Apple will please missile makers by backing PA Semi's chip

Apple will indeed support PA Semi's line of PowerPC-based processors, The Register has learned. PA Semi's staff has started notifying a limited set of customers that the company's existing dual-core processor will enjoy long-term support. Apple will employ a number of old PA Semi staffers just for this task, which is good news …

[Anonymous Coward]

DoD?

There ain't no way in sweetest eventuality called life that DoD would allow compromise in its supply chain. It is not a knock down. It is a way DoD says "We trust you Mr!"

[Anonymous Coward]

iBomb?

A friend bought one of those... it seems to be some sort of fancy cell phone thingie, except it doesn't do 3G.

[E]

Bombs

Designed in California.

Assembled in China.

Delivered to the middle east.

[Antidisestablishmentarianist]

@AC

Wow, you could be a comedian. No really.

[Paul van der Lingen]

iBomb

reading the article on Safari-for-windoze, I'd say that's a good place to place the name iBomb..

[P.Nutt]

Re: Bombs

Apple seem to really put some serious work into the packaing - the shape and texture. The rich black box, the clean unobtrusive font, the side-shot photograph of the item itself on the box lid....3ft wide picture of an iBomb

And you open the gorgeous black box and lift the white cardboard inside flap, itself adorned with clean offset typeface declaring "Designed by Apple in California," and you are confronted with what is quite possible the most thoughtfully designed and pleasing packaging you can get safely securing tht all important oil relocator munition (Sorry bomb). I am sure the people the bobms wil be droping on will have a smile on their face knowing that the bomb falling on them has 82% less packing materials than the you average bomb.

Mine is the combat jacket designed by Armani.

[Anonymous Coward]

What Roadmap?

Why would you buy a company with the intention of killing off the only product they make that

a) works

b) is profitable

c) is a niche product unlikely to have lots of competitors

makes no sense

[amanfromMars]

Zappy Zippies ......Hot Embedded Sleeper Hippies?

A comment in Wow ! ! ! By chkm8 Posted Saturday 26th April 2008 18:45 GMT on the cited earlier report ... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/25/apple_pasemi_missiles_storage/ .... " And how companies such as Lockheed Martin would use product's from a company such as Apple(crap), is beyond me..." makes a lot more sense if the lead roles are reversed, as they are .... And how companies such as Apple would use product's from a company such as Lockheed Martin (crap), is beyond me.

Although it is probably definitely not beyond NeuReality Stars, who can conjure up a Broad Band of Magic from Thin AIR and a Suite of Thin Clients, Work, Rest and Playing in Vertical Cloud Stacks..... for Party Tricks and Confidential Moves to Shake and Stir into Life/Energise Virtualised Environments ........ where Skunk Works for Real Parallel VirtuOSo Allies.

And the first "straight" to Realise that, will have the World at their Feet as a Ball, which they then will be XXXXPected to be able to Control and Direct to Target and ITs Goals. Although that Course, just to make Life Simpler and more CompleXXXX, is already Plotted in whatever Direction IT Chooses to Boldly Go.

Fasten your Seat Belts, Man on AIMission from Mars and Calling All Stars.

[John]

low power tech and threats

Apple may want to get a chip they are buying to use less power, so they could get their own people to help the manufacturer with the engineering.

Plus, it's unlikely, but it could be a message to Intel: we switched to you, we can switch back if you dis us.

[Martin Norman]

Apple to produce PA Semi powered Eee PC Palmtop/Sub Notebook?

This whole story doesn't make sense. Why would Apple buy PA Semi to kill off it's PowerPC line? More likely it has bought PA Semi to start using PA Semi to create chips for it's iPhones and iPods. Apple could well use a PA Semi PowerPC chips in their own version of a Eee PC. I mean OS X previously ran on PowerPC ;). So what's not to stop Apple producing a cut down version of OS X appearing on a PA Semi powered Palmtop/Sub Notebook? Hmm...

[Anonymous Coward]

Can you get "Benson, Arizona" on iTunes?

A small number of iBombs may be defective. If you have purchased an iBomb please check the serial number. If you have purchased iBomb #20 please return it to your retailer...

[Anonymous Coward]

Problems with iCruise iSight camera

Dear Mr Jobs

I recently bought a number of iCruise Missiles and I notice that the iSight integrated camera is not quite up to the specification we expected. While it is not a vitally important factor in my choice of large-scale obliteration methods I understand that many sailors aboard launch vessels have complained that they would expect Apple to have included an HD-format missile-cam in order that they can experience the missile's flight in true large-screen luxury. Also is it possible to have the missile in any other colour except white? The Afghans think we are surrendering every time we fire off a salvo at them,

Yours,

G.W.Bush

[Anonymous Coward]

IBombs

HaHa makes me think of War Inc. I can just see Steve Job firing off Apple branded iBombs into some small 3rd world country.

"we can launch a matchstick in Milwaukee and put it up a termites ass in Tehran. our precision guidance systems never fail"...... BOOOM!

[Anonymous Coward]

Guidance Algorithm

Has to run on OSX; EULA forbids use on Windows or Linux!!

[Don't know what the penalty for contravention will be though. Any suggestions?]

[Anonymous Coward]

Targetting the iBomb

Targets designated by iSpy?

[Anonymous Coward]

OOh its so pretty

Apple iWeapons will bring world peace , as they will be so beautiful no one will want to use them . and Apple will make a mint as the armies of the world will want the latest and greatest. Its ElJobso's way of out doing BillyG's humanitarian efforts .

[heystoopid]

But

But , will an ibomb blend ?

[Chronos]

Just one component...

...of the iWar package. Death and destruction never looked so stylish.

Of course, you'll have to replace them all every two years because you won't be able to get the bloody batteries out.

[amanfromMars]

The Ball passed to the Apple Core. Great Game On.

"Apple iWeapons will bring world peace , as they will be so beautiful no one will want to use them . and Apple will make a mint as the armies of the world will want the latest and greatest. Its ElJobso's way of out doing BillyG's humanitarian efforts ." .... By Anonymous Coward Posted Friday 16th May 2008 17:30 GMT

Now that is a Sound Realistic Plan for IT, AC, and QuITe Perfect for AI Beta Global UNGovernance .... Sublime IntelAIgently Designed, Immaculately Perceived Guidance Control.

[Tommy Gilchrist]

@ Matthew Pringle

That's the first thing in months that has actually made me laugh out loud

[Anonymous Coward]

Free ipod with evrery bomb?

[Player_16]

Sorry but...

When they see the price tag, they'll realize that it may be overpriced for what they want and opt to either get the Dell version or make their own for less by going through eBay...

...but run into problems using PayPal.

[Ilgaz Öcal]

iBomb is a funny joke but learn what POWER is

Power family chips are very important, nobody can "kill" them since there are billions of them in circulation.

I hope one day at least a person in IT media using "PowerPC" or "POWER" in their article look it up at least on Wikipedia! Forget asking IBM USA/Britain or the entire POWER organisation. Go to that small electronics repair shop and ask them what PA Semiconductor and Power CPU chips mean in industry.

Next time, chat with those The Register Enterprise guys and ask them if enterprise bothers with what CPU Apple uses rather than Sparc/Xeon/Power monsters they use. Ask BMW/Mercedes if they gave up using Power chips since iPod/iMac maker moved to Intel.

[Geoff Mackenzie]

I'm waiting for the iBomb Nano

Mine's not the bulky one ...

[DV Henkel-Wallace]

All joking aside

Generally embedded hardware comes with an availability guarantee (i.e. the vendor has to keep making the same chip for you even if the state of the art has moved on). When you buy a company you can't just throw its contracts away. So Apple has to do this even if they toss PA Semi's business away -- they can just refuse to sign any new contracts to supply chips. Whether this has to do with the DoD or anybody else is no big deal.

So sorry, this isn't really news. The only real complicated question is why I would bother to read an article about something I don't think is news...