Eleven, G5, 970 and all that good stuff

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
A lot of people have made comment recently that the newly announced IBM PPC 970 is a result of pressure from Apple. I don't think so because IBM was always planning a single core variant of the Power4 processor. I believe I remember reading this back when the Power4 was still in development. Therefore, the only influence Apple might have had on IBM with regards to the 970 is the addition of the VMX/AltiVec unit (or perhaps the bus but unlikely since the Power4 has a fast bus too). However IBM may have decided that for workstations and desktops this was a good addition anyway, especially if they were wanting to try to start up a PPC & Linux based mass market computer (need SIMD unit like VMX for that).



Regardless, Apple is likely to use the 970 in models released late next year and onwards unless they have something better... This leads me to my 0.02 worth of speculation:



Apple is developing the "Eleven" processor, having rights to all the technology as an AIM partner and is getting a third party to manufacture it, possibly due to the supposed split with Moto. This is why "Eleven" is not on Moto's roadmap leaked this week. If "Eleven" had been seeded in test units since sometime in 2001 then it would be a 2002 or 2003 release and it doens't seem that the MPC7457 on the leaked roadmap would match the description of what "Eleven" seems to be, based on the info from the various sources. (BTW, when did the name "Eleven" emerge? From where?).



The split with Moto may have caused a delay while Apple looked for a foundry partner and because or this they withdrew the test units talked about in the Architosh piece. Either that or Apple was sick of leaks and decided the secure path was the withdraw of the test units. Another possible souce of delay, that I think has been mentioned b4, is that Apple didn't wan't to ramp up for a killer new machine while the whole personal computing market is flat. They might be planning a pre-Christmas release to try to make the biggest impact possible having passes up a summer release due to market conditions.



People have talked about the heat capacity of the new towers being evidence of a new design being in work. I agree. Architosh suggested that "Eleven" might have been canned due to heat problems. I don't beleive this since even it the heat was hugh for a PPC the reported power use was *much* lower that the the P4 and Athlon and these chips come in mobile versions! If Apple is developing the G5 we've been hearing about and not Moto then the lid will be sealed shut until they want it openned.



The 2nd posibility I see (as have others) is that "Eleven" is a joint product being developed within a secret team of Moto and Apple engineers and because of Apple's direct involvement Moto aren't even allowed to include it on internal roadmaps until Apple says...



Either of the above scenarios puts the G5 as an imminent to soon release.



The 3rd possibility I see is... (only kidding )

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    The only guesses I have for the name Eleven would be: The obligatory Spinal Tap reference, and, following Eugene's insight that the codename "Apollo" refers to an ongoing program rather than a single processor model, a reference to Apollo 11.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    henriokhenriok Posts: 537member
    If 7455 is Apollo 6 and 7457 is Apollo 7.. what on Earth is Apollo 11? A tower that reaches for the moon?
  • Reply 3 of 15
    ringoringo Posts: 329member
    [quote]Originally posted by Henriok:

    <strong>If 7455 is Apollo 6 and 7457 is Apollo 7.. what on Earth is Apollo 11? A tower that reaches for the moon?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Apollo 11 was not only the first space mission to carry humans to the moon, and more than that, it was the first time that the US could solidly say that they were ahead of the Soviet Union in space technology. Frankly, before then, the USSR was kicking America's ass when it came to space technology milestones. They had the first satellite, first cosmonaut/astronaut first woman, first probe to reach the moon, first orbit, first orbit of the moon. Perhaps Apple hopes that their own Apollo 11 will prove that Macs are once again the fastest computers out there.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    tjmtjm Posts: 367member
    [quote]Originally posted by Ringo:

    <strong>



    Apollo 11 was not only the first space mission to carry humans to the moon, and more than that, it was the first time that the US could solidly say that they were ahead of the Soviet Union in space technology. Frankly, before then, the USSR was kicking America's ass when it came to space technology milestones. They had the first satellite, first cosmonaut/astronaut first woman, first probe to reach the moon, first orbit, first orbit of the moon. Perhaps Apple hopes that their own Apollo 11 will prove that Macs are once again the fastest computers out there.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Not to nit-pick, but James Lovell cites Apollo 8 as the real milestone - that was the first time a manned spacecraft had left earth orbit and had orbited around the moon. It proved that we really could do a lunar landing, that all the technology worked as advertised.



    I was 9 years old in December of '68. I still get goosebumps when I remember him reading from Genesis 1 as the Earth rose over the horizon of the Moon - the first time anyone had ever seen that.



    I think I'll go play some Rolling Stones...
  • Reply 5 of 15
    algolalgol Posts: 833member
    I will not use names or phone numbers are any kind of proof. Beyond that I talked to an old friend this weekend who used to work for IBM and knows many people who still do. He recently went over to tampa to talk with some of these old friends about getting another job with IBM. He is a software engineer (programmer). The IBM people basically said, that if he wanted, they could get him a job developing code for the new IBM chip for Apple. I obviously did not take down an exact quote of what he said. But after that his friends seemed not to want to say any more about the chip other than that it was for Apple.



    \tSo it does seem that this PowerPC 970 is indeed designed for Apple in mind, although I'm sure IBM will use it in other areas as well. I rather doubt that Apple has been designing their own chip. That would just cost to much. I think they help out with the design of chips being made with them in mind, but they do not design these things all by themselves. Though they did develop ApplePI. Anyway we shall see what comes of all this.



    \tI doubt we'll see new powerbooks until Jan 7 though... although we will see a good upgrade when that time comes.



    The future is bright for apple computer. I was truly worried about them a few months ago but now I am no longer. Many good things are on the way...oh and did I say I ordered an iPod.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    I have eard that the G5 was codenamed appolo 13 : it could explain many things ...
  • Reply 7 of 15
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    [quote]Originally posted by Henriok:

    <strong>If 7455 is Apollo 6 and 7457 is Apollo 7.. what on Earth is Apollo 11? A tower that reaches for the moon?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    And, in keeping with these space analogies, are we to expect a monster-treaty 'tween apple and the wintel world Ã* la ISS in some twenty to thirty years?
  • Reply 8 of 15
    henriokhenriok Posts: 537member
    There were no Apollo 6 mission. The disaster on pad 34 witch took the lives of Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee was dubbed Apollo 1 after the disaster, and the mission after that was Apollo 7.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    [quote]Originally posted by Henriok:

    <strong>There were no Apollo 6 mission. The disaster on pad 34 witch took the lives of Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee was dubbed Apollo 1 after the disaster, and the mission after that was Apollo 7.</strong><hr></blockquote>

    Not quite true. Apollo 2 through Apollo 6 were un-manned. They were flown to test the modifications made to the Apollo capsule after the Apollo 1 disaster.



    [ 10-27-2002: Message edited by: Mr. Me ]</p>
  • Reply 10 of 15
    snoopysnoopy Posts: 1,901member
    And I always thought Apollo referred to the Greek god by that name. Learn something new every day.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    cliveclive Posts: 720member
    [quote]Originally posted by snoopy:

    <strong>And I always thought Apollo referred to the Greek god by that name. Learn something new every day.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Uh, it does, what else would it be!?
  • Reply 12 of 15
    There is also alot of speculation that apollo 11 never happened and was all a government conspiracy....



    (I don't believe it, but it seems apt to mention)
  • Reply 13 of 15
    ha!

    PC user: "apple computers are so stupid, and slow, and they lack software"

    Mac zealot: "yea but ours go to eleven, thats one louder.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    algolalgol Posts: 833member
    hahahahahahhahahahahaha....ummm...that was funny...what was the joke again?...
  • Reply 15 of 15
    urhm....this is spinal tap...their amps goto eleven...thats one louder..therefore they are better... <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
Sign In or Register to comment.