Reader Feedback on Crazy Idea Number 528: Apple Mac OS X on Power Systems
November 29, 2010 Timothy Prickett Morgan
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The admittedly crazy idea I had to have IBM step in and offer to re-port Mac OS X back to Power Systems and make some arrangement with Apple to sell the operating system on Power7-based servers now that Apple has killed off its own X64-based Xserve products did not meet with universal enthusiasm with readers of The Four Hundred. But not everyone thought it was completely nuts. –TPM You are right. This is one crazy idea. Unfortunately, having IBM put out an Xserve replacement using a PowerPC processor is just plain dumb. Apple went to all of the trouble of migrating not only its hardware base, but the operating systems as well to the Intel platform. Why would Apple allow IBM to manufacture something that is a step backward on the evolutionary scale? To me this idea is a non-starter. –Tom Maybe Apple got rid of Xserve to make room for iServe? Apple could buy the IBM i line, paying for it out of petty cash. It’s ironic that I got my first Mac so I could learn QSHELL commands. It proves that there is no wrong reason to get a Mac. I’m doing Java and all the associated stuff at non-AS400 shops and really enjoying it but I do like to revisit the AS/400 by reading your articles. I like reading your work on both IT Jungle and The Register. –Greg Tim: Another great idea to promote IBM i. How do we get the iManifest people into this idea? Keep the great IBM i ideas coming! –Rick An Oracle/Sun deal seems like a better fit. Oracle can provide the hardware and sales channels. Mac OS X Server would run great on the Sun Fire X4170. Steve and Larry are pretty close. –Juan Well, Apple bought PA-Semi, which had a Power license, so it is not that crazy, only a little improbable since Dobberpuhl and others left the company. So I’m not holding my breath. (And I in fact suspect Jobs’ vendetta for past injustice by IBM/PowerPC.) –Michiel I love your idea of running Mac OS X on Power servers, but is there any chance of this really happening? –Bruce I think the chance of Mac OS X running on IBM’s Power Systems line is pretty small. But it is also non-zero, and therefore it is worth pointing this out to Tom Rosamilia, who now runs a combined Power Systems and System z unit as its general manager. This is another option to peddle on Power7-based boxes, and one that does not threaten AIX or IBM i in the slightest. I hope to speak to Rosamilia soon and talk to him about this and other things. –TPM RELATED STORIES Crazy Idea Number 528: Apple Mac OS X on Power Systems Let’s Take a Deep Dive Into IBM’s System Sales in Q3 Mad Dog 21/21: No Bounce in Big Blue’s Belly Power Systems Not Quite Rebounding Yet in Q3 Apple’s iOS 4: That’s Exactly What I Was Thinking! IBM’s Transitive Buy Presents Interesting Server Options Apple Goes Quad Core in Xserves and Mac Pros Apple: Unix for People, Unix for the Masses Crazy Idea Number 527: Should IBM Buy Apple? Two Crazy iSeries Ideas for 2004
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