There’s a wildly speculative piece over at The Register about a linkup between IBM and Apple, stemming from IBM’s much-reported but still not confirmed decision to spin off its PC division. Quoth El Reg:
“(A)n even better and more audacious speculation is that once publicly free of the PC division IBM will either buy, or form a close joint venture with Apple to sell its PCs, which coincidentally are now built around IBM’s PowerPC chip.”
I guess stranger things have happened. But this reminds me of the olden days when IBM and Apple were partners in “Taligent” — an ill-fated software-by-committee project and company, both of which sank like a rock.
I also remember a riddle going around at the time.
Q: What do you get when you combine Apple with IBM?
A: IBM.
Posted by: inchmurrin on December 7, 2004 09:40 AM
I’ve heard that when Apple, IBM and Motorola first got together, the folks at Apple were concerned about the stuffed shirts at IBM. They were very pleasantly surprised to find the IBM folks a lot easier to work with and more laid back than the Moto folks.
My own experience (in my day job) with the IBM Software folks is similar. Some very practical and easy to work with folks. Unlike some of their large s/w competitors here in silicon valley.
Posted by: Paul Stuart on December 7, 2004 04:25 PM
A merger doesn’t make sense (but it sure is amusing!) If anything, how about a partnership with IBM for reselling and supporting the Mac, just like HP has done with the iPod?
Posted by: duotone on December 8, 2004 11:19 AM
My question is, would this be a merger or a take over. I wish apple could just stay apple, but let’s face it, Steve Jobs is recovering from Cancer. If I were him I’d be thinking about calling it a day. He single handedly saved the company. Apple’s stock is as high as I’ve seen it in a looooong time.
My only request is, keep the apple brand in tact. I don’t mean the logo, I mean everything the brand means in the strategic direction, maintaining the MAC culture, etc… And by all means, STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!!!!
Tony
Posted by: jerry on December 6, 2004 06:17 PM
Oh! That would be a great Christmas present!