[OS X TeX] PPC to Intel

[Joseph C. Slater]

On Jun 9, 2005, at 7:55 AM, Bruno Voisin wrote:

> Le 9 juin 05 à 13:34, Joseph C. Slater a écrit :
>
>
>> I wouldn't be surprised if from a consumer standpoint they try to  
>> sell it as no different than going from a G4 to a G5.
>>
>
> Not really. Did you look at the WWDC keynote's webcast? Steve Jobs  
> presented the transition PPC -> PIV as the 3rd one for the Mac, the  
> first two being: (1) 68k -> PPC; (2) OS 9 -> OS X.
>

Right, but that presentation was to developers, not consumers. I'm  
sure the marketing will hype the new chip, and downplay that it means  
anything other than speed. The mantra in the early 90s was "The PPC  
is a Mac". It was a hard sell. They may learn from that and smooth it  
over better in the consumer's eyes this time. To offset the Osborne  
effect, I wouldn't be surprised if they downplayed the difference  
when they are selling products using differing CPUs. I wouldn't be  
surprised if the plan turns into a dual architecture strategy... high  
end using PPC, low end using Intel... or what ever mix they decide is  
best. The problem for them is how to get developers to commit to dual- 
binaries. They've probably done that as much as possible now. In 1.5  
years, if they say that high end workstation machines will retain PPC  
architecture, I wouldn't be surprised. However, they have to do it in  
a way that doesn't upset high-end developers who invest a lot in  
transitioning. IBM might cave and meet some of Job's demands just to  
get back in this game. The only thing I'm sure of is that nobody  
really knows how it's going to play out.
Joe--------------------- Info ---------------------
Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
           & FAQ: http://latex.yauh.de/faq/
TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
List Post: <mailto:MacOSX-TeX at email.esm.psu.edu>