While people have been able to run certain versions of linux on their Macs for some time, for the great majority of users having a Mac meant you ran OS X, and vice versa. With the announcement of Apple switching to Intel processors, will this equivalence remain? I’m curious as to whether one couldn’t just get the x86 version of OS X to run on any ol’ (powerful enough) PC. What could Apple do to prevent this? Will running Windows on a Mac be possible w/o emulation?

On that note, emulation will be much faster since the emulator should not have to emulate the processor. Virtual PC is the main emulator for OS X, and it is now owned by Microsoft. Does MS like this move? Are they happy? Will Apple set itself up as a direct competitor to Microsoft? From the rumors I’ve heard over the years, Apple’s hardware line is too profitable for them not to have. If that is true, it would answer my earlier question about OS X on your Dell machine.

This comes at a time when I’m considering my career options. I’ve thought about getting into Mac development, and the prospect still interests me, but suddenly buying a G5 doesn’t. I want to wait for a new, Intel one. G6? Who knows what they’ll call the machine? PowerMac P4? They’ll probably continue with the GX naming, as the G3 was a Motorolla chip, not IBM (right?). But it was still PowerPC, so… I don’t know the history of it that well. At any rate, I think Apple has covered its bases on this one, and I think the transition will go smoothly. I still think OS X is the best platform around, and I’ll continue to use it, but some of my fire has gone out of it. My PowerBook is now in middle age (25 months), and there is no replacement in sight. Not until next year anyway. That’s okay, but it just feels more shaky than it did a few days ago. All of a sudden PowerMac G5s are not an option for me. Oh well. It’ll be an interesting next few years.