Robert Cringely does it again, but if he’s right, hell will freeze over (and no, i’m not talking about the release of Debian’s Sarge or the first Duke Nukem Forever screenshots). In his last writeup, Cringely speculates (with the aid of some apple insider information) that in fact, the whole move to Intel is nothing but a preparation stage for a bigger plan - Intel buying out Apple.

He goes on with 5 different questions that should be enough proof that the acquisition is a reality, or will become one soon enough. I do admit that when I read his words, it all magically fell into place; But do I really want to believe Apple would be bought just like that? It would be a stab in Microsoft’s ribs, but is Jobs really up for that?

He does raise some good points:

• Weren’t PowerPCs supposedly faster than Intel processors?
• Why is Apple ignoring 64bits now?
• Why not AMD, if they do surpass Intel in all the latest benchmarks?
• Why risk losing a year of sales?
• Should we be worried about DRM on Apple?

If this indeed a move by Intel to push Microsoft into a corner, the impact this may have is huge. First, Intel is the leading chip company - even if AMD is giving more bang for your buck and pushing new boundaries. Secondly, Apple is the true innovator in terms of software and Operating Systems. Microsoft Windows doesn’t quite cut it when exploring new features or capabilities of chips.

Intel knows that if they team up with Apple against Microsoft and their ever-delayed Longhorn, they will make some damage in Redmond. So is it all a plan, started not long ago, and being prepared week by week (remember the intel security guy mentioning whoever wanted to be safe in terms of security should buy an apple; remember WWDC)? I guess we’ll know soon enough.

Take a look at Cringely’s article. And this slashdot comment on Cringely’s thought process is a pearl: “If I was right about Apple switching to Intel, maybe some of my other crack-induced hallucinations are true too!”.