[Ti] Intel shows off 64-bit dual core processors for mobile, desktop, and servers

[Chris Olson]

On Sep 1, 2005, at 5:34 AM, Neil Cadsawan wrote:

> Yes, it seems that they won't have an update when the first MacTels  
> are released.  But it does look like they'll have a version out  
> when the transition is complete.  That doesn't sound so bad.

I think it will be significant for early adopters of the x86  
platform.  I suspect the PowerBook will be one of the first to use  
x86 processors, and I also suspect that PowerBook buyers will hold  
off on buying new x86-based PowerBooks if they're heavily dependent  
on Photoshop.

Ashlar-Vellum is another company that won't be supporting MacTel.  I  
received a letter and survey questionaire from them yesterday.  Their  
Cobalt CAD products, which we use heavily here, will be PowerPC only,  
and supported until 2008.  No support for OS X on x86 is planned at  
this time because they don't feel the development costs justify it.

Software, and legacy support, is the driving force behind the success  
of a desktop operating system.  On the Ashlar forums many people have  
already indicated they'll simply move to Windows on x86 because  
Windows provides better support for legacy software with no  
performance hit.

For Ashlar, it took until late 2003 to get support for OS X, and the  
driving force behind their decision to support the Mac platform was  
the introduction of the G5 providing the power necessary for CAD/3D  
modeling/FEA/dataset visualization and opening new possibilities that  
x86 couldn't do.  However, selling CAD software to Mac users has been  
basically break-even for Ashlar, and now with more development costs  
piled on top to stay with the Mac, it's not profitable.

I suspect as it gets right down to the wire reality is going to set  
in, and you're going to see more major application vendors simply  
drop out of the scene because it makes no business sense to support  
two different operating environments, with totally different API's,  
on the same architecture.  Linux has been on x86 since it's birth,  
has considerably more market share today than the Mac, and many  
software vendors still don't see profitability in supporting linux  
with their software applications.
--
Chris