First, Intel's head goes on the record saying basically that if you want security you should switch to a Mac and now we hear that Apple might plan on using Intel chips. What the hell is going on? I've managed to obtain a leaked shot of the next Intel-based iPod (now we know what the 'i' stands for). How odd it would be to have Intel-based Macs... How would the flame wars of the future be fought? "Yeah? Well my Mac has an Intel processor which is exactly the same as the one in your PC!!" -- "Oh yeah?! Well my PC uses a GeForce card that's exactly the same as your Mac's!" Welcome to the golden age of homogenization. UPDATE: Kottke offers some views on the fact that a) this has now officially changed status from "word on the street is" to "I read in the news that" and b) that Apple's move to Intel could mean a new non-x86 processor would be used or even a PowerPC chip. From the man himself: Even if Intel isn't going to be making PPC chips for Apple, they'll probably manufacture a modified version of an already produced chip that OS X will be refactored to run on so that the cheapo Wal-Mart PC can't run it. And if that fails, there's always DRM, which could be used by OS X to verify that it runs only on Intel chips sold in Apple hardware. DRM? I guess the week or two before someone hacks a DRMed OSX version to run on standard PCs is worth the effort. OS X can currently be emulated (very slowly) on x86 processors so the use of an x86 based processor would make emulation a lot more efficient if anything. Whatever happens a move to Intel means some interesting times ahead.