osx has been running on Intel processors for five years...
It's official: Mac OSX will run on Intel processors soon, because Intel has the best processor roadmap by far. Ted Leung has more info and links.
The good news is that we'll have faster laptops soon - and also that OSX might as well run on PC hardware, why not? This would be interesting...
The bad news is that Intel will get closer to monopoly. But maybe this will prompt other chip vendors to improve theirs, or sell low-cost compatible processors for the low end. Hopefully, if it's not too late.
The one thing that amazed me when switching was the very low standby power consumption of the PowerPC chips, which translates to very fast startup, just by opening the lid of my Powerbook. I hope this works with the next chips as well. Other than that, I don't care much about what's inside, as long as it's fast, quiet and runs for a long time on batteries.
Here are some more links:
- Step Away from the RD Field: Intel Inside, by Derrick Story, who notes that OSX will probably run on Intel chips before Microsoft's Longhorn...
- DON'T PANIC by Giles Turnbull
- Apple announces transition to Intel chips on the Mac News Network