Gizmodo: pwrficient

Apple Goes To War (This Time Not With Microsoft)

Mark Wilson — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:30:00 EDT

When Apple purchased chip manufacturer P.A. Semi, the Department of Defense was worried. Why? P.A. Semi manufactures chips for ten different military systems, and has $100 million in deals with the DoD over the next four years. And the DoD never expected Apple to keep supporting the sweet, deadly chips.

But they were wrong.

According to The Register, while Apple does not plan to continue modifying/improving P.A. Semi's PowerPC-based processor architecture, Apple has employed a number of veteran P.A. Semi staff members just for the task of supplying the current chips for years to come.

To us, it seems pretty logical, as if Apple is simply honoring the existing contracts/promises of P.A. Semi. Then again, it's just such a strange move from such a painstakingly marketed company—Apple and the military certainly make for strange bedfellows. More on this point from The Register:

While the information is limited at this point, we believe the military interest in PA Semi's low-power chip may have forced Apple's hand here. Uncle Sam hates to design new missiles only to have the guts ripped out by some dude in a mock turtleneck.

Think deadly? [The Register via Valleywag]

Department of Defense Unhappy With Apple Chip Company Purchase

matt buchanan — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EDT

P.A. Semi, the chip design company Apple picked up for a song, is best known for its super-efficient PWRficient processor, a PowerPC variant. One of the big customers for the CPU is the Department of Defense, which makes use of it in programs in every major branch of the military, and they're not thrilled by the possibility of Apple ending production of the chips.

Ten defense systems, to the tune of $100 million in products over the next four years, use P.A. Semi's PWRficient processor. On Monday, P.A. Semi told its customers they were being acquired and couldn't guarantee chip supplies anymore. (Brings us back to the problem of obsolete tech in the military.)

It's possible the licensing issues could get worked out to maintain supply "on an end-of-life basis" but in that same statement, P.A. noted that their buyer (Apple) wasn't interested in their products or roadmap, just their IP and engineering skills. Which means Apple has no interest in anything their currently making or about to make, despite Blam's reasonable assumption that was the case. So it's all about their design chops, or they really are just a bargaining chip. [EETimes via GigaOM]