PA Semi has several low-power, high-performance modular PowerPC chips on the market now. They are basically SoCs, just slap in a GPU (see last paragraph) and you have - wait for it - a console.

Apple filled that last gap with the hiring of XboX 360 guru Richard Teversham from Microsoft. You know it is starting to look like Apple picked up the whole XboX 360 team here.

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Apple is making a console

IT NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE how dense reporters can be. Apple hires the technical brain trust behind the XBox 360 and the conclusion is the firm are making an iphone?

The latest one is that Apple is returning to the console market. Yup that is right, all of those high profile hirings are nothing more than Apple building a console team. Let's backpedal. Apple grabbed Bob Drebin, Raja Koduri, PA Semi, Mark Papermaster, a few games guys, and undoubtedly many others we didn't hear of. That gives them the ATI ex-CTO, also ex-ArtX, makers of the Nintendo GPUs forever, and another ATI 'big thinker'. Lets just say they have the GPU side down there.

Analysts will cry "phone", but none of these new hires has phone experience - and Apple has most decidedly not been hiring phone/RF folk. It makes no sense for them to jump into phone chip waters, from the myriad frequencies, patent minefields, and obtuse world-wide regulations, it isn't worth it. You can buy those parts on the commodity market, so why make them? Apple also hired PPC people, not ARM, that in and of itself should be telling.

In the end, the course is clear. There have been a lot of whispers floating around the valley regarding Apple and consoles. Take a hugely underrated Mac Mini or Apple TV, throw in a low power PPC SoC with a solid GPU, fire up itunes, and you have a console. Not only that, but one that snakes the living room out from under MS. If you recall, that is the very reason they developed the 360, to block Sony from owning that nexus.

If you can't put the dots together on this one, you really need to have your internet licence revoked, you are too blind to surf. It is not a question of if but when at this point. µ