Who makes the PowerPC processor?

[jamesbond007]

Hey guys! In my first day of a particular Java programming course, the instructor said that the PowerPC is made by Motorola, but I thought it was IBM? Wasn't Motorola involved with the G4 and everything prior to it? I thought IBM is now the main source for Apple's processors? Does IBM only make the G5 and Motorola develops it?

Please help me (and my professor) get the story straight. I'd like to correct him if he's wrong so that he isn't teaching wrong information to the class, but I don't want to be an @$$ either.

 

[Hacp]

I think motorolla makes some and IBM makes some (physically producing the chips), but its IBM's design isn't it?

 

[jamesbond007]

Well I was sure it was Morotola up until like 03 or 04 and then IBM took over completely. I was thinking that before it was Motorola who developed them before the G5 came out and then just used IBM's fabs to make and distribute the chips.

I could be wrong.

 

[intangir]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance, known as AIM.

IBM approached Apple with the goal of collaborating on the development of a family of single-chip microprocessors based on the POWER architecture. Soon after, Apple, as one of Motorola's largest customers of desktop-class microprocessors, asked Motorola to join the discussions because of their long relationship, their more extensive experience with manufacturing high-volume microprocessors than IBM and to serve as a second source for the microprocessors. This three-way collaboration became known as AIM alliance, for Apple, IBM, Motorola.

In 2004, Motorola exited the chip manufacturing business by spinning off its processor business as an independent company called Freescale Semiconductor.

[Apple's switch to Intel] effectively ended the AIM alliance with IBM continuing to use and evolve the PowerPC processor on game consoles and Freescale Semiconductor focusing soley on embedded devices.

(Freescale still makes G3/G4 PowerPC chips but its future PowerPC development is focused on the embedded market).

 

[xtknight]

Macs originally used the Motorola 68K, I think. Perhaps I have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[jamesbond007]

intangir, thanks for the info! That's exactly what I needed!