After a busy week we might as well pick up where we left off: the concept of Cell processors and International Business Machines Corp. v. Papermaster, 08-cv-9078, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (White Plains). After 25 years of undoubtedly loyal service, IBM said in a court filing that Mark Papermaster had agreed to avoid working for any competitor for a year if he left IBM. Papermaster argued that there were significant differences between between the two companies because they address different markets. IBM disagreed: "Electronic devices large and small are powered by the same type of intelligence, the microprocessor." IBM must see Apple as serious competition.
We all remember when Apple left PowerPC
Of course, the Power Architecture (formally known as PowerPC) actually got started at IBM. In the 90's Apple, IBM, Motorola formed AIM. Within a few years Apple left the AIM alliance, but continued to use PowerPC processors in its computers. Apple announced the move to Intel in 2005. IBM still produces and licenses the Power Architecture. IBM also uses Intel processors in its products.
One company that licensed and produced a CPU based on the Power Architecture in the last few years was PASemi. Earlier this year, PASemi was purchased by Apple. Nevertheless, we do not think this surprisingly public and legal matter is about the Power Architecture. Apple folks (including those from PASemi that probably worked closely and recently with Papermaster) know at least as much about what is important today as anyone from IBM. There is a bigger story here.
To get a feeling where things are headed, have a look at what Intel is doing: Intel Announces its First Home Medical Device to Better Connect Clinicians with Patients. Read this: Additionally, Intel plans to use the core technology components of the solution to build products targeted for new areas such as independent living and programs for health and wellness management and to support new devices such as mobile phones and handhelds. We don't think Intel will stop there.
The Jobs-Papermaster-PaSemi team won't stop with the next iPod Touch-iPhone-Mac either. The first public signs of significant change are starting to surface. IBM has much to lose. Consumers and companies will decide what software, services and support they need through the devices they use. This directly relates to the Cell concepts discussed in All Aboard! The supply chain begins with the customer. Didn't Google teach us that once already? We are on the way...
The Community is the Computer - a Super Computer. Go Zig!
5 comments:
What OS do the Intel medical devices use? Windows?!?!
If I were to say that Apple bought PA Semi and hired a top IBM guy to develop a modern day POWER based Newton (with iphone features) would you think I was crazy?
Apple is not going to use Power. They only want the engineers from PASemi to build a custom Apple chip with ARM core.
Apple wants full control over the supply chain.
So what you are saying is that ARM is a powerful of processor as what PA Semi designed? That somehow the PA Semi design team can make an ARM compatible processor that is as powerful as a PowerPC?
They don't have to make an ARM compatible processor. The next ARM release will be dual core.
Many of the PASemi guys were in fact working with ARM before. What Apple wants is a custom chip (with ARM core) to be used in their future products. ARM rules the mobile world. Apple wants to have control over the suppliers of their chip. They are already using ARM - they just want to have a say in the chip design (not the ARM core itself, but the peripherals) and develop a highly integrated design which they don't have to share with anyone else and which they control the supply of.
It's all about control.
Oh, and ARM truly is a powerful, low power chip - which is why it's everywhere... That, ans Apple doesn't want to maintain developers for both ARM and Power. It's easier to focus all development on one platform instead of doing the same thing twice on different architectures.
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