eWeek reports on a new PPC being annouced by IBM:
IBM next week will announce a new PowerPC ranging in megahertz from 700MHz to 1GHz, that could shift the balance of power in the professional Mac market away from Motorola Inc. and its PowerPC G4.
Of note, they comment a new "feature":
However, sources told eWeek that the Sahara chip will feature an "AltiVec-like acceleration" and not require the AltiVec co-processor in order to provide a speed boost to applications. Details were not yet available as to whether this is due to new hardware or code mapping, but sources said Sahara's technology is entirely distinct from AltiVec.
Not many details... I suppose we'll find out next week.