Apple considered small chip startup over Intel?
By Evan Blass 
posted May 22nd 2006 4:55PM
posted May 22nd 2006 4:55PM
Steve Jobs' announcement -- almost a year ago, now -- that Apple was transitioning to x86 processors was one of the most shocking bits of news that the industry had ever heard, and yet there were a group of employees at a startup chip manufacturer called PA Semi who were even more shocked than most, according to reports, because right up until that keynote, they were sure that their company, and not Intel, would be chosen to supply the brains for what's now known as the MacBook family of laptops. The Register is reporting that PA Semi had a close relationship with Apple in the months prior to the switch, and that the two companies were working together to gauge the feasibility of running native PowerPC-coded software on 2GHz dual-core chips that PA Semi claims run at only a third of the 21 to 25 watts consumed by Intel's Core Duo models. Sources who spoke to El Reg say that executives were virtually positive that they'd win the contract, and that CEO Dan Dobberpuhl was understandably "furious" when he found out PA Semi had been passed over. The company still has a bright future developing chips for the embedded market and storage devices, but they'll probably never again have the opportunity to become an instantly-recognized name like Intel, AMD, or IBM.
And if they would of just used this companies processors and they claim to be what they are. We wouldn't have any over heating problems.
I bet intel persuaded apple with money. They like to push aorund the small companies that are trying to gain momentum.
http://www.generationplay.com/
Yeah that's Steve-"What have you done for me lately?"-Jobs for ya. He told Pixar employees he'd never sell out, that quality will always be number one...whoops, sorry guys, I just sold the company to Disney who has ZERO interest in quality and sees all animation projects as McMoney makers.
Ah well......life's a bitch, Capitalism sucks yada-yada
Money talks, but we knew that already, didnt we?
Sounds like the CEO of PA Semi isn't too bright. Did he really think a company the size of Apple is going to do something as monumental as a processor switch and give the contract to a virtual unknown (and unproven) manufacturer? Intel was the only option.
Hold up, before the bashing begins. This is article is very suspect as it's a year late and there is no otherwise confirmed proof (e.g.: Statement directly from Dobberpuhl). That being said, Apple -- or any company -- would be foolish not to look for the best deal for their product line. I can't imagine PA Semi being as a good longterm choice as Apple was changing architecture because of IBM's inability and lack of desire to furthur the devlopment of the PPC. Intel probably gave them the best deal and the most assurances.
I read that one reason Apple decided to go with the Intel ships was that PA Semi's design would not have been finalized until early 2007, which would have resulted in an additional year without a significant powerbook/ibook upgrade...
I think Jobs had the BootCamp idead all along. After all it's as close as Apple is going to get to the PC world without licensing its OS.
Also, Apple's premium pricing would be compromised if there wasn't a renowned chip manufacturer to equip, let's say their next gen PowerMac Pro desktop.
Did you guys actually READ the article? The company may be currently toiling in obscurity, but its technical staff are renowned in the microprocessor world. As far as their credentials go, they are very proven.
"PA Semi secured a large amount of venture funding due in part to the stellar technical reputation of its staff. Former Digital alumni include VP of architecture Peter Bannon - aka Mr. Tanglewood - Leo Joseph, the COO and Jim Keller, the VP of engineering. Several of these engineers did much of the key work behind DEC's Alpha chip, which for much of the 1990s was consistently the fastest microprocessor on the market. Apple and PA also shared some heritage: PA Semi's Wayne Meretsky was formerly the technical lead for Mac OS at Apple during the company's transition to PowerPC."
After being screwed over by LACK OF CHIPS by Motorola, then IBM which lacked a strong roadmap, it would have been suicidal to choose these other guys. Probably the only thing keeping Jobs from Intel was the Wintel stigma. All speculation on my part.
On the Disney buy-out, just an FYI. Lasseter was made head of Disney animation. And he claims it was a phone call from the then-new CEO (on said CEO's first day on the job!) that promised no creative interference in Pixar that sent them over the edge to Disney. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea, but Lasseter said so.
Oh and that great Disney film "Gnomeo and Juliet" we were all looking forward to? John Lasseter killed it by asking the simple question "why are we making this film?" Head of Disney animation who actually cares about quality!
-Pie
Being renowned in the "microprocessor" workd doesn't mean much- I am sure Apple's decision was partially based on consumer brand awareness and definitely not on obscene heat output.
"The company may be currently toiling in obscurity, but its technical staff are renowned in the microprocessor world. As far as their credentials go, they are very proven."
That doesn't really mean much, frankly, because being able to compete in the microprocessor field requires a whole lot more than the ability to make a single nice design on paper or in sample quantities.
The test of a microprocessor company is how well it can compete over multiple processor generations. This tiny outfit may have come up with a nice design, but it could be a one-off. They may hit a wall next year or the year after when they try to push it farther to keep up with Intel and AMD. And where would Apple be then?
Just look at IBM/Moto's inability to improve the PowerPC platform quickly and reliably enough.
First Intel, then Microsoft, then the world...
But in all seriousness, what worries me is what I believe is that Intel is the one who has electromagnetic processors patent. This could prove of something fierce later on don't you think?
Cash rules everything around me - CREAM
#8, idude135 :: "I think Jobs had the BootCamp idead all along. After all it's as close as Apple is going to get to the PC world without licensing its OS."
This is off topic to the article, but Wine (WIn32 API) could prove to be the downfall of Windows as one can run Windows apps natively on OSX without a perfromance hit or a need for Bootcamp. In other words, no need to purchase MS' crappy OS ever again.
There were obviously a huge number of valid reasons not to choose this company.
1. production capabilities
2. cost per unit ( if Apple is the only/main customer it's not going to be cheap)
3. Long term Roadmap
4. Timescales for full production
5. Intel offers virtualisation and native abilities to run x86 code.
5. decreased cost.
6. definite future
the list goes on. The only reason to choose PA would have been continued binary compatibility with existing apps. It's a good reason but in the face of everything else and the chance to further the business by allowing the running of XP/Vista on Macs, it's not even a contest.
Motorola screwed over Apple? Wait aaa minute.
Paybacks a bitch. Apple screwed Motorola when it licensed it's OS to it and others. Motorola invested big bucks in computers and Apple pulled the plug on the licensing. No one could sell the clones.
As I understood it, Motorola wrote off a lot of money on this deal. Motorola had to wait until the contract ran out but did as little as possible in terms of r&d.
"And if they would of just used this companies processors..."
It's "would have" not "would of." Sheesh, good luck hiring people.
Todd:
"He told Pixar employees he'd never sell out, that quality will always be number one...whoops, sorry guys...."
Um, dude, please stick to tech talk.
It's obvious you don't see what's going on in the animation industry.
Between Fox Animation and Dreamworks Animation and others, Pixar was finally facing some real competition. From all that has been reported about the Pixar-Disney deal, Pixar executives have control over the animation dept. From the shareholder viewpoint, Pixar was sold while the company was trading at a relatively high valuation. The inevitable bad movie would have sent the share price plummeting.
15:
Wine won't cause the downfall of anything; its compatibility is pretty terrible. What will cause Windows' downfall will be a combination of factors. Namely, Microsoft's failure to release an OS upgrade that people care about in a timely manner and Apple releasing a consumer line of products that is reasonably affordable.
BootCamp isn't an encouragement to run Windows or Windows apps. It's made to make people feel safe in converting to Apple because they'll know they'll have the Windows apps to fall back on, when in actuality most people who get acquainted with OSX won't bother (mission critical apps excepted).
"15. This is off topic to the article, but Wine (WIn32 API) could prove to be the downfall of Windows as one can run Windows apps natively on OSX without a perfromance hit or a need for Bootcamp. In other words, no need to purchase MS' crappy OS ever again."
Right. That strategy definitely worked for OS/2.
Oh wait...
PA Semi is unknown? Wtf. These guys could give us the modern equivalent of the Alpha. That would be a hell of a lot more street cred for Macs than a lame Duo.
why? oh why?! haha intel rox everyone's sox. this year and next they are going to blow the computing competition out of the water. i really hate them. if only this would have gone through, that way an apple alternative would really be an alternative, not just a pc running osx or something like that, which is what i feel this is. going to intel only makes the pc market smaller which means less competition. amd is gonna hurt because the funds from the apple deal just might smack intel into high gear. innovation is good, but not at the price of individuality or something like that. yeesh it's too early must sleep.
always remember: apple is a copying and losing company.
btw this comments system is crap and blacklists certain mailhosts.
They should go with AMD instead of Intel. Currently AMD is rising with success in many areas over Intel which is much behind and following. Except if Jobs is smart enough and has plans to switch in the future.
Wishful thinking at best #15. It wouldn't matter if the moon crashed into the Earth; Microsoft and Windows would still be here. There is no such thing as a "downfall" of Windows. Supposebly there has already been millions of things that resorted to the downfall of Windows, yet nothing ever seems to change. Funny...
WWOOOOWWWW.... holy fucking wow.
I jus have to ask, what the fuck is a mac-brained idiot consumer going to do with a bleeding edge piece of technology like a PA Semi chip? These chips are gods of connectivity; but mac's really just need what most consumer cpu's need, couple thousand mhz of number crunching, not onboard XOR processors, 32 lanes PCI, 10Gbe and massive crossbars underneath.
I really wonder how this is going to affect the rest of the markets availability of the PA Semi. Apple could have either monolopized the supply and technologies, or it might've indirectly spread support and provided cash flow for the company.
Also, seems like the breaking of the story is end of game. These chips would've made wonderful pocket aces in Apple's server hand, sometime down the road.
"I jus have to ask, what the fuck is a mac-brained idiot consumer going to do with a bleeding edge piece of technology like a PA Semi chip? These chips are gods of connectivity; but mac's really just need what most consumer cpu's need, couple thousand mhz of number crunching, not onboard XOR processors, 32 lanes PCI, 10Gbe and massive crossbars underneath."
Faster Garage Band? :/
http://ppczone.org/