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| Tuesday, June 14, 2005 |
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Gartner endorses Apple's Intel switch
Monday, June 13 2005
by Ciaran Buckley
An analyst firm has endorsed Apple's switch to Intel chips, but it cautioned Mac users to postpone new software purchases until vendors provide a plan for the transition.
Technology analyst company Gartner included the recommendation in a new study on the implications of Apple Computer's decision to replace IBM's PowerPC chips with Intel hardware.
The research firm recommended that Macintosh users continue to use and buy PowerPC-based computers for the moment, but said that they should embrace Intel-based Macintoshes once they become available. However, the analyst firm warned that companies using Macintosh software should hold off on further investment until their software providers produce a roadmap for conversion to the Intel platform.
"Macintosh-oriented enterprises and developers should immediately begin preparing for the migration," Gartner stated in a release.
On 6 June, Apple said that it would start to deliver Intel-based Macintosh models by the middle of 2006 and would be using Intel chips exclusively by year-end 2007. Gartner said that the switch would allow Apple to benefit from Intel's technology, including hardware virtualisation and WiMAX.
At its recent Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple provided developers with a preview of its new Tiger operating system running on an Intel-based Macintosh.
Apple has also launched a Developer Transition Kit, which consists of an Intel-based Mac development system, along with preview versions of Apple software. The kit will allow developers to write applications which will run on both the PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.
From software developers' perspective, the migration is expected to be relatively straightforward, and many PowerPC applications will already run on Intel-based Macintoshes without any need for recompilation.
Microsoft has announced that it plans to create future versions of Microsoft Office that will run on both the PowerPC and Intel processors. Adobe has also undertaken to develop a version of Creative Suite for Macintosh that supports both PowerPC and Intel processors.
The move is a blow for IBM, which provided the PowerPC chips for Apple computers. However, IBM's chip development division has recently been bolstered by the news that its chips will be used in the consoles of all three major games manufacturers -- Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. |
| posted by Perimbean @ 8:15 AM |
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