Power Consumption of Information Services is Apple’s Future Competitive Advantage

April 30, 2009 Dave Ohara

There is a lot of news out there about Apple hiring chip designers. The WSJ.com has their version.

In Major Shift, Apple Builds Its Own Team to Design Chips

By YUKARI IWATANI KANE and DON CLARK

Apple Inc. is building a significant capability to design its own computer chips, a strategy shift that the company hopes will create exclusive features for its gadgets and shield Apple's work from rivals.

The Silicon Valley trend-setter has been hiring people from many different segments of the semiconductor industry, including engineers to create multifunction chips that are used in cellphones to run software and carry out other chores.

Apple could use the internally developed chips to sharply reduce the power consumption of its hit iPhone and iPod touch devices, and possibly add graphics circuitry to help its hardware play realistic game software and high-definition videos, people familiar with its plans say.

There is WSJ blog with more specifics on the chip designers.

There’s been buzz about Apple’s interest in microprocessor designers ever since the company bought the Silicon Valley startup P.A. Semi last year. But there’s ample evidence that the company’s hiring of chip-heads started much earlier, and is continuing. The question: what is Apple going to do with these guys?

One goal of CEO Steve Jobs is pretty clear–developing powerful, energy-efficient microchips for its iPhone, iPod touch and other future devices. Postings by Apple’s recent hires on the Web site LinkedIn include plenty of people who previously worked at cellphone chip makers, such as Texas Instruments and Qualcomm. There are plenty of references to power reduction in Apple’s job postings–spanning both hardware and software technologies–on its Web site and those gathered by search sites such as Indeed.com. Typical language: “The Iphone software team is looking for great engineers to help us achieve our ambitious battery life goals for the iPhone and iPod touch.”

The Apple staff has reached the point where software and hardware need to work better together to achieve higher energy efficiencies. Power consumption is one of the biggest differentiators now, and I would bet Apple knows if it shares its hardware innovations on the open market, their competitors will be able to reverse engineer how to reduce power consumption.

Steve Jobs being the ultimate showman wants to tell how long you can use his devices vs. the competition before you plug it in.

The only competitor who has the resources to compete against Apple is Microsoft, but given their monopoly status Microsoft has a hard time creating proprietary closed solutions. Whereas Apple can hire the best and brightest chip designers to drive new power consumption performance.

One engineer I remember from my Apple days is Mike Dhuey. Here is what Mike’s been up to.

Focus on alumni:
Michael Dhuey

When he was a boy growing up in the ’70s, Michael Dhuey had an idea that computers could be used for more than crunching numbers and playing games.

Little did he know that he would help create tools that would change the way people live.

Dhuey has been at the forefront of several computer breakthroughs. During his 25 years at Apple Computing, he worked on the Lisa Project, which laid the foundation for the Macintosh. He also developed hardware for the little tool that’s become omnipresent: the iPod.

Now a technical lead at Cisco Systems, he’s a big part of the team that has produced TelePresence, a videoconferencing system that’s like a sci-fi dream from the ’60s. He was a finalist for Design News magazine’s Engineer of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

…

“That’s one thing I always loved about Apple,” Dhuey says. “The company is willing to spend more on research and development than many places are. A lot of the projects fail, but there is always something of value that comes out of them.

“And in many ways, the Apple of that time was the last refuge of the true computer designer. Hardware and software—we invented it all.”

To be more efficient requires thinking about how the software and hardware work together. A performance per watt gets you thinking down this path.

Apple is thinking this way in consumer devices. Who is thinking this way in the enterprise data centers?

Move to Cloud Computing, Saves 80% Operating Cost

April 11, 2009 Dave Ohara

Here is a blog entry about a guy who thinks about green a lot and discusses his move to Amazon Web Services’s EC2. He discusses servers, green data centers, and how he saves 80% of his operating cost by moving to the cloud.

Cloud Computing: Truly Green Data Centers

Category: Conservation, Save Electricity, Technology – Tom Harrison – 10:54 am

There has been a lot written about how much power is consumed by the computers that drive the Internet. A lot has been written about “green” data centers. But I think there’s a far more significant trend when, combined with more efficient computers and data centers, will make a 10x or greater reduction in power demand possible: cloud computing.

Data centers, brown or green are huge buildings — they are truly incredible places, with thousands of computers owned by multiple companies. I have negotiated the contracts for “co-location” in a number of data centers: you pay for floor space, bandwidth, and power and get a facility that has great connectivity, power that never goes out, and a carefully cooled environment for the computers. This blog, and most other websites are located at such data centers. Little sites like this one share a “slice” of a server with a number of others. Large sites like the ones we have at the Internet companies I have worked at have our own computers and other equipment “co-located” in data-centers.

Here is his bottom line.

The Virtual Green Cloud is Here

So look at cloud computing from an overall energy standpoint — we use about 80% less server power, thus need that much less cooling and that many fewer computers. Add virtualization and we use even fewer physical resources so the “embedded energy” of the hardware is even less.

The only losers in this whole new paradigm: the data centers (at least the ones who haven’t gone to cloud computing on their own) and the computer manufacturers.

Solar panels on the roof, more efficient cooling, and other “green data center” features are great improvements. But by enabling us to stop wasting power and resources our business, which is just one of many thousands like it, will save money and be green in a cloud computing environment.

Google’s Ben Jai, Discussing 12V integrated UPS Server and Other Features

April 6, 2009 Dave Ohara

DataCenterPulse’s Mark Thiel (VMware) and Dean Nelson (Sun) have a video post on the Google Server shown at Google’s Efficient Data Center Summit.

HP’s Satjiv Chahil says Evaluating Google Android for Netbooks, But Apple May Have the Coolest Netbook

April 5, 2009 Dave Ohara

I missed this WSJ article on Mar 30 by HP’s Satjiv Chahil.

Moving Android to netbooks will be an uphill effort because the software does not run popular PC programs. That is one reason that Windows now runs on the majority of the low-end laptops, even though early models used the Linux operating system.

But H-P, the largest maker of PCs and a major Windows partner, has programmers testing Android for a potential netbook, said people briefed on the matter, though they said the company hasn't decided yet whether to move ahead with the project.

"We want to assess the capability Android may have for the computer and communications industries, and so we are studying it," said Satjiv Chahil, a vice president of H-P's PC division.

The article discusses the ARM chip.

The notion of Android-based netbooks also could have sizeable repercussions for chip makers. Intel Corp., which helped popularize the term netbooks, has dominated the category with a microprocessor called Atom that can run software designed for PCs. Android, by contrast, is designed to work on chips that use processor designs licensed by ARM Holdings PLC.

ARM and licensees that make chips for cellphones—including Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc.—are betting that Android could help them move those products into the new netbook market, too.

But remembering when I used to work with Satjiv at Apple, got me thinking, can’t Apple use the ARM chip in Netbook?

Another big use of the ARM chip is the iPhone. What do you think? Don’t you think Steve Jobs and the Apple gang have a Netbook prototype based on the iPhone OS.

Imagine a Netbook with full day battery life, 3G network, keyboard, phone, wifi, and iPhone apps. This device could probably be always on like an iPhone. With a bluetooth headset you can leave the Apple Netbook in your carrycase.

What do you think?

Here is a blog entry on this iPhone netbook idea.

ARM Netbooks Could Make OS X the Mobile OS to Rule Them All

Tim Nash - 2009.02.24 (revised)

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Freescale and Qualcomm have already announced high-end ARM chips aimed at the netbook market. ARM chips are much cheaper and require a lot less power than Intel's Atom.

According to Freescale's marketing director, ARM netbooks should offer an 8 hour battery life. As the chips won't need a fan or heat sink, they can have a much thinner case, which should appeal to Apple's designers. It also makes sense to build them with flash memory, which again helps the battery life. Sample chips are available now, and volume production will start next quarter, so Apple could have its ARM netbook ready in time for the iPhone refresh.

iPod touch with a Keyboard

Look on these netbooks as a larger iPod touch with a hinged keyboard. At twice the length and width they would still fit into a large pocket. With a 7" screen the resolution would be 960 x 640 - four times the screen space of the iPod touch.

At $15 for Freescale's ARM chip in quantity, Apple should enjoy iPod profits rather than the usual thin PC or netbook margins. Freescale thinks Linux
netbook prices could be around $200 but, with a wide range of apps, Apple could charge as much as the Windows netbooks and start at $399. These could include more memory than ARM-based rivals, because Apple buys flash memory comparatively cheaply.

It is easy to see Apple's advantages when comparing with one of the top selling Amazon Windows-based netbooks, which typically sell for $300 to $400 - roughly the same price as the 32 GB iPod touch. Microsoft will soon be reducing support for Windows XP, although it will continue to be sold on netbooks.

Look at the rumors on this.

Apple Netbook Rumors

Apple Looking at OLED for New High End Netbook

SmartHouse's David Richards reports:

"As forecast 9 months ago on the SmartHouse web site Apple is close to launching a touch screen Netbook type computer according to new sources in Asia. We can also reveal that Apple has been exploring the use of flexible OLED display technology for both a screen and a keyboard....

"Insiders have told SmartHouse that Apple is using a new version of their PC software which includes a mix of iPhone and Mac Book capabilities and that recently they held discussions with Sony about licensing OLED technology into notebooks....

"...sources have told SmartHouse that Apple had a change of mind after they improved the capability of their touch screen software and because they had been able to get new patents that allows them to deliver new features to a 'small notebook'"

Link: Apple Looking at OLED for New High End Netbook

Wintek to Supply Touch Panels for Apple Netbook

DigiTimes Yvonne Yu reports:

"Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple's new netbook, and shipments will start in the third quarter this year, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.

"...Wintek added that no shipment schedule has been worked out yet, but shipments are likely to begin in the second half of the year.

"Quanta Computer will be the maker of Apple's new netbook, the Commercial Times report said...."

Link: Wintek to Supply Touch Panels for Apple Netbook, Says Paper (subscription required)

Apple Plans to Launch Netbook with Touch Screen

Dow Jones reports:

"Apple Inc. is planning to launch a netbook computer with a touch screen monitor as early as the second half of this year, two people close to the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

"The mini laptop computers will likely have monitor screens that are between 9.7-inches and 10-inches, one person, who declined to be named, said.

"Another person said other specifications and functions are still under evaluation...."

Link: Apple Plans to Launch Netbook with Touch Screen - Dow Jones Sources

'iPod Touch HD' Will Have 10" Screen

Silicon Valley Insider's Dan Frommer reports:

"More details about Apple's reportedly forthcoming Internet tablet, which we've been calling the 'iPod touch HD' for a few months: Dow Jones sources say Apple plans to sell 'a netbook computer with a touch screen monitor' with a screen between 9.7 inches and 10 inches. Dow Jones also reports that the device will launch 'as early as the second half of this year.'

"That's consistent with what we've read so far, and roughly consistent with what we think Apple should try to sell...."

Link: Apple's 'iPod Touch HD' Will Have 10-Inch Screen: Report

Scale Down Mac OS X or Scale Up iPhone OS?

ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says:

"DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwan-based Wintek will start supplying Apple with touch-sensitive panels during Q3 of this year for a new product - but what sort of product will that be?...

"The way I see it is that Apple has two ways it could go. The mainstream thinking is that Apple will go for a netbook of some sorts in order to take advantage of the current craze for netbooks....

"The alternative would be so form of scaled-up iPhone (either with without the phone part). An iTablet perhaps... likely to be powered by a tweaked version of the iPhone OS...."

Link: What Should Apple Do - Scale Down Mac OS X or Scale Up iPhone OS?

Apple's Netbook Will Be a Folding iPhone

Computerworld's Mike Elgan says:

"A rumor is circulating, based on Taiwanese newspapers that cover laptop and cell phone components and manufacturing, that Apple will ship some kind of touch-screen netbook this summer.

"The professional speculators are rallying around two distinct visions for this netbook. The first is a standard netbook with screen and keyboard. The second is essentially a tablet, which has been dubbed the 'iPod Touch HD.'

"I think both these visions are wrong, or both right, depending on how you look at it...."

Link: Apple's So-called Netbook Will Be a Folding iPhone

Why is this important to the data center audience? The more netbooks out there, the more data and apps will be in the data centers.

Google’s Container Data Center Video Tour

April 1, 2009 Dave Ohara

This post is updated on Apr 4 with a link to Rich Miller’s video of the video. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the video.

At Google Efficiency Data Center Summit multiple videos where shared. The full video will be part of the youtube event, but here is summary of a few parts of the video.

The summary of best pratices is shown below.