New & Noteworthy: 64 Bit PowerPC Speculation; Microsoft MacBU Switches Roles

64 Bit PowerPC Speculation eWeek is reporting that, according to sources, collaboration between Apple and IBM on the new 64 Bit PowerPC processor is all but confirmed. "Sources said Apple is testing the CPU, dubbed the GPUL (GigaProcessor Ultralite), on Mac OS X-based hardware at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters and making sure the processor complies with a new bus architecture on tap for future Macs." On Tuesday, October 15th, IBM will make a presentation at the Microprocessor Forum offering further details on the new chip, based on the previously server-relegated Power 4 architecture. More.

Additionally, Reuters reports that the chip will run at 1.8 GHz under the PowerPC 970 moniker, be available in the second half of 2003 and be built in IBM's East Fishkill, New York, chip plant, a new facility that is currently doing test-runs and aims to ramp up into production on other chips later this year. More.

UPDATE: A MacFixIt forum thread harbors discussion regarding Apple's potential integration of the IBM chip.

Microsoft MacBU Switches Roles CNET reports that Microsoft has transferred the head of its Macintosh business unit to another division, leaving open the question of who will lead the company's Mac efforts. Kevin Browne, who has headed Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) for the past three years and has been on sabbatical since July, is moving to an unspecified role in the company's Xbox unit. More.

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