Apple: New Allies, New Enemies?

Apple, Intel and Microsoft Against the World?

Published on January 10, 2006 By Larry Kuperman In Internet

This article is a really interesting take on today's events at Macworld. On stage with Steve Jobs were Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel and Roz Ho, GM of Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit. CNN author Owen Thomas suggests that this is the beginning of an alliance aimed at Google, Yahoo and smaller players like Six Apart and Odeo.

I had never thought of it that way. But even the casual observer has to acknowledge that there have been strange tech alliances over the past years. Microsoft's Apple stock purchase a few years ago when Apple was in financial difficulties. Google and AOL more recently. Yahoo's acquisition of Konfabulator. The list goes on.

Think of this. A large portion of Apple's revenue this past year comes from the iPod and iTunes division. iTunes is both an Apple and Windows application. How odd to see the Windows flag on an Apple site, but there you go.

How about improved interoperability between Apple and Windows PCs? How many would find that of interest?

What about opening up the OEM market for Apple? HP, a long time Microsoft partner, offers HP branded version of both the iPod and iTunes.

Let me offer a quote from the CNN article: "But as iTunes has shown, Apple's engineers are capable of writing software for Windows. And that thought should strike fear in the heart of every software executive around."

Food for thought, eh?

Comments

Dr Guy

on Jan 11, 2006

I dont see why it should strike fear in the hearts of programmers.

With this move to Intel, I think that Apple finally has a chance to compete with Microsoft. However, it is clear, they still have to lower their price points, or make a lower price point model, to start competing with Microsoft and Dell (the undisputed leaders today).

Your anecdote about the Windows logos reminds me of the mid 90s, when people still called PCs "IBM COmpatible". The school division I worked for bought 3,500 Macs, and with a purchase that large, of course there were some failures When we would open the cases to zap the PRAM or check connections, the teachers would be SHOCKED to see the IBM logo on the hard drives! I had to explain to them that the commodity parts were not made by apple (CD Roms, Hard drives, CRTs), but rather bought and installed on them, but that the machines were indeed all Mac!

dendillon

on Jan 11, 2006

Just a minor point - HP will be, if not already, stopping the bundling of iTunes with their computers. They will be using Real Audio now. The HP branded iPod will also no longer be in existence.

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