I’ve been a relatively happy Apple convert since 2001.  That said, we’ve put up with a lot to stay with Apple computing, shifting through the change from the G4 to the G5 to Intel CPU’s, upgrading operating system and utility software, and lately putting up with the too limited selections of Apple displays and video card upgrades for the Mac Pro.  I was reading this morning a web report that said Apple was looking at moving its desktops and notebooks to ARM processors in 2013. If that’s true, I have three words for the company: “Don’t Do It!”

We will not follow the company through another CPU transition, especially one that looks like it’s a step into the past.

One of the great things about Apple’s current hardware designs is that though they are optimized for use in OS X but allow running Windows and Linux without modification. So, why would any of us want to give that up?  Would a move back into the world of ARM force us to relive the early days of OS X when if we needed to run Windows we had to run it under performance-sucking emulation; or, if that wasn’t good enough, force us to keep and maintain a separate Windows box?  And even if the ARM processors ran native Intel x86 code, why would I want to risk dealing with incompatibilities or possibly take a performance hit I wouldn’t have to suffer through with a native Intel CPU?  (Note: Yes, that argument can also be made for running AMD CPU’s, which I used almost exclusively in the days when I hand-built my PC’s.  The difference here is that AMD is been on the block for a while and ARM hasn’t, so the risks running each are not the same.)

Apple likes to run a “closed shop”, and so far, that has largely worked to their advantage.  But changing out CPU’s in their notebook or desktop lines is a move that doesn’t seem to make sense, especially considering Intel’s continuing march into higher performing CPU’s.  If I had wanted to stay in the Apple-past, I would not have followed the company into today’s Apple future.  It’s been hard enough as it is.