Ok, by now most of you have read at least a 1/2 dozen or more articles on the whole Apple + Intel story.  Most of them all seem about the same things:

  1. This is generally a good thing.
  2. Apple’s done well in the past w/ managing transitions.
  3. Intel’s “roadmap� shows a brighter future.
  4. Cheaper Macs.
  5. Blah blah blah.

Through all of the articles I’ve read, I’ve come to realize that there are two other points that’ve been largely missed:

  1. No Press Is Bad Press.  Apple’s at an historic time in their existence:  PCs are mainstream, and the de facto standard (Windows) is no longer Good Enoughâ„¢, as evidenced by Linux’s rise in popularity.  People are starting to realize that it’s too much work to keep a PC running properly, and they’re getting educated enough to realize that identity theft is a real threat.  If Apple play their cards right, they’ll manage to gain a ton of mindshare among average consumers gain huge amounts of switchers.  One article I read yesterday mentioned that Apple’s installed base is much larger than what the annual sales ratings show — Apple hardware lasts longer, so Macs don’t get purchased as often.  Makes sense to me.  I think people are starting to get it, but more press is not a bad thing.
  2. Apple’s chip maker falls behind, who cares?  In the past, when both Motorola and IBM lagged behind Intel and AMD in chip clock speeds, Apple supporters had to explain that chip speed wasn’t the ultimate measure of computer performance.  The result was a sense of excuse-making, and a loss of positive mindshare for the Apple brand name.  People don’t care about Intel’s chip speed acceleration rate — just what the current numbers are when they’re looking to buy a computer.  If the numbers are all the same now, they can discount clock speed as a differentiator and look at other factors that matter to them.

All in all… I’m pleased.