Actually, the G3 is the name of the chip (its official name is the PowerPC 750). G3 I presume stands for third generation PPC, even though its really not the third generation at all. G3 is also the name of a line of Apple computers, based on the G3 processor.
As far as I know, all G3's are built on .25u process. They're new enough that IBM/Motorola never bothered to ramp them on .35u.
My hopes are not at all up for Apple. I don't own Apple stock. Obviously Apple is not going to take any serious market share from Microsoft. The only reason that I brought the G3 up at all was to refute your theory that IBM's .25u process is flawed. To the best of my knowledge, IBM has no problem yielding the G3. FYI, if I recall correctly the G3 is about the same size at .25u as the K6 (69mm^2).
I do admire Macs for their superior technology, however. They are considerably more powerful than PCs, and quite a bit easier to use. Obviously, the problem for Macs is lack of software, and miserable business strategy. One particular area they've neglected is gaming software--since much of their market is educational/children, you'd think they'd wake up and start subsidizing developers. As PC's become an increasingly common gaming platform in the home (at the expense of TV-based systems), Apple is in danger of losing more ground in one of its core markets. Plus, with the FPU of a PPC and a good Voodoo2-based 3D card, games like Quake would rock. |
