for the MT. I noted a significant increase
>> in
>> performance when I took my 2.5Ghz G5 from the stock 0.5GB of RAM to
>> 1.5GB.
>> 
>> I don't recommend QuarkXPress 5 it was buggy and most people skipped it
>> because of that.
>> 
>> You might also consider getting used either a Blue & White G3 or a G4
>> tower,
>> either of which can had for a few hundred dollars. The G4 towers in
>> particular are exceptionally upgradeable, so you can get a slower less
>> expensive one now and then add a much faster processor down the line.
>> 
>> You say "don't go there" about buying a new or at least newer machine,
>> but I
>> would suggest that you really should consider it. If, as it appears
>> you make
>> your living working on your computer and a newer machine saves you
>> even 10%
>> in time, it will pay for itself in no time.
>> 
>> I used to upgrade my computer about every 2.5 years because the
>> software I
>> was using ran significantly better and faster on the newer machine.
>> This
>> last round, with a Blue & White G3, I managed to make it last 5 years
>> by
>> adding in larger drives, more RAM and a G4 processor card. I finally
>> made
>> the decision last fall to purchase a new machine when a friend, who
>> also
>> does graphic design for a living and works all day in Quark and
>> Photoshop,
>> watched me working and commented: "You know, you'd save an hour a day
>> (over
>> your current system) if you had a G5". He was absolutely right and it
>> was
>> worth every penny.
>> 
>> Will Loving
>> 
>> 
>> on 6/27/05 5:49 PM, Diane H K at artdirector.diane at comcast.net wrote:
>> 
>>>    ** Be a Good Dobee and help the group
>>>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>>    ** Remember you must be counted to post .
>>> 
>>> This list has been very helpful in the past with my outdated Mac/Quark
>>> questions. I've got another one for you:
>>> 
>>> My husband (a traditional and digital media book illustrator)
>>> surprised
>>> the heck out of me last week when he purchased a brand-new dual G5 Mac
>>> running Mac OS 10.3 (also came with OS 10.4, which I will install this
>>> evening). Previously, he'd been using a beige G3 minitower with OS
>>> 9.1.
>>> I'm using an 8600/G3 (that's an XLR8 MACh Carrier G3 card) with Mac
>>> OS 9.1.
>>> 
>>> I have QuarkXPress 4.1 which I can run on both Macs running OS 9.1.
>>> 
>>> I want to buy a Quark upgrade, and here's where I need your advice.
>>> 
>>> I'll retire my 8600/G3. That's a given. The beige G3 minitower still
>>> has
>>> a lot of gumption in it. What is the latest version of Mac OS 10 that
>>> will run on this particular G3? Does anyone know? I'm clueless.
>>> 
>>> I have the choice of upgrading Quark from my current 4.1 right to 6.5,
>>> bypassing 5.0 completely. 6.5 will run on OS 10.3/10.4, but the specs
>>> on
>>> the Quark website indicate it won't run on anything less than 10.3.
>>> However, there is a very good chance that my husband will be so in
>>> love
>>> with the G5 that I won't be able to use it much at all, despite his
>>> protestions to the contrary. I know him too well to believe him on
>>> that point.
>>> 
>>> Therefore, I'll be spending all my time with that beige G3 minitower.
>>> I
>>> suspect that the G3 probably can't support OS 10.3, and I'd be better
>>> served, in that case, by purchasing the 5.0 Quark upgrade.
>>> 
>>> So, my ultimate choice between buying Quark 5.0 upgrade or buying
>>> Quark
>>> 6.5 upgrade (bypassing 5.0) hinges in a big way on what OS that beige
>>> G3
>>> MT can support.
>>> 
>>> Now that you have the whole wretched scenerio, can you offer me any
>>> answers to my questions or any advice? And no, I can't buy another
>>> G5, so
>>> please don't even go there.
>>> 
>>> Thanks, list folk, for your help and brainpower.
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Diane H K
>>> 
>>> Greenfield, Ma.
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
>> 
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>> 
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(formerly Human Data Design)

- Developers of StudioSchool Pro -

Professional FileMaker Pro Database Development
For Non-Profits, Business, and Education
-----------------------------------
7 Coach Lane  Amherst, MA 01002-3304   USA
Tel:1 413 253-7223   Fax:1 413 253-7078
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