<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Earlier I had predicted that Apple seems to be positioning itself as a takeover target, so that Steve Jobs can strengthen his position as a Media mogul. Well, someone obviously agrees.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>This from Robert X. Cringely: (paraphrased and condensed by Macintouch).</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 0.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">The latest Cringely column - </FONT><A href="http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050609.html"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" color="#0023E9">Going for Broke</FONT></FONT></A><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> - is a must-read, whether you believe it or not:</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 24.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">Intel is fed up with Microsoft. Microsoft has no innovation that drives what Intel must have, which is a use for more processing power. And when they did have one with the Xbox, they went elsewhere. <BR></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> So Intel buys Apple and works with their OEMs to get products out in the market. The OEMs would love to be able to offer a higher margin product with better reliability than Microsoft. Intel/Apple enters the market just as Microsoft announces yet another delay in their next generation OS. By the way, the new Apple OS for the Intel Architecture has a compatibility mode with Windows (I'm just guessing on this one). <BR></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> This scenario works well for everyone except Microsoft. If Intel was able to own the Mac OS and make it available to all the OEMs, it could break the back of Microsoft. And if they tuned the OS to take advantage of unique features that only Intel had, they would put AMD back in the box, too. Apple could return Intel to its traditional role of being where all the value was in the PC world. And Apple/Intel could easily extend this to the consumer electronics world. How much would it cost Intel to buy Apple? Not much. And if they paid in stock it would cost nothing at all since investors would drive shares through the roof on a huge swell of user enthusiasm. <BR></FONT><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana"> That's the story as I see it unfolding. Steve Jobs finally beats Bill Gates. And with the sale of Apple to Intel, Steve accepts the position of CEO of the Pixar/Disney/Sony Media Company.</FONT></P><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 12.0px 24.0px"><FONT class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana">jg</FONT></P></BODY></HTML>