The Powerpc Macintosh Book

Recently, Apple, IBM, and Motorola formed an alliance to develop the next generation of computer technology, the PowerPC chip. Here is the inside story on this new technology that will put Apple ahead of Intel and Microsoft both technologically and economically. This book explains why the PowerPC chip is so important, how to upgrade, what's different from 680x0 machines, and how to migrate applications.

Jim Hoskins provides an updated look at the technical and business aspects of the revolutionary PowerPC project in an easy-to-read style. Hoskins reviews the history leading to the landmark PowerPC project, gives an overview of the project itself, and takes a look at why the PowerPC is the first credible threat to Intel.

Written by two bestselling technical authors, Inside the PowerPC Revolution takes readers inside the design and development of the exciting PowerPC technology that promises to and entertainingly written to be read, enjoyed, and understood by non-technical as well as technical readers.

The new PowerPC processor will provide a quantum leap forward in computing speed, power, and affordability. To take maximum advantage of the much greater processing speed of the PowerPC processor, programmers will want to port their application or other software to PowerPC code. This book provides the information they will need to accomplish this.

This book describes the floating-point numerics environment provided with the first release of PowerPC processor-based Macintosh computers. The book shows programmers how to create floating-pointing values and how to perform operations on floating-point values in high-level languages such as C and in PowerPC assembly language.

The creation of the Mac in 1984 catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Now veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for anyone curious about how we got to the interactive age.

Developed jointly by Apple, IBM and Motorola, this book defines the architecture requirements and minimum system requirements for a common hardware reference platform. It provides essential information for anyone developing an operating system, hardware component, or hardware platform to run on these standard systems.

An all-in-one book that gives programmers the information and tools they need to create programs to run on the PowerPC. It contains all a programmer needs to know about the new PowerPC microprocessor and the new RISC architecture. And, it also shows how to write native code and emulation operations.

This book defines the architecture requirements and minimum system requirementsfor a computer system that is designed to become an open industry standard.These requirements provide a description of the devices, interfaces, and dataformats required to design and build a PowerPC-based computer. This standard isdesigned to provide software compatibility for several operating environments.Systems built to these requirements can use industry-standard componentscurrently found in IBM-compatible and Apple® Macintosh® personal computers. Thesesystems are expected to run various future versions of operating systemsincluding Apple Mac OSTM, IBM AIXTM and PowerPCTM Editions of IBM OS/2 Warp ConnectTM,Microsoft Windows NTTM Workstation, Novell NetwareTM, and SunSoft SolarisTM. This book is the primary source of information for anyone developing a hardwareplatform, an operating system, or hardware component to be part of thesestandard systems. It describes the hardware-to-operating-system interface thatis essential to anyone building hardware platforms and provides the minimumsystem configurations that platform designers must meet when building a standardplatform. Component manufacturers require this information to producecompatible chips and adapters to use on these platforms, and software developersrequire the information on mandatory functions and documented interfaces. The architecture is intended to support a range of PowerPC microprocessor-based system implementations including portable, desktop, and server classsystems, and allows multiple operating-system implementations across a widerange of environments and functions. This enables new hardware and softwareenhancements that are necessary for the development of improved userinterfaces, higher performance, and broader operating environments.