PostPixel

with the WWDC 2005 keynote now over, the rumors of Apple switching to Intel processors have now been confirmed. Steve Jobs announced that Apple would complete the transition to Intel processors by the end of 2007. after reviewing the 2 previous transitions (from the 680×0 to the PowerPC and from OS 9 to OS X) Jobs announced the “time for a third transition” not only due to the fact of the inability to deliver a 3GHz G5, but also because Intel offers increased performance and reduced power consumption, thus running cooler - a key factor for any future PowerBook models.

it was then revealed that the Marklar rumors were also true, Mac OS X has secretly been developed over the past five years to run on the x86 platform. the design of Mac OS X makes it cross platform capable - Dashboard widgets, scripts and java programs will not need porting. to allow PowerPC programs to run on the new Intel chips will require the use of Rosetta - a dynamic translation system transparent to users.

all demonstrations during the keynote were delivered on a 3.6GHz Pentium 4 running Mac OS X, with PhotoShop offering typical performance but taking longer to load plug-ins.

press releases:
Apple press release
Intel press release

other notable points from the keynote:

«É¢ the next version of Mac OS X will be named Leopard and will be released in late 2006 or early 2007.
«É¢ QuickTime with the H.264 codec is available for Windows users today.
«É¢ iPods have over 75% market share of all players. iTunes has a 82% market share and is still growing.
«É¢ ADC members have grown to over half a million. there are now over 400 Dashboard widgets, 40 Spotlight plug-ins and 550 Automator programs now available.

a stream of the keynote is also now available:
http://stream.apple.akadns.net/

crazy stuff. but as long as i get a faster PowerBook relatively soon… i’m happy.

UPDATE>>

keep in mind that Apple hasn’t answered all the questions about this switch to Intel yet. there was no indication whether future Macs using Intel processors would be able to run Windows, or if future releases of OS X would run on current Intel-based hardware.

UPDATEx2>>

still confused? check out this OS X x86 FAQ on MacRumors.