How Microsoft sees the Macintosh future... Keepin' in touch with people working at Microsoft is not something I'm proud of, but I've asked a person in the MBU as well as a person working on Longhorn about how they view the Macintosh and its future using intel processors, and their answers are very interesting to me, so I'll share them.
Not surprisingly, the MBU doesn't see much change with the Mac moving to intel. They're in the process of creating the next version of Office for the mac, and it'll run on both PowerPC and intel Macs. Universal Binary. So: The Mac's still the Mac for them, although it might cost them a little more time to get the next version of Office ready.
On the other hand, there's Microsoft. (Somehow, the MBU just isn't the same thing...) And for Windows development, Apple suddenly creates PCs, too. "We've heard that Apple won't keep people from installing Windows on Macs." Yes, that's what Phil Schiller said. One of my questions was whether the slow move to the PC side did scare them. But obviously, it doesn't: "We're not in the business of selling PCs ourselves. We sell software licenses. A Mac user who buys Virtual PC with a Windows license or buys a Windows license for an intel Mac or buys a Windows license for a noname PC: Same thing for us - we sell a Windows license."
Interesting years ahead, I guess... One quote that I found particularly share-worthy: "Also, this whole thing will probably change the meaning of 'comparing apples and oranges'. ;-)" - posted by Patrick Armbruster @ 21:30 [article link]