Recent rumors indicate that Apple may be switching from their current method of using Intel x86 CISC (Complex instruction set computing) CPUs to using ARM (Advanced RISC Machines) (RISC stands for Reduced instruction set computing). Past all the acronyms, this could be a very exciting leap forward for the world of computing. RISC CPUs have a more efficient use of computing power to accomplish the same things that a CISC computer can.
In recent years ARM computers have been getting more and more popular in tech communities, most notably the Raspberry Pi, everyone's favorite $40 computer the size of a credit card. The Pi, however, isn't meant to act as a full desktop computer, and instead is angled more at hobbyists and small scale applications to accomplish tasks.
Personally, I think that the success of a Mac computer with an ARM CPU could change the way that we look at computers in the near future. First off, the success of an ARM CPU in the new Mac computers would mean that the CPUs would be viable for companies like AMD (or even Intel) to start producing. The biggest obstacle between where we are now and this ideal situation of ARM/CISC commercial availability is the widespread usage of the Windows Operating System. In the ideal free market space, the success of ARM would create a vacuum for both existing and new operating systems to fill, like Debian, Ubuntu, or even Raspbian, the operating system designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi. Chromium, the Google Chrome flavor for ARM based computers makes this even more viable, porting everyone's favorite web browser to a whole new variety of operating systems and processors.
Honestly, I never really got the preference that people have for Mac OS. As a lifelong Windows user, the idea of having an operating system that is so black box is mind-boggling. Recently, however, I've been getting more and more used to the idea of a user-centered OS that just makes everything easier to deal with. It's the same reason I've had an iPhone for a long time now, and couldn't switch to a Samsung even if I tried (although I'm ready to have a new discussion with the Google Pixel). The past popularity of Linux operating systems before the rise of Intel proves that this kind of world can exist, and the standardization that has taken place over time for file types and computing programs means that we'll at least have some common ground to operate on.
I'm excited to see what can happen from this. And I guess in the end, nothing really changing is also a possibility.
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