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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=1086
Power4 May Give Insight into Next-Generation Apple CPU
By Remy Davison, Insanely Great Mac
October 10th 2002
A lot of work for Apple to move to 64-bit computing, but IBM can supply the goods.
IBM next week will provide a preview of its 64-bit Power4 processor. Designed for both
desktops and entry-level servers, the new PowerPC chip could find its way into Apple
desktops sometime in the future, according to a report in the EETimes.
The Power4 will be the first IBM PowerPC processor which incorporates Motorola's
AltiVec instruction set, which has long been a feature of the Motorola G4s used in
Apple's Power Macs, PowerBooks, flat-panel iMacs and eMacs.
IBM will detail the chip at the Microprocessor Forum, running October 14-17. According
to the report EETimes, the chip will support extensions which will provide
compatibility with PowerPC architecture, with backward-compatibility with 32-bit
environments. Commentators in the article argue that this will ensure compatibility
with the Mac OS.
"Apple would have to be crazy not to use this part," Peter Glaskowsky. editor-in-chief
of The Microprocessor Report, the forum's host, said to EETimes.
However, there are obstacles to the Power4's use: Apple would need to invest
significant time in OS development to support a 64-bit environment. Moreover, software
developers would need to rework their applications to take full advantage of the chip.
The upsides, should Apple decide to adopt the Power4, include a superscalar pipeline
and symmetric multiprocessing.
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