1) Using the same socket dosn't mean anything. Apple doesn't even use its own sockets consistently. For example the 2x AGO mac models with 100mhz busses have the socket flipped 180 degrees from the 4x AGP 133mhz models.
2) If Apple were to adopt a different architecture like Itanium they would have to inform developers many months in advance just like they did when adopting PowerPC or PCI or Mac OS X. There has not been ONE WHISPER regarding non-PowerPC Mac architectures.
Apple is sticking with PowerPC.
