This is a battle between “Custom/ Need based” vs. “Open/ Mass based” approach

It seems that as they move to custom hardware solutions for these functions, they will necessarily devote less talent toward evolving these technologies in software. Won’t it be much harder for companies like Parallels to hook into these custom chips to keep the virtualization experience snappy and transparent? It seemed like the whole reason why virtualization has been so successful is the fact that the current Apple hardware is, not identical to, but very similar to the generic Windows boxes.

Great explanation! I wasn’t so much aware of the competition between Intel and AMD. Your story makes perfect sense.

One word: AMD.

Microsoft engineered themselves an essential monopoly and have fought to maintain it, letting their actual wares stagnate and become self-serving and inward looking as these are the natural qualities their priorities promote.

Intel meanwhile are engineers who take pride in their work. More to the point: they never had a monopoly grip like Microsoft. No one can clone Windows and get away with it; but AMD (and others over the years) are perfectly free to make functionally equivalent processors for the PC.

I think even Intel became frustrated with the x86 long ago. Look at how many times they’ve launched alternatives on tangents. Those have all failed to date, except for the one in the majority of shipping systems now: the Core. It may be an x86 microprocessor, but it actually borrows a lot from RISC designs like the PPC and uses microcode (if I have the right name) to actually get the internal work done: “translating” x86 into something more compatible with modern design.

AMD are a vital reason behind the Core’s existence because their Athlon series – the Opteron and Athlon 64 in particular – came from behind and clobbered Intel’s troubled Pentium 4 some years ago and gave the company a challenge. Intel actually threw the P4 to the sideline and returned to the P3 designs their team in Israel had been perfecting for laptops, using these are the core to the Core. That was a giant move for a company the like of Intel. As Apple fans we’re used to agile twists and turns, but it was quite a shock to the rest of the industry and has really slammed AMD against the ropes.

Incidentally: AMD are in such a poor position again now it’s possible that Intel may respond to the decreased pressure. Heads had to roll (and internal politics had to foment) to get from the P4 to the Core. They only really did it because their rival had them by the throat. Now that they’re enjoying the rewards of their hard decisions several years ago, they may naturally be inclined to make easier choices today which will impact on the future.

Mind, if there’s one hardware maker who are best positioned to ably side-step any such issue, I think we can guess who it is.