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Could Intel Gain Apple But Lose Dell?
Computers | May 22, 06
And things were going so well for Intel's dreams of bland uniformity. Even pesky Apple was learning to embrace sameness, finally placing a conformist Intel heart where PowerPC chips once resided, and putting out BootStrap to allow users to run XP on a Macintosh. (see "Windows On A Mac – The End Is Near") Remember those early Mac ads with a hammer-wielding rebel defying Orwellian tyrany? Seems Cupertino has learned to love Big Brother.
But an unlikely player is starting to color outside of Intel's lines. On Friday, Dell announced it will start putting AMD's Opteron chips in its multi-processor servers, apparently in a reach for higher performance. To be sure, this change effects only a small part of Dell's business, and while the firm didn't rule out placing AMD chips in its PCs, it made clear its commitment to use Intel chips in the majority of its machines for the foreseeable future. However, this isn't Dell's first flirtation with AMD, as its acquisition of high-performance game machine specialist Alienware gave the company a line based on AMD chips. ("Maybe They Could Make The Little Alien Head With The Glowing Eyes Look Like Michael Dell").
Having alternatives for microprocessors couldn't hurt Dell in any price negotiations with Intel. And in a world of commoditized computers and increasingly compressed margins, Dell may be looking for ways to distinguish its products – after all, Michael Dell himself recently expressed interest in giving users the option of running OS X on his products.
Then again, maybe Steve and Mike just can't play together, at least when it comes to using the same chips.
Posted by jeffrey.trester (Permalink)
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