iBlasphemy

As an owner of an iPod Mini and a 1st generation iMac, I was mightily disappointed when Apple announced that it was abandoning PowerPC chips for (gasp!) Intel processors. All this time, I was duped, I mean, convinced by Apple that Motorola processors were superior to the Wintel empire's. Dvorak was clairvoyant. First came the Mac Mini which was cobbled together with PC parts, and now Apple has gone whole hog and embraced the wretched Pentium peddlers. Don't they have any decency to at least go for AMD chips? [The author feigns righteous indignation by gesticulating wildly.]

All this begs the question, "If Apple uses PC parts and PC processors, isn't it basically an operating system provider?" Yes and no; Apple will still attach proprietary doodads to its machines, yet deep down, Mac and PC hardware will converge. Read this passage from Think Secret about the upcoming bastard machines and weep:

Along with running Mac OS X, Windows XP installs without hitch on the Intel-based Mac, just as it would on any other PC, and booted without issue when installed on an NTFS-formatted partition.

I bring this up as Apple's ticker symbol scrolls by and mocks me by signaling that it's reached an all-time high. So Apple stock is doing well now, but what will happen when consumers learn the truth that newer Apples are nothing but tarted up PCs? Like Pixar and its slump in DVD sales, Apple is likely to be Jobs' next comeuppance if he doesn't figure out how to differentiate his machines better, perhaps by running Itanium chips as Dvorak suggested. My point all along has been, yes, the iPod is a great product, but AAPL is a computer company, not a music company. Treating the computer side like a lesser business might lead to loyal customers fleeing the brand, leaving fickle sorts for whom the iPod is only a passing fancy. And, oh yeah--real Macs use Motorola chips.

Posted by Emmanuel |

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