Submitted by Apple’s recent hiring spree of chip designers reveals the company may be about to exert even more control over the components that go into its products. The company may go so far as manufacturing computer processors in-house, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cites only anonymous sources to bolster its claim that the internally designed chips will appear in products no sooner than 2010.
The will not make CPU’s that is way too much effort for way too little gain.
But northbridge, southbritge, sound (or all-in-one) they probably will make.
This would also put them into a position to get rid of the more broadly sold “hackintosh” machines, simply because no driver or firmware exists for “commonplace hardware”.
I don’t think they’re not going to want to close it off entirely. Bootcamp? Do they really want to write up multiple drivers for multiple operating systems? What about people who use other operating systems on their computer?
Judging by what they do on the iPod, I could see them locking out any other operating systems, but I think it’s expected by most people that multiple operating systems are allowed on a computer and they wouldn’t do that. Even though I use (and like) OSx itself, I wouldn’t buy under the assumption I couldn’t put any operating system on my computer. Perhaps they’ll allow certain parts of the hardware to run under ANY operating system, but ‘secret’ parts of hardware will only run under OSx, like the PS3?
Who knows, time will tell I guess…
I beg to differ. To the masses, the computer is just another tool with just one interface. We are hideously in the minority. Maybe hence it is why Steve still fights against third parties.
…scenario is that they are:
a) going to build custom chips the curb the Hackintosh market (as previously stated)
and / or
b) going to build custom chips for upcoming devices in order to be able to patent the hell out of an idea following the recent patent suits against them.
Will be interesting to follow…
Maybe they’re going to create a chip that will be hardly reproduceable and that will ship with every Mac. Then the next OS X will require this chip on your computer to install and to “validate”.
Yeah, that seems likely. Ah well, so much for buying a Psystar. :/
Sorry I couldn’t resist.
I think that despite the effort involved, it IS possible that they will make CPUs. They already bought PA semi, which made a functioning CPU, so that gives them a head start. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it is likely, but definitely possible.
Remember that these CPUs may not be destined for desktop/laptop machines. Other possible uses include phones, netbooks, wireless routers, music players, dvr/multimedia products, and even softserve ice cream machines!
they’ll probably design a range of soc’s tailored for their ipods, iphones, ipads & inotes or whatever. especially chips which have a bit more oomp than the stuff offered on the open market for low powered devices but far less power than the notebook chipsets. maybe multicore design which can be used by sno leopards technologies (and apps which have been programmed using them). but they certainly won’t manufacture them.
note to myself: rtfa first.
Edited 2009-05-04 15:33 UTC
They could come in handy in the winter. ;}
rofl!