“IBM said Monday that it will work with Freescale Semiconductor, a maker of wireless and automotive chips, to find new applications and markets for IBM’s Power microchips. Freescale is joining Power.org, a group set up by IBM to spur adoption of its Power chips, which are found in machines from video game consoles to networked server computers.” El Reg has a more down-to-earth view on this matter.
Motorola spun off its chip-making division and named it Freescale. Those guys have been making Power chips all along. Nothing to see here, folks.
No IBM and Freescale (formerly part of Motorolla) have both made different PowerPC chips. Freescale conectrating on embedded small scale stuff, and the G4 processor; IBM with consoles, servers, and the G5.
These chips were independantly designed developed and manufactured, they just happen to carry the same instruction set. It IS news that Freescale would collaborate with IBM on PowerPC chips. Afterall, PowerPC is far from dead, despite the Apple drama.