Mac - Power + x86?

CNET has set the Internet abuzz by reporting that Apple is going to jump from Power to x86 silicon. I think it’s believable, porting the software doesn’t seem like that big a deal. Here’s a personal sidelight: Last year I was chatting with a very senior IBM person that I’d just met, who smirked at my PowerBook and said “You know, we make more money on every one of those than Apple does.” Remember, he was real senior and we’d just met. Those kinds of stories are for sure going to get back to Apple and they’re going to be real irritating. Look at it this way: once Apple makes the first big step away from Power, if they don’t like Intel’s attitude or Intel’s performance or Intel’s pricing, they can walk across the street to AMD. Or for that matter back to IBM, who might have become a little more humble and hungry. [Update: Several people have written to point out that the IBM person was probably wrong, since the G4 in the PowerBooks is made by Motorola/Freescale, not IBM. But I think the point about attitude stands.]