Apple to be Intel's "Show Pony?"

Rhonda Ascierto of the Computer Business Review reports about the newfound lovefest between Apple and Intel in the article, "Apple may be Intel show pony." Ascierto quotes IDC analyst Roger Kay: "Apple could be become the showcase for Intel's technology." I think Kay is on to something.

Apple already has practically cornered the digital music market by "getting it right." But another frontier is on the horizon: digital video...and no one has gotten it right yet either. If Apple - powered by Intel technology - were do for digital video what it has done for digital music, a new giant in the entertainment business could be born.

Now Steve Jobs has said more than once that watching video on the tiny screen of an iPod is not the experience people want. But what if Apple produced a device that's as small as an iPod with the capability of a consumer "digital hub?" Want to listen to music? Use the device as a stand alone player or feed it through your home stereo system. Want to watch the latest release of a new movie? Just hook the device up to your home TV system. If you're on the go, just watch the movie on the built-in screen or project it on the wall. A true portable digital device for all occasions!

Intel technology is closer to making this happen than IBM or Motorola and Apple saw the writing on the wall. If you think about it, it's amazing it took Apple this long to make the switch. In 1998 I talked about the promising future of the PowerPC chip in the article, "The Second Coming the of Macintosh." There's some great technology in the PowerPC chipset, but when it comes to portability and power consumption, Intel has leaped ahead big time.

The bottom line is Apple had little choice to do what it did. It will be exciting to see what the most innovative computer and software maker in the world will do with this opportunity in years to come. There will be bumps along this conversion, but with Apple encouraging developers to produce both PowerPC and Intel versions of their apps for the foreseeable future, there should be little compatibility concerns for current and future Mac users.

Tim Yarbrough
MacDoor Editor

Apple Better Off with "Intel Inside"

Well, it's true. Apple is moving to Intel. Who would have ever imagined it? Actually, the move to Intel technology makes a lot of sense for Apple, which since the introduction of OS X has moved its core architecture to previously PC-only territory. It will be interesting to see how the "establishment PC" crowd will feel about Apple now.

Few argue that Apple has one of the most stable and robust operating systems out there today. Windows still rules the day, of course, but OS X with its rock-solid stability and immunity to many viruses has got it noticed outside creative and scientific circles in recent years.

What's still missing is OS X's robustness in the enterprise. Windows has such a head start, one wonders if Apple could ever catch up. But again, who would have foreseen the Mac GUI running on top of UNIX powered by Intel chips?

Moving to Intel means Apple will finally produce a world class laptop with world class power-saving features and extended battery life. My G4 Powerbook running OS X is a great machine, but it's no match for my office HP laptop with its P4M. Battery life on the PC extends easily to 4 or 5 hours, while the Powerbook stuggles to run 2 to 3 hours...especially when pushed by intense computing.

Scalability is another factor I'm certain Steve Jobs considered in deciding to switch. It is very possible you could see OS X running on your iPod, cell phone or PDA in the very near future.

Long gone are the days of Apple's legendary hardware/software integration. It just isn't as necessary today as it was in the early days of computing.

Will Apple's move to Intel mean we can buy any piece of hardware off the shelf to run OS X? I doubt that is Jobs' intention, but I figure if he tries to prohibit it someone will reverse engineer around it and make it possible.

I continue to be very optimistic about Apple's future. I figure the move to Intel will be the last straw for some of the Apple faithful, but those losses will be easily replaced by appealing to a new and larger market that never would have considered an Apple without "Intel Inside."

Tim Yarbrough
MacDoor Editor

Apple Moving to Intel: Say It Ain't So!

CNet's report yesterday that Apple is ready is switch to Intel chips is interesting, to say the least. What this move - if true - would mean to the loyal Apple fan base is unclear. After all, the Macintosh experience has always been about the user interface, not the chip that powers the screen. However, the anti-Big Brother mentality Steve Jobs has fostered at the company for years has meant Apple usually looked for non-PC alternatives which meant for years using Motorla chips and since the mid-1990s, chips powered by IBM technology.

Personally, I think it would give Apple a big advantage to use the chip set "the rest of the world uses," which potentially will result in lower computer hardware prices and increased compatibility.

Time will tell. I can't wait to see if the news is true.

Tim Yarbrough
MacDoor Editor