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Living on the Edge (9/30/98)
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There goes Robert Morgan, making people nervous again-- but we really can't fault him this time, because the information he's relating is appearing via other sources, as well. So as creepy as it sounds, we may well be facing a serious shake-up in Macland as Motorola prepares for a "major revamp" of its Semiconductor Products Sector. That's the group that makes PowerPC's-- you know, those funky little Pentium-crushing chips that serve as the brain in every single Apple-branded computer made today. Apparently SPS may be tranformed from a Motorola-only unit into a joint venture with a company called SGS Thomson (recently renamed STMicroelectronics). All kinds of speculation and possibilities surface in Morgan's RFI Report, and similar info and thoughts surfaced independently in a MacTimes Network article.
The Doomsday Scenario is, of course, that once STMicroelectronics gains control, they could simply decide to halt all further development of desktop-class PowerPC's. Not that there's any particular reason to believe that the company would want to do such a thing, but desktop computers are simply not their bread and butter, so the possibility remains. What would Apple do if PowerPC's suddenly cease being available? It's not like they could switch over to using Intel chips overnight, and even if such a thing were possible from a technical standpoint, so much of Apple's newfound credibility in the marketplace comes from its hyping of the G3 chip being faster than the Pentium II. If Apple switched to a Pentium variant, all that credibility goes out the window.
Remember, none of this is carved in stone. The merger itself may never even happen. But the mere possibility reveals just how dependent Apple is on Motorola's continued development of PowerPC's suitable for use in Macs. Sure, IBM's doing PowerPC development too, but their focus is on their own high-end AIX servers, not the Mac OS-- and therefore they aren't adding in cool Mac-friendly technologies like Altivec. Relying so strongly on Motorola puts Apple in a potentially shaky position, and should Motorola hand over the management reins of SPS to another company, who's to say that said company will want to keep cranking out PowerPC's for Apple? Sure makes life exciting, doesn't it?
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SceneLink (1046)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/30/98 episode: September 30, 1998: So just what would happen if Motorola suddenly decided to stop making PowerPC's? We may not have to wonder much longer... Meanwhile, Microsoft is frantically trying to prepare for its upcoming "Redmond Justice" court date by strongarming a couple of professors into turning over some confidential Netscape interviews, and Steve Jobs sheds his secret identity to reveal his alter ego, "Internet Man..."
Other scenes from that episode: 1047: Stolen Research (9/30/98) The big "Redmond Justice" trial creeps ever closer-- can't you just smell it? In a mere two weeks (barring unforeseen delays, of course, but when does that ever happen in a lawsuit?), Microsoft and the Justice Department will finally square off in court to resolve the issue of Microsoft's alleged anticompetitive business practices... 1048: It's... Internet Man! (9/30/98) Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause, if you will, for this year's "Internet Man of the Year:" Steven P. Jobs. Yessiree, Apple's interim head honcho recently received the award from the SkyNet Internet Collective for his "outstanding achievements in the area of Information Technology and Product Innovation for the Internet."...
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