The famous PBS commentator Robert X. Cringely has come up with the theory that Apple's decision to use Intel processors is nothing less than an attempt to dethrone Microsoft.
This is what he says:
OS X 10.4 – Tiger – is a 64-bit OS, remember, yet Intel's 64-bit chips – Xeon and Itanium – are high buck items aimed at servers, not iMacs.
So is Intel going to do a cheaper Itanium for Apple or is Apple going to pretend that 64-bit never existed? Yes to both is my guess.
Why announce this chip swap a year before it will even begin for customers?
This announcement has to cost Apple billions in lost sales as customers inevitably decide to wait for Intel boxes.
This announcement has to cost Apple billions in lost sales as customers inevitably decide to wait for Intel boxes.
Then what is the driving force?
Microsoft. Intel hates Microsoft. For Intel to keep growing, people have to replace their PCs more often and Microsoft's bloatware strategy just isn't making that happen, especially if they keep delaying Longhorn.
This isn't a story about Intel gaining another three percent market share at the expense of IBM; it is about Intel taking back control of the desktop from Microsoft. So Intel buys Apple and works with their OEMs to get products out in the market.
That's the story unfolding. Steve Jobs finally beats Bill Gates.
And with the sale of Apple to Intel, Steve accepts the position of CEO of the Pixar/Disney/Sony Media Company.’
That, is the gist of what he wrote. Full artical here: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050609.html
That, is the gist of what he wrote. Full artical here: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050609.html