Definitely unslung

[Doug Sutherland]

The sad truth is that the best technology doesn't win, this has 
been proven over and over. Truth is the x86 architecture is 
an ugly beast and getting uglier, but the economies of scale
are huge and prior investment in development is what keeps 
it alive. Surely that is precisely why Apple switched to Intel,
the PowerPC is actually superior, so is SPARC and ARM.
Beta was better than VHS video. What isn't better than 
Windoze? Why am I running it right now? Only because 
there are still some things I can't do on linux yet. OS/2 was 
light years ahead of Windows and even RAN windows apps. 
OSX has better prospects (it's based on BSD unix!), and I 
actually think Steve Jobs made the right decision ditching 
PowerPC because Intel compatible is a dime a dozen.  

The iPhone will use ARM ... like almosy anyPhone in the
forseeable future. Perhaps this an example where better 
tech does win. There are more ARM processors running 
than Pentiums right now, just on smaller devices. The wild
thing is that ARM the company does NOT make silicon.
They sell IP ... intellectual property. They have hundreds 
of licensees of ARM IP. You can choose from well over 
a hundred different ARM processors just from Digikey 
alone. This is one reason to be interested in ARM and do
some work with it, there may come a day when ARM 
will actually bring the death of the ugly x86. Intel will have
to design something new or jump on that same bandwagon.
So will AMD. What IBM will do is anybody's guess, same
with Sun, executives at all three are surely squirming right
now.
  
  -- Doug

PS. Then there's the iRack LOL
http://www.glumbert.com/media/irack