Mac Abandon ppc !!affect to linux ??
 

I heard that apple is planing to abandon ppc and looking for intel processer.

all mac os will be available for intel only.....


what do you think about this ??

and any effect on linux ?

newbies switch to intel mac ??and give up linux ??


thanks


bye ciao


:confused: :confused:

Nope. Not abandoning, just getting Intel to create a new type of processor for their software. You will not be able to run OSX on any Intel processor, just the nice proprietary Apple ones.

Read the other threads on LQ and the ones on other boards.

Wouldn't have thought it would have any effect on linux nor would any would be linux users now go to mac because as XavierP says MacOS will only work on certain intel CPUs, it will most likely not run on 'normal' PCs so new hardware will have to be bought and it is likely to be just as expensive as current Mac hardware

The thing is this: Windows *out of the box* will run on the new Intel Macs. That means that these new Intel Macs are not proprietary in nature. Sure they may have some special BIOS that OS/X will check before installing, but how long will it take for something like that to be hacked?

There is speculation in the Mac community that Apple will move to a software-only company at some point in the future. In other words, become a direct competitor to Microsoft. These hackers that will get OS/X running on standard PC hardware are, in effect, beta testers.

Will it hurt Linux? Yes and no. I think the people trying to find some alternative to Windows may abandon Linux for OS/X. However, it will have little affect on the individuals interested in the opensource software movement.

Personally, I think this is great news for the Linux community. It's true that OSX will probably cut into Linux' market share, especially with the average Joe Windows-User who simply wants a different desktop OS. However, it will cut far more deeply into Microsoft's market share.

Will Apple win so many converts that Microsoft will be in danger of losing much of its massive monopoly? No. But what it will do is bring more diversity to the desktop OS market, and that's a net plus for Linux users. Software developers will begin to look around and realize that Windows is not longer the only major OS in the game.

I predict that this will encourage companies to write more easily portable programs or use Java so that they can target all of the Big Three operating systems.

While a Mactel alliance may slow desktop Linux growth in the short run, over time I expect that it will actually make Linux a more viable choice for average users.

How? Nothing at all is changing, you won't be able to go out to your local software retailer and buy a Windows XP-to-OS X Tiger upgrade disc or anyhting like that. Apple will still have proprietary hardware and OS X will only run on Apple computer, it's just a different architecture, nothing more.

Correct, but the prices will be coming down, thus making it more competitive with XP. Plus, as some others have already noted, it's possible that Apple may eventually try to get out of the hardware business entirely.

Again, I doubt this will make a huge difference up or down for Linux users, but I think it will be good if anything.

I was under the impression that apple made most of their money form hardware sales, if so, why on earth would they want to move to being a software only company

Ditto. I can't see any reason the prices would come down either, just because Apple may be getting a better deal from Intel on the chips, they will want something "different" which won't be as cheap as your average x86 (soley in my opinion only), but even if the chips are significantly cheaper, Apple doesn't need to pass that saving on to the consumer...

Linux can get better market share once Microsoft's monopoly is break.

Maybe, one day Apple would remove the CPU restrictions and compete with Microsoft directly. That would be a good news for OSS, because OSS could survive better in a multi-platform environment.

I really hope that Macintosh could get a better market share.

I can't see that happening any time soon. If you've ever walked into a Uni computing lab that has a wireless network setup with an iBook you'll understand why OS X is as good as it is. It works so well because it knows exactly what hardware it's going to be working with and how to do what it needs to do. Throwing that away would take a definite edge off OS X, enter end-user configuration which is something OS X needs virtually none of.