laccmiester

I was wrong. How very sad. We'll have to wait and see what I do in terms of a new computer. I have a spare monitor lying around, maybe a mac mini is the way to go till things sort themselves out. In the end that will probably be cheaper than an AMD box, especially since I have a bunch of mac programs.

My thoughts. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about you can ignore this or check macrumors.com to hear more.)

Four possibilities appear likely to me:
1. The initial cnet and wsj reports are simply bad journalism.
2. The initial reports got the intel apple deal right, but its over something important which is not CPUs (Wimax etc.) or apple is going to make wintel boxes too (can't emphasize how unlikely this seems).
3. Apple is really going x86 despite all the zillion and one reasons not to. (x86 is a dying architecture, there is nowhere left for it to go. The new dual core systems are a tacit admission of this fact; if they could make chips faster at the rate they need to to keep selling them they wouldn't be doubling them up.)
4. Because x86 is dying and it has real room for expansion, Intel is going PPC and plans to supply to apple.

The first two options have to do with journalist failure, something out of my control. Therefore, why consider it? (I think journalistic failure is by far the most likely thing to have happened.)

If its not journalistic failure only 3 and 4 are left. As you can tell 3 is not appealing to me, either on the plausibility level or on a personal level. x86 really doesn't have a lot of growing room, and if you are going x86; why intel and intel only? The immense new shift that would be needed by apple developers after the already traumatizing shift to OS X seems like a really bad idea. Recompiling and/or rewriting pretty much every piece of software is going to be needed to function on new x86 machines. It took apple long enough to get people to port everything to OS X, why make another change now, especially when your supplier is actually progressing clock speed wise faster than the people you are allegedly switching to. Unless IBM has indicated to apple that they are going to cut off their supply or they are never going to get them a laptop capable chip I don't see why apple would re-alienate all the developers. So a switch to x86 seems outright dumb to me.

Only 4 remains to consider. Initially I thought that this idea was impossible. However after a thorough consideration of the facts it gains an element of plausibility. This is the most radical suggestion of the bunch by far, and since intel is the long time enemy of the PPC it seems downright nutty. However, the game consoles have fled x86 for the PPC. The reason for this, x86 is restrictive and unable to reach the massive performance which console gamers desire in the next generation. This has got to hurt intel. I imagine it feels like getting punched in the nose. PPC in a lot of ways appears to be the future; from the cell to the power itself the PPC line has a lot of potential. If intel really has hit the outer reaches of x86 performance it may be looking for a way out. Its way forward was the itanium, and it is effectively dead. Intel basically created a 64 bit CPU to compete with AMD, there may not be a lot of options for intel to take its microprocessors to the next level. Going PPC could solve all of intel's problems with having no future for its chips without requiring a massive new architecture design effort on its part. Apple remains frustrated with IBM and Freescale, and it is just as much party to the intellectual property that makes up the PPC architecture as they are. In theory it can let someone else start up manufacturing and development. AIM (apple IBM motorola) seems to have fractured and I think a PPC split could be feasible. So what happens? Apple announces tomorrow it licensed PPC to intel and plans to use their processors in future macs. Intel says PPC is the future of desktop computing, with 80% market share PC manufacturers have no choice but to start developing. A surprising fact creeps in right here which in my mind adds a new level of plausibility: apple has a stockpile of macs. This is highly unusual. One would assume if they were really moving to x86 they would never be able to move the stock. Apple remains the only provider of PPC based PCs. If (and its one hell of an if) intel is moving to the PPC demand for current systems by all sorts of developers ought to skyrocket. What better way for apple to capitalize on this fact than by overstocking macs right before the announcement is made? Apple stockpiling macs on purpose fits none of the other scenarios but four. It might just be that they aren't selling well, but apple stockpiling is exactly what would be expected just prior to an announcement of intel PPCs. The puzzle fits together well. News articles wouldn't be wrong. Apple wouldn't be thrusting more change based woes on its developers and users (not to mention rendering all current products obsolete). And finally, intel would have the way out it might desperately need; and it wouldn't involve nearly the risk of failure that itanium incurred.

So yeah, if you like conspiracy theories, 4 is the way to go. "Apple as intel's proving ground that PPC is the future." Sounds great to me. Still seems almost insane to consider it, it seems so farfetched. If the rumors are true, 4 seems least insane. Somehow I never did work in Transitive Technologies emulation claims. Pity. Needless to say they were as exhaustively considered as anything else in here. So as a 13 year mac user, there is my analysis of the situation. I'm pretty sure we really got our first mac in '91. I remember playing reader rabbit on it. That old powerbook 145 still runs too. Wild. Those of you who aren't mac nuts forgive me, and those of you who are forgive me too. We'll see in 11 hours how my theories pan out.

I forgot to mention one fact (aside from ramoth4's additions). The stated timeline in the articles makes no sense if apple is switching to x86. The high end macs should get the new chips first not second if apple is switching architectures. The Low end macs getting the new chips first would suggest that the higher level of development represented by IBM G5s will still be useful in 2007, which ought not to be true if apple is going x86.

I had a post. It dissapeared. Literally I wrote it and now its gone. Oh well, summary mode:

I'm frustrated. Its been way too long since I posted last. I am probably insane. I have homework when I really shouldn't. I'm struggling with it. It is late (the homework) and getting later by the minute. I haven't had enough sleep.

In other words business is going forward as usual.

Well, as usual I have failed to update this for a massive period of time. Why stop now? I don't know. Call it a fifth sense. I just got done spending all day checking, cleaning, and organizing resistors for the JN accelerator. I made slightly over $30 and smell strongly of cleaning alcohol. I suppose I should get studying for some exam or another. Enjoy yourselves gentle readers, maybe I'll actually do something serious over fall break, like replace my website.

The song that just came on reminded me to mention the fact that I am now on Focalyn which is an ADD drug. I think it is actually helping me. After a week or so my appetite came back and the headaches mostly stopped. I go back to see the psychiatrist Tuesday. Anyway, yeah....

Well, I doubt that anyone reads this anymore, but here I am writing in it again. I'm at school. Schoolwork is time consuming and difficult, but what was I expecting. Took my first two tests, an 85 and an 86, not too shabby. I am mad, they collect way more homework than they did in high school, a fact which I was lead by my high school to believe would be the reverse. My math and physics teachers check for correctness every problem of every homework.

Oh well, Notre Dame is truly the most awesome place in the universe. I have a really sweet quad in fisher hall, which is really cool. Right by the second best dining hall in the country. Anyway, I best be going. Maybe I'll actually start writing on a regular basis if someone replies to this.

I'm in St. Louis. Nice city. We visited SLU (Saint Louis University). Very nice school. Had dinner at a good Italian place. We're in a nice hotel. Free broadband. We're headed up through Kansas city sometime or other. From there its mostly north to Omaha on the banks of the Platte and the Missouri.

Spent last night in a halfway decent Motel. Could have been a lot better. Tonight's place is awesome though. Finally got the cat to eat something tonight. Dog was ok except for a thunder storm when we were at SLU. We're in two cars for those who are curious. Also we left more than a day late (tuesday afternoon) because of crap with my dad signing out of work.

Miss all of you and all that. I'll see ili on the 17th. Rest of you, we'll figure something out at some point. Driving sucks. Cars suck. Sharing a bed sucks. (Fold out sofa means I don't need to tonight.) It'll be nice to get there and then settle in before school. Then going to school will rock. Move in day is the 20th.

I got my schedule for school. Chem 125, Physics 151, Math 165, Honors Seminar, and Honors Philosophy. 18 credit hours. I'm gonna get off now. Call me sometime. 495-7506. Area code 706. Past nine central time is better. TTYL.

Well, we leave tomorrow afternoon. After a dentist appointment. How fitting. Not much else to say. Maybe I'll post something from the road or something. I don't know. We had a cool soccer blowout. Followed by Robin Williams standup at Sasa's. I'm gonna miss her (and all my missed chances). I'm also going to miss a lot of other people, forgive accidental omissions: John, Mark, Greg, Linda, Eileen, Mitchell, Dave, Stuart, Evan, the apple representative at compusa, Carlos, Charles, Coach H, and Bob D'zio. I'm sure if I forgot you I didn't mean to. Come see the college world series; we can hang out, have some steak, wrap ourselves in lunchmeat and bungee jump off of an overpass. You know, fun stuff. Better yet, come see me at Notre Dame. You can do cool shit while I study my ass off. Excited yet? You should be. If you need a school to go too, its awesome. Yeah, it rocks. I'm gonna go pack the car. You can come along. We only have room for twentyone passengers. Oh yeah, if anyone knows where the hell Kevin Wessel is and how to reach him, tell me. Kevin is awesome. I want him to come on my crazy cross country roadtrip. I want to see all 50 states in one summer. You can all come; it'll be like woodstock, only weirder and with less drugs. Yeah, and moving faster I guess. Cause even woodstock didn't hit all 50 states in one summer. I better end this now before I really humiliate myself. Bye.

Shockingly, its me. How about that?
(The goatee is less lopsided than it appears.)

Well, my dad got a formal job offer. We are in fact moving to Omaha Nebraska. Movers come next Wednesday-Friday (28th-30th). My family will rent a house until one can be found to buy. We won't get the stuff that got shipped till we buy a house which will most likely be a couple months. This means all my college stuff needs to drive with us to Omaha and thence to Notre Dame. Its quite a drive to Omaha. Approximately 1135 miles in fact. Mapquest estimates about 18 hours of solid driving. This translates to a full two days on the road at least. This is with nine people, a dog, and a cat as well as all the necissary clothing and other non perishables for a few months and my college stuff. Whee! A couple of weeks after arriving I will once more depart, this time for Notre Dame. I hope (for their sake) all my sibling don't have to come. I think they may have started school already. This is gonna be one crazy month

I'm in Pittsburgh. I saw a kickass concert the other day. Ben Folds is a really awesome live preformer. He had the audience singing choral accompanyment to his music. He also did a song specifically for Pittsburgh. Years ago he had a rather unpleasant experience illegally climbing mount Washington (a smallish mountain in the middle of Pittsburgh). He and a bandmate affectionately named it Mount Motherfucker. He did a kickass improv song done with the jam band guster featuring the refrain "This is for those who died climbing Mount Motherfucker". It was cool.

We still haven't finalized our moving plans or our return to Georgia. We may still move or not. We were supposed to find out friday which way it would go. We're really nervous. We'll probably start the treck back to Georgia on Tuesday. That could change though. Everyone is on edge. We've had a great set of visits though. We went to the Pokanoes for a week and then came here where we've been for a little over a week.

I got two very important peices of info recently. Next year I am going to live in room 102 of Fisher hall, right next to the south dining hall. My roommate is John Donnavin (My appologies if the spelling is wrong, my dad just read me the letter over the phone). I got my AP scores. I made a 5 (highest score) on all four of them (Calc AB, Micro Econ, US History, and Literature). I am really psyched about it.

Anyway, I better get going. Leave me some messages if you get the chance. Sorry I don't have more time. Hope everyone is doing well.

Been quite a summer so far. Lot of stuff happened. Still don't know if we are gonna move. Been awfully busy falling for a nice girl who leaves in three days for a trip and I might never see again if we move. She's been hanging out at my house a lot. Registered for classes. Got my summer reading list. I prolly should work on that. Read Dune again. Got a Gamecube. I guess there's nothing else to insert randomly in here. Things always seem to end right when they were about to get going. Funny isn't it? Its late, I should get some sleep.

As the title suggests, I graduate high school tomorrow. I'm not as excited as people seem to expect me to be. See, all the cool stuff happened already. I haven't been going to class for more than a week. I got accepted to the college I'm going to back in early December. I knew I was going there in late April. I had all the goodbyes already. So it comes down to this day packed chock full of rather boring events which are supposedly enjoyable. The only significant part of the event, the receipt of the diploma doesn't actually occur till Tuesday for arcane administrative reasons. I wish we could just keep it simple. I have to go to a minimum of three different events. I may also go to a party. I don't understand why the school needs to have a mandatory senior breakfast, a mandatory baccalaureate mass combined with an awards ceremony, and a mandatory graduation ceremony combined with a prayer service. I mean, thats three 1-3 hour events, and they are separated by like 4-5 hours each. I guess its just not such a big deal for me as for everybody else. So sue me. I'll show up and not spoil it for everyone else. If it were up to me though there would be a lot less hullabaloo and crap. Righto, thats all for tonight. Stay tuned for crazy up-beat smile time variety posts of doom. (Any noun can be improved by adding the phrase "of doom" to it.)

What do you think about my family heading off to Nebraska? My dad is going out there for a job interview in a couple of weeks. If he gets it it'll be weird going off to college with a brand new house and city to leave behind. The job thing is nothing definite, but its the biggest lead I have as yet for where my family is going.

So, school is pretty much over, although turning in my remaining projects might not be a bad idea. Especially as commencement is Sunday. Two more AP exams coming up. Then hopefully a job. Life is cool.

Seriously though, Omaha? I've never considered what it would be like to be a resident of a place I've never even really lived. Coming home to a place where I know no one, weird. I might just go to my grandparents's or something. Maybe chase friends across the country one summer.

That confusing song keeps ringing in my head though. Life is uncertain these days it seems, Counting Crows maybe has it right. "I think you better turn your ticket in get your money back at the door." Of course I can't figure out what they mean, or what I mean. This post has no thread or meaning. I have half a mind to delete it. I guess I'll just stop it and let the other half have its way and post it. Nebraska...

I am taking the AP Micro exam tomorrow. I was very very paranoid about it till this afternoon. I took the multiple choice portion of a practice exam and graded it myself. I got 56/60 right. I lost one point for the four I missed. So I got a 55. Thats totally insane. Thats like a four right there, forget the points I'll get from the free response. I need to get like a third of the free response right to get a five (the highest you can get). So, my worry lever dropped amazingly. I need a five to get credit for it. I'll probably study a bit more, but it seems as though I'll be fine and get college credit.

Now I've gotta worry about the marine biology test on friday (with the associated project due with it). I have to make a dichotomous key for 30 kinds of fish which actually works. I also have to know like 95 marine organisms by common and scientific names. So, I better get on that.

Well, after I got bored with my site and tore it down I didn't have a place to post an occasional random thing. So, inspired by 'Ili, I got this. I figure its easy and cheap. Also has the benefit of staying here whenever my site is in the process of reconstruction (which is officially its status).

Well, thats all for today. I'll keep you posted... or maybe I won't. I'll leave you haning... or maybe I won't. Whoa, I feel messed up. Check out goats.com and feel the love... keep feeling it... yeah your getting the hang of it now... oh yeah.