The story of when Apple, IBM and Motorola have joined the fight against Microsoft and Intel

August 12, 1981, IBM is put on sale IBM PCThe field is a personal computer, or, as said at that time, a microphone that will become successful. And in Standard of personal computersThe field is interesting that this success will become a problem for IBM itself. To such an extent that after almost ten years join Apple and Motorola to fight This standard of computers that helped popularize. And that he turned Intel and Microsoft In the leaders Cotarro. Intel, for its processors. And, Microsoft, for its operating system and its programs. The alliance was called AIM Allianceto reduce its members. And he intended Create a PowerPC processor open to all Manufacturers to shade Intel that time.

Today everything has changed. Intel is no longer a king of processors. Although AMD and Intel dominate the market personal computer processors, Architor hand This is a great dominant in the POST PC era, in which they send a smartphone and other electronic devices. Therefore, the most successful companies NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Mediatak or TSMCThis caused this, at the end of 2020, Apple He decided to accept the same processors in his Mac so that all his products integrate the chip. And even your own Microsoft Sell ​​your own computers with this architecture with other manufacturers.

But in 70th and 80 yearsThe microme market was chaotic. In the sense that each manufacturer had its own chips, with its own architecture and, therefore, its own operating system. Programs were incompatible between manufacturers. PC IBM placed some order. But in practice, he did Intel and Microsoft will control almost the entire marketA field with what this means for other competitors. There was an alternative editors such as Apple, friend or AtariThe field but they were a minority. How Microsoft and Intel? WITH AIM AllianceField

Wintel, Microsoft and Intel Domain

This article began with IBM PC successThe field will indicate IBM, will become an excellent winner of this success. However, this was not entirely true. IBM created a creature, but the processor that he used was Intel 8088The field and the operating system were MS-DOS, MicrosoftThe field in this way, although IBM placed the basics on how to get the benefits of a personal computer, Intel and Microsoft.

A Intel processorsOriginal or cheapest and most compatible clones turned out to be the most common in this sector. Thus, computer programs and documents and files will be compatible between machines of different manufacturers. And if Intel puts the processor, Microsoft put the software. First, p MS-DOSField and later, with WindowsThis is the field for decades, the market of operating systems has dominated. Only Android managed to overcome. And because the computer lost the popularity of the smartphone.

Otherwise, did you win the best? Intel processors were not. And Intel won many awards. But, as we have seen throughout the history of technology, for example, in video, this does not always win the best. An example is Microsoft, which knew how to bet on a winning horse, architecture X86. And despite His first windows were a disasterHaving become the most popular system, I did not need more. His charging strategy using the installed equipment connecting Windows with Intel will force both companies to grow until they become Synonym for a personal computerThe rest is a story.

Aim Alliance reaches salvation

In the summer of 1991, almost a year after the launch of IBM PC, the specialized press repeated IBM and Apple Union Create an “open platform”. Article Infoworld July 1991 explains that both companies are tired of the Microsoft Market domain, they want to be “computer industry standards”. For this they wanted to create a new Powerpc open platform based on processors IBM and accompanied Your own operating system We compatrate what will be responsible for Apple.

The article has already advanced that the chip used as a base will be the one that turned on IBM RS/6000The field that is PowerPC 601The processor created in 1990, and which for many years was present on personal computers, servers, workstations, and even in supercomputers. For its part, the operating system will PinkThe key name for the new version of the software that worked in Macintosh computers of that time. And this made for several years.

Union is power

He Official announcement of AIM Alliance Arrived in October 1991. On the one hand, Apple General Director, John ScullyField and IBM, in the agreement they were present Jack KuerlerHead of the IBM research and development department, and James CannavinoVice -President IBM. It is important to remember that in 1985, Steve Jobs was fired from his own company. And Steve Wozniak accompanied him some time later.

Thus, in 1992, after this agreement, Apple and IBM create two new companies. Taligust And Kaleida LabsThe first field, the taligent, will be responsible for the operating system. Use development PinkThe new “object -oriented” operating system, that is, is graphic, which Apple has been developing since then, at least 1987. And unites it with OS in the workplaceIBM operating system. For its part, Kaleida Labs will work in a multimedia multi -platform, as well as in the language of the object.

New standards to combine them all

A AIM AllianceIn addition to the specific business interests of Apple and IBM, it was A very ambitious project And this could have great consequences. On the one hand, they wanted to create Operating system compatible with other platformsThe field is available to other manufacturers. And what happened Object -orientedThe field, that is, it was a graphic system, such as those that we used today. Unlike systems in text mode, which was ordinary, before the appearance of graphic interfaces. What arose from Palo Alto Xerox Laboratories In the 60s, but they were not commercial or popular before Apple Lisa 1983 Made for the public a graphic system with windows, badges and signs.

What is on the one hand. On the other hand, this alliance wanted RISC Architecturepresented today by ARM chips will be popularized in the field of personal computers. And this, unfortunately, they remained in more located areas, such as servers and manufacturers, such as HP, Sun and SGIField or macintosh if we talk about personal computers. It is in the development of the PowerPC chip that the third member of this alliance appears. So far, we have only mentioned IBM and Apple because they were the main interested parties. But Motorola It was the third participant. And namely Production processors Designed IBM.

Finally, another AIM alliance Pilar was associated with the creation of a software environment for the multimedia industry. Thus moving to Docifting music or cinema that we live later. In short, this alliance wanted to cover several technological aspects. Compose the Microsoft and Intel associationField

What was the AIM Alliance software

¿What happened to the pink? As I mentioned earlier, Pink was the key name for the new operating system for Macintosh. The name is associated with the method used to organize future improvements to Apple. Three cards, Red, pink and blueRed field for future improvements, Pink for significant and blue important reviews for immediate updates.

Thus, Pink was developed by an independent group of Apple employees. Initially, five unfortunate employees with the fact that then there was a software that launched Macintosh. And this included improvements very slowly.

Over the years while BlueIt would be System 4We had hundreds of developers, in 1987 Pink had a much smaller team. This has grown and causing interest in hardware units. But this did not materialize in anything specifically. He even experienced the danger of disappearance.

An apple to the taligunch

AIM (1992) The Alliance made this project, which jumped into a new company, TaligustThe field yes, really. With the address of an employee IBM. What would make you dilute pink. For example, with integration of the IBM nucleus. And with a change in the name. From this moment on it would be a taligate OS, Talos or cough (Taliguntal object service) However, despite 400 employees, the company bloomed in 1998.

A year earlier, in 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple after dismissal. And Apple bought it NextThe field of Steve Jobs, which has developed a new machine with a promising operating system. So promising that it was the Mac OS X base, which will be declared in March 2001. So, in this new apple, Pink could not take advantageThe field on the other hand, on the other hand, they took advantage of another taliguntal development, structures for applications CommonPointTo integrate it into the OS at the workplace, OS/2 and AIX.

AIM Alliance loses strength

At the moment, we all know that AIM alliance did not end How responsible would like. As I mentioned earlier, Intel and Microsoft Domain This ended for other reasons. Main, The popularity of the smartphone and other electronic devices in front of a traditional personal computer. So, Intel He is no longer a giant who was once. Although his architecture X64 still dominates the PC. For now. And, on the other hand, Microsoft is focused on a professional cloud and artificial intelligence instead of focusing exclusively on Windows and OfficeThe field products with which the monopoly of software of the late twentieth century.

Well then. Although IBM, Apple and Motorola Alliance He did not achieve all his goals, his work was not forgotten in the box. In addition to the use of software, as we have seen earlier, PowerPC processors They had a lot of travels. Developed by IBM and manufactured by Motorola, they have been part of Macintosh since 1994 from Power Macintosh 6100The field and Apple retained this architecture in its MAC before the announcement of 2005. This year, Steve Jobs found out during WWDC, which would leave PowerPC processors for Intel. Thus, thanks to the AIM alliance, Macintosh has included processors PowerPC 601 (1992), PowerPC G2 (1995), PowerPC G3 (1997), PowerPC G4 (1999) and PowerPC G5 (2002).

In short, Apple and IBM with Motorola’s cooperation could not finish the dominance of Microsoft and Intel. But this cooperation served to improve and Develop an architecture RISCWhat exactly what we find in most electronic devices called ARM (Advanced Risc Machines), Apple Silicon or RISC-V.