04-17-2010, 07:43 AM
ztirffritz wrote:
I just read another rumor article that the A4 chip in the iPad isn't an ARM CPU, but actually it is a Power CPU from PASemi that is emulating ARM. The same article also states that this is the real reason why Apple is hurding devs to use XCode development tools instead of 3rd party apps. The article suspects that yet another CPU platform change is on the horizon. If everyone is using X Code to develop their apps then a quick recompile is all that is needed. If they are using 3rd party tools (CS5, Unity, etc) then the devs will be forced to re-write the entire app.
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog...nts/24825/
The author is an imbecile. The post is entirely imbecilic speculation. He did no research whatsoever. He never bothered to Google for info on the chip.
The compiled code is ARM, not PPC. Debugging errors are ARM. Speed tests conform to native ARM execution, not emulation. Battery life matches exactly what one would expect with the Cortex A8 (ARM). And most damning of all, the X-rays and dissection indicate that it's an ARM with Samsung memory on the die just like the iPhone.
The only thing the author had right was that forcing developers to use Xcode makes it easier to switch architectures later, but that's kind of a "Duh! Who the heck didn't know that, you dumbass?" thing.