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Apple set to go Intel? (Again)

Monday September 1, 2003 9:05 am PDT by Arnold Kim
SmartHouse.com.au revives one of the oldest Apple rumors by claiming that "Apple is set to announce an Intel based PC that will run on an Apple operating system."



The first system is expected to be shown at MacWorld San Francisco 2004, with major developers, such as Adobe, already aware of the plan.



The article touches on the issue that all software needs to recompiled, but expects a gradual adoption over time, with an eventuality that "all Macs would be Intel."



Rumors of Apple adopting the Intel/x86 platform have been ongoing for years, and has had some historical basis in reality. In the early 90's a secret project at Apple known as Star Trek ported Mac OS to Intel-based hardware. While an intial technical success, the project was scrapped after running into political problems.



More recently, there have been rumors of an x86 based version of Mac OS X, codenamed Marklar. This version of Mac OS X is said to provide a fall-back plan for Apple. These rumors, however, preceded the introduction of the PowerPC 970 (G5) PowerMacs. A successful adoption of the 970 PowerPC would presumably influence any plans for an x86-based Macintosh.



Due to the frequent recurrance of this rumor as well as being from a rumor source of unknown reliability, it is felt to be unlikely.

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arn
110 months ago
Yes... old news...

New source though. But of unknown reliability.

arn
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SoonToGetAMac
110 months ago
I don't think its too likely...
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zap23
110 months ago
I don't think this will ever happen. For one, Apple has too much pride to switch to Intel and x86. Two, they just invested a huge amount of money (i think) in the G5, which is already quite popular.

This would be a complete turnaround in Apple's strategy, and I don't believe it will ever happen.
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windwaves
110 months ago
Very plausible that something like this would be in the works. Apple must have learned from experience and the experience with MOT must have taught our dear company that it is way too risky to rely on a single supplier/technology for such a fundamental component of its products. This makes me want to go back to the arguments made on whether the G4 debacle was Apple's fault or MOT's. It is only Apple's, exclusively Apple's. It is Apple products we are talking about here !

So, lets hope indeed that Apple is working on alternatives. It is prudent management.
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jxyama
110 months ago
yikes... i hope not.

as many will point out, apple is a hardware compoany... OS and software are there to sell the hardware. why would they give up one of the highest hardware margins in the industry, esp. now that g5 is here..? why would anyone buy hardware from apple if OS X would run on a gateway?

(yes, design... but for most people, design alone will not justify spending extra hundreds of dollars, no matter how good the design is.)
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Postal
110 months ago
The rumour itself sounds pretty ludicrous. Why would you go to great lengths to co-develop a brand-new PowerPC chip, tout the system it's in as the fastest personal computer, and then promptly switch architecture again? The rumour doesn't jibe at all with what Apple is actually doing. I'm not sure why it's even on Page 1 of the site.
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trilogic
110 months ago
can I say bull****?

I can't ?

okay

then I don't say bull****. :rolleyes:
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NavyIntel007
110 months ago
I'd probably do the same thing if I was starting up a rumor site. Bring up "New dual G5 powerbooks tomorrow" or "Apple is going x86" and in a week everyone knows your site.

Honestly, IBM has one long roadmap. And everyone knows Intel is running out of steam.
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xpormac
110 months ago
Hopefully this will happen one day. Maybe apples will be priced at what they should be if they go to x86.
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xpormac
110 months ago

Originally posted by NavyIntel007
And everyone knows Intel is running out of steam.



eh? no lol
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