Apple to use x86 chips by 2004, says researcher

RESEARCHER, GIGA Information Group reckons Apple will start to use x86 chips by the end of next year, according to a report at Mac Central.

Giga says Apple will be forced to go the x86 route because of the company's "continued technical disadvantage". More details of the researcher's reasoning are not forthcoming, and it seems to have ignored IBM's announced new Apple-friendly Power PC offering.

Giga also decides not to paint a pretty picture of the forthcoming year's activities in the high-tech sector. It reckons actvity in the tech market will remain flat well into next year. IT budgets in the US may grow by around three per cent next year it suggests and times will be "very tough for IT vendors".

Maybe it reckons Apple needs to be seen to pile on the megahertz in order to woo potential customers to the platform, as times remain hard. In doing so it fails to acknowledge Apple's unique selling point is in fact its uniqueness.

We'll take their finding with a pinch of salt

News source: The Inq