Thursday, June 09, 2005

FIFA 2006

Few scientists fabricate results from scratch or flatly plagiarize the work of others, but a surprising number engage in troubling degrees of fact-bending or deceit, according to the first large-scale survey of scientific misbehavior.
http://news.yahoo.com/

The Supreme Court of Canada struck down Thursday a Quebec prohibition on private health-care insurance, in what members of Canada's medical profession called a "historic" decision with the potential to dramatically change the face of care in this country.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Apple's Switch to Intel: The Ultimate Power Move?
http://www.fortune.com

http://rma2.ussoccer.com


4 Comments:

Blogger Matt said...

My thoughts on on the Macintel dilemma.

Reasons why Apple switched:
1) Stated claim: more power per watt
2) Stated claim: product roadmap which allows apple to offer desired products
3) Intel is a better supplier (more reliable, more production capacity) than IBM
4) Apple is trying to create switchover selling points by moving to x86 architecture
5) Apple has been dissatisfied with IBM for a while. (Mac OS X double life for 5 years?!... yeah, "just in case")
6) Apple sick of porting OSS to powerpc architecture, now has full access to almost all OSS.
7) Intel DRM? mostly debunked, but still a possibility in order to get in good graces of MPAA for movie distribution
8) Screwing over of Microsoft. MS has had x86 as a developer selling point for a long time. Apple, "YOINK!"
9) Mad power grab by Steve Jobs. As the Fortune article states, "I noted that Jobs would obviously prefer that his legacy be a company with significant market share rather than one with superb products that never broke into the big time". With the switch, Apple can push for a major OS market share campaign. See point 8.
10) Trying to play IBM? Doesn't look like a strategic feint, but maybe Apple is making good on threats to IBM about leaving, only to have IBM grovel for the business. Highly unlikely, but possible

Reasons why Intel switch is dumb:
1) "Osborne effect" Only for a year though. Good think iPods still sell like hotcakes.
2) Loss of power. Since IBM did not have the complete x86 market to manufuacture for, the were proportionally weaker in terms of a supplier/buyer relationship. Intel could screw Apple at any time and still have 85% (or more) of the personal computing chip market. (Ignoring AMD)
3) Apple may have roused the sleeping giant in Redmond. Or they giant may be a corpulent beast unable to react to the switch at all.
4) Exposure of strategy. Now that the cat is out of the bag, other tech companies can release new tech to which Apple cannot react. I'm stretching on this one.
5) Mac addict idiocy. Yeah, you've seen the mac fanatic boards. "I my dual G5 worthless now?!?1 *sob*" Sooner or later the mac zealots will realize that they can wear their black turtlenecks AND have a P4 in their desktop machine without cognitive dissonance.
6) 3rd party software. A lot of 3rd party software creators had a lot going for them with the niche Mac/PPC market. They could make profit on a smaller/less advanced program because they didn't have the seemingly unlimited competition of the x86 software market. Now they have to play catch up, and enter into a much more competitive market place. PWNED!
7) Doomsday forecasts by the ever-Apple-advocating (sarcasm) Wall Street analysts. Remember when "Apple is dying" was a common phrase? I can see the brain-dead analysts digging up that oldie-but-goodie. Stock prices drop because of misinformation. Idiots.
8) Loss of Apple's hard earned image. For a long time Apple's exclusivity has earned them the rights to extra-normal profits. The x86 architecture is anything but exclusive. C'mon marketing, spin that one!
9) Potential for failure. Jobs said, "Apple is strong". He also noted that they were in a very nice, stable position. Here comes transition III, and it could burn everything. It's a risk. Time will tell if it was wise.
10) Intel buys Mac. We all cry. Intel screws it all up, MS crushes everyone, America now known as MS Government System 2.0.

All-in-all, I think the risk will pay off. The only really nasty thing that will come of it is that a lot of Mac/PowerPC development houses are really bending over. Not because of the transition to Universal Binaries, but because Apple has forced them to compete in the x86 market. Some might thrive, but others will most certainly die (read: Mac game developers).

mmm... yeah

Sun Jun 12, 09:00:00 PM GMT-7  
Blogger bryan said...

>My thoughts on on the Macintel dilemma.

why are people using 'macintel' instead of 'mactel'... wouldnt mactel go more along with wintel...?

not to nitpick your reasons, but for convenience and readability ill state my thoughts organized as responses to your reasons.

>>Reasons why Apple switched:
1) Stated claim: more power per watt
2) Stated claim: product roadmap which allows apple to offer desired products
3) Intel is a better supplier (more reliable, more production capacity) than IBM<<

1-3 i agree with

>>4) Apple is trying to create switchover selling points by moving to x86 architecture<<

i dont think this is so much a goal of apple as it is an added benefit of the switch...

>>5) Apple has been dissatisfied with IBM for a while. (Mac OS X double life for 5 years?!... yeah, "just in case")<<

i dont agree with this. i guess it depends on the meaning of "a while". but when IBM and apple came out with the G5/970 processor apple/steve was very excited. apple had definitely had high hopes and had reason to have those hopes based upon the roadmap given to them by IBM, a new fab factory being built for the factory, and the fact that IBM themselves were investing into the processors for their own servers. i think os x's double life and that insurance was apple just being street smart and it was based more upon a history w/ motorola during the 90s than IBM specifically nowadays. the hope optimism was there but experience made them think of a possible reality.

>>6) Apple sick of porting OSS to powerpc architecture, now has full access to almost all OSS.<<

i dont know what OSS is

>>7) Intel DRM? mostly debunked, but still a possibility in order to get in good graces of MPAA for movie distribution<<

this along with intels many processor offerings coupled with 3-5 yrs makes me very excited about the future :)

>>8) Screwing over of Microsoft. MS has had x86 as a developer selling point for a long time. Apple, "YOINK!"<<

i dont think microsoft cares, and if anything theyre happy about it. virtual PC will cease to become an emulator as we know it. when microsoft bought out connectix (inventors of VPC) everyone thought it was the death of VPC. but instead, microsoft came out w/ a new version. they just want to sell their OS licenses.

>>9) Mad power grab by Steve Jobs. As the Fortune article states, "I noted that Jobs would obviously prefer that his legacy be a company with significant market share rather than one with superb products that never broke into the big time". With the switch, Apple can push for a major OS market share campaign. See point 8.<<

this goes into the subject of mac os x being available for the PC. (discussions on this topic are everyone nowadays on mac news sites) if its one thing that ive noted w/ apple since steve as come back.. never say never... but if this ever did happen i see way far down the road, and it was be a transition that had already happened in so many steps it really wouldnt come off like a big deal. ie, itunes being available for windows. they didnt just throw it out there for the PC which would have shocked everyone. they came out w/ the ipod, then a windows ipod, then windoze itunes... little shocks over the course of time. i guess PPC>x86 would be one of the little shocks thats not so little ;)

>>10) Trying to play IBM? Doesn't look like a strategic feint, but maybe Apple is making good on threats to IBM about leaving, only to have IBM grovel for the business. Highly unlikely, but possible<<

lol.... nah... everyone knows that the G5 has no business being in a portable machine. IBM cares about sonys, microsofts, and nintendos hundreds of millions of processor orders. not the 1million that apple would purchase. and this along w/ the fact that IBM is hardly even a processor company anymore comparatively speaking

>>Reasons why Intel switch is dumb:
1) "Osborne effect" Only for a year though. Good think iPods still sell like hotcakes.<<

hrrmmm... im just pinning my hopes on the fact that the masses have no idea what a processor is or what one is contained in a mac. apple makes their money off of those masses and not knowledgeable IT depts. ipods... :/ some analysts believe that those sales are starting to weaken. either way... every mac aficionado kind of resents apple being seen as an ipod company ;)

>>2) Loss of power. Since IBM did not have the complete x86 market to manufuacture for, the were proportionally weaker in terms of a supplier/buyer relationship. Intel could screw Apple at any time and still have 85% (or more) of the personal computing chip market. (Ignoring AMD)<<

but i think you have to put AMD into the equation... taking them out kind of makes the comment irrelevant.

>>3) Apple may have roused the sleeping giant in Redmond. Or they giant may be a corpulent beast unable to react to the switch at all.<<

#8 above

4) Exposure of strategy. Now that the cat is out of the bag, other tech companies can release new tech to which Apple cannot react. I'm stretching on this one.<<

i dont think i follow this one...i know you said you were stretching but i dont understand what you were stretching about...

>>5) Mac addict idiocy. Yeah, you've seen the mac fanatic boards. "I my dual G5 worthless now?!?1 *sob*" Sooner or later the mac zealots will realize that they can wear their black turtlenecks AND have a P4 in their desktop machine without cognitive dissonance.<<

grrr.... :P

>>6) 3rd party software. A lot of 3rd party software creators had a lot going for them with the niche Mac/PPC market. They could make profit on a smaller/less advanced program because they didn't have the seemingly unlimited competition of the x86 software market. Now they have to play catch up, and enter into a much more competitive market place. PWNED!<<

assuming that x86 only software companies will turn to apple for increased sales.. ehh.. i dont know... one could say that the transition wouldnt be too dificult so why not but the fact would be that they would be doing that work for a 3% market share still which is why those companies arent doing mac development know. but maybe the cost in all its forms is small enough now to where they would choose to do so.

>>7) Doomsday forecasts by the ever-Apple-advocating (sarcasm) Wall Street analysts. Remember when "Apple is dying" was a common phrase? I can see the brain-dead analysts digging up that oldie-but-goodie. Stock prices drop because of misinformation. Idiots.<<

i see this is the biggest threat. along with the fact that because apple gets so much press nowadays from the freaking ipod... you have your reg. cnn nightly news talking about their processor switch. joe blow watches the report and is like... "i guess we're not switching now... i cant explain to you why, but we're going to wait"

>>8) Loss of Apple's hard earned image. For a long time Apple's exclusivity has earned them the rights to extra-normal profits. The x86 architecture is anything but exclusive. C'mon marketing, spin that one!<<

all of their other hardware is in any other PC. ATI/nvidia vid cards, western digital/seagate HDs...etc etc..

>>9) Potential for failure. Jobs said, "Apple is strong". He also noted that they were in a very nice, stable position. Here comes transition III, and it could burn everything. It's a risk. Time will tell if it was wise.<<

short term its kind of scary... but getting past the 3-5yr mark... i see a glorious future... i dont think if even the worst happens over the next 2yrs that that would put apple under. people love apple nowadays... if they could get through '87-'94 the can certainly get through this...

>>10) Intel buys Mac. We all cry. Intel screws it all up, MS crushes everyone, America now known as MS Government System 2.0.<<

but then chinese govt sys 1.0 comes out and then you have to decide between a new innovation and nationalistic pride.

>>All-in-all, I think the risk will pay off. The only really nasty thing that will come of it is that a lot of Mac/PowerPC development houses are really bending over. Not because of the transition to Universal Binaries, but because Apple has forced them to compete in the x86 market. Some might thrive, but others will most certainly die (read: Mac game developers).

mmm... yeah <<

wouldnt the mac game developers just continue doing what their doing? they still have to change game code so that the games would run on os x and now they could possibly have a ton more business because theres that decreased development costs so more game manufacturers may think about the mac...

Mon Jun 13, 10:11:00 AM GMT-7  
Blogger Aaron said...

Macintel for Macintosh. Duh. It's good to have Cielo back. I'll have to read what y'all had to say when I have time. I don't have time now.

Tue Jun 14, 04:58:00 PM GMT-7  
Blogger bryan said...

i made todays post and then i read you comment on macintel. i feel validated by apple themselves that it should be mactel ;)

Wed Jun 15, 08:25:00 AM GMT-7  

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