Apple's ditching of IBM for Intel is big news these days, but another interesting snippet of information is included in a recent NY Times article - SCE boss Ken Kutaragi personally tried to sell Steve Jobs on using the Cell chip in the next generation of Macs back in 2004, but the Apple chief turned the offer down because he was disappointed with the design of the chip:As it happens, Intel's was not the only alternative chip design that Apple had explored for the Mac. An executive close to Sony said that last year Jobs met in California with both Nobuyuki Idei, then the chairman and chief executive of the Japanese consumer electronics firm, and with Kenichi Kutaragi, the creator of the Sony PlayStation.
Kutaragi tried to interest Jobs in adopting the Cell chip, which is being developed by IBM for use in the coming PlayStation 3, in exchange for access to certain Sony technologies. Jobs rejected the idea, telling Kutaragi that he was disappointed with the Cell design, which he believes will be even less effective than the PowerPC.
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