For a cool $278 million, no stock options that I know Apple has just hired some of the best microprocessor designers. With all the overtones of PA Semi's clock per watt it seems to most that they want them in future iPhone and other iPod like mobile products. I think it would also make an ideal CPU for a Xserver. But could this also be a slap in the face of Pystar and others intent on assembling Hackintoshes that signals a return of all Apple computers to PowerPC?

If you don't believe me you can read an article about it from Forbes.

Last edited by ReverseGTR on 23-Apr-2008 at 07:48 AM.

@ReverseGTR

The Ack board, wasn't based on PASEMI CHIP?

_________________
retired

@ReverseGTR

Uhm, that sh*t is just weird.

Seriously, that's a strange decision. And good luck getting any info on it from Apple.

A follow up question: Has anyone seen a PWRficient in the wild?

_________________
This weeks pet peeve:
Using "voltage" instead of "potential", which leads to inventing new words like "amperage" instead of "current" (I, measured in A) or possible "charge" (amperehours, Ah or Coulomb, C). Sometimes I don't even know what people mean.

@ReverseGTR

My guess is Apple had another caprice and tried to strong-arm Intel into making some modifications to their CPUs and Intel gave them the middle finger like IBM did after seeing what had happened to Motorola for trying to satisfy Apple's vagaries.

Since nobody's left to produce millions of customized CPUs for Apple to later reject with some "no thanks, we changed our mind", the only solution if for them to buy the chip designers.
It will be interesting to see Apple screw themselves up for a change, as they probably ran out of people to screw (except for end-users).

_________________
AlexC's free OS4 software collection

AmigaOne XE/X1000/X5000/UAE-PPC OS4 laptop/X-10 Home Automation

@AlexC

Quote:

My guess is Apple had another caprice and tried to strong-arm Intel into making some modifications to their CPUs and Intel gave them the middle finger

Not entirely true. Intel has twice made customised cpus for Apple 1st time with a specialised version of Dothan for Apple TV, and more recently Merom SFF for the MacBook Air.

Interesting news though about the PA Semi purchase

Last edited by fishy_fis on 23-Apr-2008 at 08:41 AM.

the important question is how will this affect the supply of chips for the ACK amigas that were released last year?

It might seriously damage their sales

@fishy_fis

Quote:

fishy_fis wrote: @AlexC Quote: My guess is Apple had another caprice and tried to strong-arm Intel into making some modifications to their CPUs and Intel gave them the middle finger

I believe the shrunken dies were originally not intended until Montevista was released as indicated by a few wacky concepts. But now since it SSF form factor came out for the MBA Lenovo is using it for the X300 too. So I suppose Intel figured what better way to get it hyped then by having somone who has been doing it via big screen presentation since 1984.

As for PA Semi, for all we know Apple may have put them to work designing a new scalable x86 CPU. I can't see them effectively hiring the whole development team along with the company just to sit on patents?

The future of processors will probably be the number of cores that can be added because the 3 GHZ speed is hard to exceed because of heat.

If they can design a better processor then they can compete.

http://www.pasemi.com/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.A._Semi

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/19/pasemi_apple/

http://blogs.computerworld.com/apple_buys_p_a_semi

Last edited by Chuckt on 23-Apr-2008 at 12:23 PM.

@ReverseGTR

Quote:

As for PA Semi, for all we know Apple may have put them to work designing a new scalable x86 CPU. I can't see them effectively hiring the whole development team along with the company just to sit on patents?

I'd bet they bought PA Semi for a new mobile device. They can't squeeze too much more out of ARM based CPUs for their AV needs.

Dammy

_________________
Dammy

@damocles

It would be cool to have something like an UMPC (UMAC? *g*), an Apple device that acts on the road like an iPhone (but without an phone functionality and with an fully featured OSX used with the thouch technology) and at home i can put it into something like an docking station where i connect my Keyboard, Mouse and TFT to use it like an MACmini.. that would be cool.. *dream*

_________________
Ei gude wie!
I love my AMIGA Collection...
2x A500 (1x 1MB) OS1.3
1x A600 (40MB HDD) OS2.05 (broken joyport)
1x A1200 (68030/50, 32 MB Fast RAM) OS3.1
1x A4000D 040/40 (48 MB Fast), OS3.9, Fastlane Z3, CV64, Deneb, Indi AGA
1x CD³²
1x µAOn

@AmigaBlitter

Quote:

The Ack board, wasn't based on PASEMI CHIP?

That depends on what your definition of the word "was" is.

_________________
All glory to the Hypnotoad!

@ReverseGTR

Now what is the point of this? Thay have just ditched PPC. Are they now trying to kill it off? They have been sleeping with the enemy--Intel.

@Hypex

"The enemy".



Anyway, Apple's probably looking to bring more hardware in-house. I doubt they'd jump back to PPC - at least that quickly.

_________________
The problem with AmigaOS on PPC isn't that PPC is big-endian. The problem with AmigaOS on PPC is that PPC is dead-endian.

@ReverseGTR

Well, having Apple to bought P.A Semi could just prove to be an excellent opportunity for the future of Amiga, no matter how you see it

_________________
Helge K. Leaving the Amiga in favour of a PC..

@Helge
Quote:

Well, having Apple to bought P.A Semi could just prove to be an excellent opportunity for the future of Amiga, no matter how you see it

How do you figure? I mean, assuming you're talking about OS4 here, what this means is there is one less OS4 PPC supplier in the world because Apple is not a component supplier.

_________________
Here for the whimpering end

@Hypex

Just because they bought a PPC company doesn't mean that's what their plans include. In buying this PPC company, they got a lot of engineers with a lot of low-electricity microprocessor experience and expertise. They may have bought the company for that expertise instead of for their current products., with the intention of taking that expertise onto the x86 instruction set, or other instruction sets for the benefit of their non-computer products. We don't know what is behind this decision today.

_________________
All glory to the Hypnotoad!

@Helge

I struggle to see how Apple buying PA Semi is even relevant to the future of Amiga, let alone how it can be an excellent opportunity.

_________________
All glory to the Hypnotoad!

@jorkany

I know that Apple is not a component supplier, but with the Apple brand, gaining new PPC technology would be deadly easy...

Amiga has many ties to Apple, and vice versa, actually...This fact might be underestimated..

_________________
Helge K. Leaving the Amiga in favour of a PC..

@Helge

Quote:

Well, having Apple to bought P.A Semi could just prove to be an excellent opportunity for the future of Amiga, no matter how you see it

Helge, always love your eternal optimism. At this point I think it's an unknown. Seeing how Apple is closed to iPod, desktop or server clones I'd take the bet that with the new CPU architecture they'd help close off their platform from possible outside uses even more. Amiga hasn't shown us great inroads with hardware and new solutions. Therefore I'm dubious that Amiga would beat on Apple's door or that Apple would even bother to answer.

Apple doesn't want any competition because they may sue Psystar because of their Mac clone. I think it was Steve Jobs who was afraid of the Amiga in the beginning. If they did license it, they would have Amiga on a rope all of the time.