Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.hardware:6963 comp.sys.mac.misc:6264 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!rex!ukma!seismo!uunet!mcsun!ukc!icdoc!ih From: ih@doc.ic.ac.uk (Ian Harries) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware,comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Apple backs new company to produce RISC chip Message-ID: <2582@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk> Date: 29 Nov 90 10:22:44 GMT References: <1990Nov28.195451.7400@midway.uchicago.edu> <2384.2754de1c@waikato.ac.nz> Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, London, UK. Lines: 56 In article <2384.2754de1c@waikato.ac.nz> ldo@waikato.ac.nz (Lawrence D'Oliveiro, Waikato University) writes: >I remember reading rumours in Computerworld last year (?) that Apple had >looked at the Motorola 88000 and decided it wasn't fast enough for them. > >The rumours were saying that they were seriously considering the MIPS >chips. > >I guess even MIPS aren't the hottest thing in town any more... > >Lawrence D'Oliveiro fone: +64-71-562-889 >Computer Services Dept fax: +64-71-384-066 >University of Waikato electric mail: ldo@waikato.ac.nz >Hamilton, New Zealand 37^ 47' 26" S, 175^ 19' 7" E, GMT+13:00 reprinted without permission from MICROSCOPE, "The news weekly for the microcomputer industry" (a dealer magazine published in the UK by Dennis Publishing Ltd - anyone remember the Oz trial ?) issue dated 28th November - Acorn and VLSI chip in for Apple Risc deal by Tim Bajarin in San Jose and Caroline Bassett Apple was expected to announce a joint venture yesterday with UK PC manu- facturer Acorn Computer and chip manufacturer VLSI to develop its first Risc chip. VLSI, a long-time provider af ASIC chips for Apple's machines, collaborated with Acorn to develop ARM (Acorn Risc Machine) in the late 1980s, and the new deal is likely to be based on a new version of this chip. The move caused some surprise as Apple has been assessing Risc processors from MIPS and from Motorola - which currently provides the CPU chips at the heart of all its machines - for some time. It was widely expected that its first use of Risc technology would be on a motherboard. However, according to sources close to Apple in the US, the company plans to put its first Risc chips on a new range of laser printers which will be launched at the January MacWorld, and has chosen ARM chips over Risc offerings from Motorola and MIPS because of their low cost. On a printer, the chip would serve as a raster image processor (RIP) which would speed up printing time, particularly for PostScript and TrueImage tech- nologies. It could give Apple a performance angle to challenge the rash of low- price laser printer manufacturers entering the market, with which it cannot compete on price. Some reports suggest Apple's adoption of an ARM could be a serious setback for Motorola, currently pushing to get its 88000 series of Risc chips adopted by Apple and other major manufacturers. However, a spokesman for Motorola UK suggested it was unlikely that Apple intended to replace its central CPU chip with an offering from VLSI, pointing out that Apple has always used different sources for peripheral chips while maintaining Motorola's chips as the core CPU products. "We have a very good relationship with Apple and are working on future products with it," he added. All three companies refused to comment on the deal as Microscope went to press.