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- geminitojanus, on 10/11/2007, -3/+76Some notes before we run off with the ARM info:
1) All newer ARMs have some kind of "Trusted" computing mode. That doesn't mean _anyone_ actually uses them, but it's there. It's yet to be seen if Apple's actually using the trusted computing extensions, or if they are, to what extent they are. Remember, all new Macs have them too, but Apple's not using trusted computing in those machines either.
2) The Samsung ARM seems to be the right one. It doesn't seem to have very much in the way of bells and whistles, but it does have a rather nice multimedia controller which Apple might be leveraging to help with some of the 3D rendering (as it doesn't seem to have a hardware graphics adapter).
3) Like Trusted Computing extensions, pretty much all newer ARMs of adequate size have Jazelle, the hardware Java VM accelerator. However, Apple is likely /not/ using it. It requires licensing of a lot of specialized software, and Apple's a(n) (Objective) C shop.
4) Everyone's looking in the wrong direction at the iPhone. We should be looking to see how they control that Multi-Touch screen, whether they've got some custom silicon hidden somewhere or if they've got an Analog Device's CDC stashed away somewhere, or if they're using an FPGA/CPLD that has yet to be found. The computer side of the iPhone is going to be rather boring (they're all pretty much the same nowadays), the peripheral side is where we should be paying attention. - TSSaloic, on 10/11/2007, -5/+32Confirmed by Systm Episode 11.
- voisine, on 10/11/2007, -3/+25because they want h264 and ajax to replace flash as the defacto standard. this is an admirable aim since flash is closed and proprietary whereas anyone can write an h264 codec or ajax engine.
- voisine, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21just to clarify that's 1 giga*bit* of ram... which would be 128 megabytes
- computergod, on 10/11/2007, -4/+22They forgot to mention that it is a customized version of the chip shown: It has 1Gb of RAM added on chip according to the nomenclature on the silkscreen.
- darkyoshi, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20100% of the world's humans use ARMs.
- shit, on 10/11/2007, -1/+16620MHz... that won't kill you, will it?
- bakerster, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14your talking computing out of your ass. just stop.
- daeken, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13Intel doesn't care, or they wouldn't have sold XScale last year.
- stormgren, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11The processor adds touch screen functionality?
Uh, no. - deadbaby, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13I would speculate they are holding out for a highly optimized version of Flash 9.
- humpy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11I want my 5 clicks back, god damnit.
- bblades, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10I agree, the bread and butter of the device is the incredibly high resolution as well as highly functional touchscreen. Six months ago everybody said it would be an ARM processor, because its what all similar phones/Pda's are running. They kept it quiet because they have a partnership with Intel, and if its not running Intel there is no reason to promote that it isnt.
- thebman990, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Two words: Homestar Runner
- TexanPsycho, on 10/11/2007, -3/+10Likewise.
- jkoke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Weird. I've been surfing with it for 2 days and have only hit one site that didn't display properly due to a lack of flash support -- it was a car manufacturer that had a flash-only home page. EDGE is slower than Wi-Fi, but it's tolerable when you're not in a hotspot.
- geminitojanus, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Actually Flash isn't open at all, it's entirely proprietary to Adobe (formerly Macromedia). But that doesn't mean it hasn't been or can't be reverse engineered (see several Flash-compatible open implementations).
- stmiller, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11Flash 7 has been ported to the ARM for other small devices. I wonder why Apple didn't pay Adobe for the SDK to have flash?
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer_sdk/ - Kyderdog, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9So it is a NEWTON!
- adolfojp, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Plus you've got a few nice SDKs for your Axim :-)
- UKsHaDoW, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6ARM Cpu's are everywhere. Set top boxes, phones and Tv's. Company's licence the ARM architecture and build there own. Its pretty much the standard these days.
- jlewicki, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6this is what i wanted to know, thanks
- AggieTales, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6on the topic of Multi-touch, it seems like Apple has been testing the water in this sort of technology for at least 3 yrs. I bet the technology that allows me to use two fingers to scroll on my PowerBook is probably the forerunner of the Multi-Touch tech.
- darkyoshi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I believe a touch screen controller would be the backbone of the touch screen functionality, thanks.
- Urusai, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7Who doesn't use ARM processors on low-power devices? Is this some big revelation?
- celkin, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6My laptop has 128 MB RAM, 650 Mhz, and a 6 GB HDD. The iPhone must be powerful if its specs are close to a 1999 laptop.
- LeonardNimrod, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5In other devices, yes. But not in the Phone. It has a very strong, non-pliable glass display. The underling layer uses electro-static proximity detection. This is why you can't use a typical stylus on the iPhone.
- misconstrued, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5You need a new computer ;)
- SyDIGG, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Why is this such a big deal that you bothered to click on the story and respond?
- inspecality, on 10/11/2007, -7/+11That stopped being funny a long time ago. Maybe you should try the HD-DVD code or "Soviet Russia" next time, then you won't get dugg down.
- Chazx, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4By 'open' I think he means open to everyone to improve upon it. Rather than a shut off monopoly.
- CraigJ, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Flash is ubiquitous, I know, but I really don't like it from a Web dev perspective. IMHO it just makes sites bloated and uses too much processor. Having said that, it is widely used and I'd like to see Apple issue an update to support it.
- allywilson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4"...in 2005 Apple secretly bought..." please tell us how a publicly limited company can secretly buy anything?
- zoom1928, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6Not having Flash would be a feature. Seriously, have you ever seen a useful site that used Flash? In twelve years of using web browsers, I certainly haven't.
- rolf, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6If you want to know where Apple's multitouch comes from, in 2005 Apple secretly bought up a company called Fingerworks that used to make multitouch keyboards and pads. They also hired the two professors heading the company. Their patents are available to view in public.
The defunct company:
http://fingerworks.com/
Further reading:
http://fingerfans.dreamhosters.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=15 - browwiw, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5'processor found'? Pfft. The thing is right in there. I could have found it a lot quicker with a hammer.
- scootinger, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6What a shame that it has such a good processor but nobody can develop software to use it.
- greyfade, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3... I thought everyone knew that Intel's XScale *IS* an ARM processor. I mean, hell, it's based on the ARMv5TE.
- DarkJC, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3You sound retarded. Don't you mean 620 mhz to run the browser to run the ajax? The apps ARE AJAX, so I don't know why you're throwing in ajax after the fact. I guess there's no shortage of retarded followers here on Digg.
- jspegele, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Except that it was definitely David Randolph who did all the work.
- austin987, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2But will it run linux?
- SanityLost, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I think he meant in the sense that it wasn't widely known. I only learned about this by chance when discussing ergonomics with a professor.
- kendawg, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3are you sure?
http://www.2camels.com/images/festival-photos/khumb_mela5.jpg - glitchbit, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5my asus PDA had 400mhz ARM xscale cpu in it 4 years ago... and it was overclockable to 500mhz... sorry but ever since intel sold off their xscales not much progress has been made there.
Hence why intel got rid of their xscale arm procressors.
Second of all to those who are like wtf 620mhz is hardly anything, remember we are talking about a mobile device, and mhz, and ghz don't mean nearly as much as it used too even in the computer world. - nomore, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Yeah, it was Acorn who developed the ARM and Strong ARM... I think Intel purchased the processor technology. However, it's probably mostly Japanese technology in the iPhone with all of the othe chips.
- TeatimeGrommit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Because Apple doesn't want to be the first mobile phone to be hacked into taking down the entire AT&T network. Anything Apple can't control might have a vulnerability that might allow a hacker to do mean things to the cell network. (Safari is a big enough vulnerability as it is without adding flash to the mix)
- pussnuts, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4I don't really understand. Was the processor achitecture supposed to be a big secret or something? It takes almost no effort to unscrew a case and find the processor. What am I missing?
- DaffyDuck, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2No, a very few are unfortunate to not have arms.
- oojamaflip2006, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6Its an interesting point but when has Apple ever cared about open standards? If they want to go with H.264 it's so they can wrap it in their own proprietary format, Quicktime.
- eclectro, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Companies generally don't want the tech details known for several reasons. One which is that they don't want to tip off their competitors which would make things easier for them.
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