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[ EEPI-Discuss ] Is DRM an aspect of the Apple switch to Intel chips?
------- Forwarded Message siliconvalley_editor@esp.realcities.com Quoted John Paczkowski Today, 05:00 PM "I felt something, a disturbance in the network, as if a million mac zealots cried out in horror and were suddenly silenced." - - -- One Slashdot reader comments on Apple's switch to Intel Plus, Santa Clara's a lot closer if Steve needs to slap somebody around By JOHN PACZKOWSKI Looks like Intel CEO Paul Otellini will soon be able to, in good conscience, buy the Mac he's long dreamed of (see "Sure, I could get a Mac, but the time I spend with my daughter removing spyware is very precious"). Apple is expected to announce today that it will use Intel chips in its computers beginning next year, ending a longstanding relationship with IBM. During his keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will reportedly announce a two-year transition plan to Intel-based Macs that will see the company shipping low-end machines, like the Mac Mini, in mid-2006 and their higher-end brethren in mid-2007. Rumored for ages now (see "For the x86th time, no way"), the move, should it prove true (and it seems it will) is a major shift in strategy for Apple -- one certain to test the loyalty of Apple developers (an architecture shift would require the re-release of all Mac software recompiled for the new chip) and the Mac faithful, and perhaps even spawn a crowd of clone manufacturers. So why bother? Well, Apple is said to be quite annoyed with IBM's failure to produce a 3 GHz G5 chip and a low-power G5 for laptops. But is that cause enough for a shift of this magnitude? Probably not. So, again, why bother? InfoWarrior's Richard Forno offered an interesting explanation in a post to the Interesting People mailing list. "Jobs wants the Mac to be more entertainment-friendly boxes," Forno wrote. "Intel has already started selling CPUs with DRM built in that facilitate Hollywood's control over content played/processed by Wintel PCs. What if the change to Intel is designed to 'protect' Apple from MPAA lawsuits etc. or at least 'better position it' (in Hollywood's eyes) from a technological sense if/when it starts to offer video-on-demand type stuff via iTunes? Frankly, if that's true, I'll be off to buy the biggest baddest IBM PowerPC G5-based non-DRM- toting box I can get and have my order placed well before Jobs finishes his keynote speech at WWDC." Comment on this post The next "Switch" ad should be interesting: UPDATE: The rumors are true. Apple is transitioning its Macs to Intel microprocessors. From Apple CEO Steve Job's WWDC keynote address: "We are going to make the transition from PowerPC to Intel processors, and we are going to do it for you now, and for our customers next year. Why? Because we want to be making the best computer for our customers looking forward. ... This time next year, we plan to ship Macs with Intel processors. In two years, our plan is that the transition will be mostly complete, and will be complete by end of 2007. So today for the first time, I can confirm the rumors that every release of Mac OS X has been compiled for PowerPC and Intel. This has been going on for the last five years." _______________________________________________ EEPI-Discuss mailing list information: http://lists.eepi.org/mailman/listinfo/eepi-discuss