First it was discovered that Dell is selling AMD processors online. Then Dell made public noises about rolling out AMD servers. Now, the other shoe has dropped: Forbes is reporting that Dell will indeed sell a broad range of AMD systems.
I think Dell is legitimately running scared. They are getting killed in servers – especially with the lacking Xeon delivery from Intel this Quarter. Their earnings fell nicely in the past Q as well…
Michael Dell has publically stated he’d be very interested in building an OSX86 machine if Apple would license to him, though I can’t imagine that ever happening given the opposite approach to basic aesthetics the two companies have (GM vs. BMW). (even given my previous post on licensing)
Of interest… Only a few years back (1997) Michael Dell suggested Apple shut down and give the money back to shareholders
The rumor mill is brewing pretty hard on what Apple’s first Intel products might be. If they were to come out with a low-end / low price system they would make a VERY attractive machine to an existing massive base of PC users. There is no reason why any Intel powered Mac can’t do everything you need – running the superior OSX while retaining the option of flipping back to a Windows app you might not have a replacement for on Mac. If low end is not first, it will definitely arrive before Vista… If the take rate on the new Macs is big (and I’d bet it will be significant) Microsoft will be next in line to try and maneuver… As if Google was not enough of a problem.