Dell flirting with Apple from afar

Submitted by Rollie Hawk on Thu, 2005-06-16 18:42.

Rumors about Apple's future moves don't die easily. Just consider how long rumors of the headless Mac, the flash-based iPod, and the x86 edition of MacOS have been around. That said, two of those already ended up being true and Michael Dell wants to be first in line for the third.

Michael Dell would say little in the way of specific hopes but did mention that "if Apple decides to open the MacOS to others, we would be happy to offer it to our customers," in an email to David Kirkpatrick of Fortune.

This is far less than an endorsement by the company that shares his name but is nonetheless significant, according to Kirkpatrick. As reported in his current article, "it's the first time any PC industry executive has openly shown enthusiasm for selling machines with Apple's software. Though that's all Dell would say for the record, I suspect his interest is not unknown to [Steve] Jobs."

This could just be another case of Michael Dell spouting off his personal opinion. Then again, it could be a trial balloon from Dell the company being released at a safe distance just in case it sinks like so many other Apple rumors.


( categories: Communications | News )
Rollie Hawk is a consultant, web publisher, online personality, magazine writer, web developer, network administrator, teacher, husband and father residing in southern Illinois. He graduated in 2002 from Southern Illinois University, earning his BS majoring in math with a minor in chemistry.

Rollie is a certified math teacher with endorsements in chemistry, physics, and physical science and has taught students of all age groups and abilities, ranging from grade school to the university level. In addition to math and science, he has also taught GED, job skills, and alternative high school classes (his personal favorite).

After the birth of his daughter in 2004, Rollie decided to spend more time at home. This meant leaving his teaching position and devoting his working hours exclusively to consulting, web development, and general IT work.