SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ In a risky move that could further
shrink its minuscule slice of the PC market, Apple Computer
Inc. is expected to announce plans to switch in its
Macintosh lines to the same Intel chips used in systems
that run Microsoft Windows.
Apple, which for years suggested its users «Think
Different,» would be joining all other PC makers in using
chips built around the x86 microarchitecture.
It would drop PowerPC-based microprocessors from
International Business Machines Corp. and Freescale
Semiconductor Inc.
Details of the announcement, first reported by CNET
Networks Inc. and The Wall Street Journal, were expected to
emerge Monday from Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a conference for
software developers.
Though such a move could potentially end complaints that
Macs are too expensive, slower and suffer from a lack of
programs compared with Windows-based systems, it's also a
major gamble for Apple.
For one, it means that all programs now built for
PowerPC-based Macs will have to either be rewritten or run
through an emulator to work on Intel-based Macs. And anyone
with a Mac today might not be able to run software built
for the computers after the switch.
Apple has made similar moves in the past _ and each time
its market share has shrunk, said Nathan Brookwood, an
analyst at the research firm Insight 64.
In the mid-1980s, the Mac captured as much as 10 percent
of the overall PC market, he said. When Apple switched from
the Motorola 68000 processors, the Mac's share dropped to
below 5 percent. When the Mac's operating system changed to
OS X, it fell to below 3 percent.
«I have a lot of trouble understanding why they would do
it,» Brookwood said. «Unless there's something magical, I
would have to believe it's not a good move. My concern is
that every time Apple makes an architecture shift, many of
its customers and development partners say enough is
enough.»
Officials from Apple, Intel Corp. and IBM declined to
comment Monday in advance of Jobs' speech.
News.com reported that Apple would begin the transition to
Intel with its lower-end computers, such as the Mac Mini,
in mid-2006 and higher-end models a year later.
Apple's break with IBM stemmed from Jobs' wish that IBM
make a larger variety of the PowerPC processors used in
Macintosh systems. IBM balked because of concerns over the
profitability of a low-volume business, News.com reported.
By wrestling away Apple's business from IBM, Intel would
tighten its dominance of the PC processor business. The
company holds more than an 80 percent share of the market.
Although IBM suffers a setback with the loss of Apple, the
company could reap a financial windfall from deals with
Microsoft Corp., Nintendo and Sony Corp. to put
microprocessors it is producing in next-generation
video-game consoles.
A new microprocessor that IBM co-developed with Sony and
Toshiba Corp., code-named Cell and planned for Sony's next
PlayStation console, is being touted as capable of
delivering 10 times the performance of today's PC
processors.
bron: Associated Press
Zou dit betekenen dat je ook Window's op je apple kunt draaien?
shrink its minuscule slice of the PC market, Apple Computer
Inc. is expected to announce plans to switch in its
Macintosh lines to the same Intel chips used in systems
that run Microsoft Windows.
Apple, which for years suggested its users «Think
Different,» would be joining all other PC makers in using
chips built around the x86 microarchitecture.
It would drop PowerPC-based microprocessors from
International Business Machines Corp. and Freescale
Semiconductor Inc.
Details of the announcement, first reported by CNET
Networks Inc. and The Wall Street Journal, were expected to
emerge Monday from Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a conference for
software developers.
Though such a move could potentially end complaints that
Macs are too expensive, slower and suffer from a lack of
programs compared with Windows-based systems, it's also a
major gamble for Apple.
For one, it means that all programs now built for
PowerPC-based Macs will have to either be rewritten or run
through an emulator to work on Intel-based Macs. And anyone
with a Mac today might not be able to run software built
for the computers after the switch.
Apple has made similar moves in the past _ and each time
its market share has shrunk, said Nathan Brookwood, an
analyst at the research firm Insight 64.
In the mid-1980s, the Mac captured as much as 10 percent
of the overall PC market, he said. When Apple switched from
the Motorola 68000 processors, the Mac's share dropped to
below 5 percent. When the Mac's operating system changed to
OS X, it fell to below 3 percent.
«I have a lot of trouble understanding why they would do
it,» Brookwood said. «Unless there's something magical, I
would have to believe it's not a good move. My concern is
that every time Apple makes an architecture shift, many of
its customers and development partners say enough is
enough.»
Officials from Apple, Intel Corp. and IBM declined to
comment Monday in advance of Jobs' speech.
News.com reported that Apple would begin the transition to
Intel with its lower-end computers, such as the Mac Mini,
in mid-2006 and higher-end models a year later.
Apple's break with IBM stemmed from Jobs' wish that IBM
make a larger variety of the PowerPC processors used in
Macintosh systems. IBM balked because of concerns over the
profitability of a low-volume business, News.com reported.
By wrestling away Apple's business from IBM, Intel would
tighten its dominance of the PC processor business. The
company holds more than an 80 percent share of the market.
Although IBM suffers a setback with the loss of Apple, the
company could reap a financial windfall from deals with
Microsoft Corp., Nintendo and Sony Corp. to put
microprocessors it is producing in next-generation
video-game consoles.
A new microprocessor that IBM co-developed with Sony and
Toshiba Corp., code-named Cell and planned for Sony's next
PlayStation console, is being touted as capable of
delivering 10 times the performance of today's PC
processors.
bron: Associated Press
Zou dit betekenen dat je ook Window's op je apple kunt draaien?
ja, graag!
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