Apple no longer thinking different

It was announced today that Apple Computer would migrate from IBM's PowerPC platform to an all Intel diet by 2007 starting with their first products in June 2006 confirming rumors published as factual news throughout the past week. With the announcement, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has finally put an end to speculation and rumors going back at least 10 years, "MacOS X has been leading a double life for the past five years. So today, for the first time, I can confirm the rumors that every release of MacOS X has been compiled for PowerPC and Intel. This has been going on for the last five years."

The news has had all sort of reactions from Mac loyalists. For years, the same CEO now embracing the Intel processor has repeatedly touted the benefits and power of IBM's Power PC platform, which has prompted many loyalists to say, "What the?" To be fair and reach a better understanding of the reasoning behind such a monumental decision, one has to look at where things are going in the processor market. IBM's processor roadmap is for more advanced, power and heat hungry applications as seen in the large server market and now in the video console market. These processors are designed for singular applications without much concern as to heat dissipation and power consumption, two things that are important in the personal computer market particularly in laptop computers. The PowerPC 970 used in the low volume Macintosh market hit a development wall when it moved to a 90 nanometer process as did most of the industry, but IBM has been unable to advance that processor further or offer other economical alternatives. This has placed the Mac platform in a difficult position where it can't offer more advanced products particularly in the high end, but more importantly in the highly lucrative and top selling laptop market.

It is the laptop market that is the biggest worry for Apple, for although its products of today have great appeal and are well powered, in one or two years they will be outdated and their performance lagging behind the rest of the industry. IBM’s PowerPC roadmap does not provide a solution to this problem, whereas Intel has the solutions available, TODAY. In truth, IBM has been distancing itself from the PC market and in fact sold its entire PC business to Chinese based Lenovo. They've chosen to concentrate more on specialized markets and on providing software and services.

One of these specialized markets in particular was seen as a boon for Apple, the video console market. The fact that all three major console makers chose IBM's PowerPC for their next generation consoles had moved the rumor machine into high gear as to the possibility of those processors reaching the Mac market, but the truth of the matter is that it wasn’t in Apple's or IBM's best interest to go through the cost of adapting those particular processors to their needs. In the end, the migration to Intel was inevitable and will provide a positive influx of processors, future product advancement, and a greater economy.

For those Mac users still skeptical as to the transition, it is important to note that Apple has had transitions before, from the Apple II to the Macintosh, from the Motorola 68040 processor to the PowerPC, and from MacOS 9 to MacOS X. Although previous transitions have had the negative side effect of eroding market share, the Apple of today is not the Apple of yesteryear. The iPod success has analysts talking about the life of Apple, instead of its death. Apple dominates the portable and online music market with a 76 percent market share for the iPod and 82 percent market share for the music store. This is translating into an iPod "halo" effect, boosting Mac market share. Also, MacOS X has shown itself as the most stable and secure OS on the planet which has prompted scores of users and companies to make the switch.

The process this time, is also simpler. MacOS X runs native on both platforms which is in itself a boon, and translates to not having to run the OS in emulation as happened during previous transitions. Also, most developers are already using Apple's Xcode for MacOS X development which also eases the process by allowing them to easily support both platforms in a native state. Of course, no transition is entirely simple and past transitions have had their negative effects, but overall, this seems to be a less destructive scenario than had been previously envisioned by speculators and the Mac faithful.

The truth of this entire news story is that it will really not affect Mac users as much as some people might think. The OS will look and function in the exact same manner, and the applications will be the same ones you use today. The big difference will be in that iBooks and Powerbooks will not lag behind their Windows toting counterparts, and that everyone will be playing on a level field. Only one thing will possibly anger the Mac faithful, particularly those that remember the "Satan Inside" logos and Apple's Intel bashing campaigns, and that will be the first time they see the Intel Inside logo sticker plastered all over their beautiful, new Mac much like the banner of an army that has just conquered its ancient foe. "The new 5 Ghz Apple Powerbook, now with the Power of M, brought to you by Intel."


Yes, the PowerPC is a better processor, but consumers and power users want more power at lower costs. So in the end, it's Intel inside for all of us. Here's to hoping it works.