Following the news that IBM has finally cut itself free of the boat-anchor that has been its PC division, some of the more, er, imaginative IT pundits have suggested that it might now buy Apple, purveyor of the non-PC PC that is the Mac. Or, given the Mac's popularity among lentil munching right-on types, perhaps that should be the PC PC. Anyway, Sneak feels that an Apple-IBM embrace is unlikely. It's hard to see the youth of today rushing off to IBM's Electric Gramophone Shop to download Snoop Dogg's Drop it Like it's Hot onto their IBM ThinkPod, as the iPod would no doubt be rechristened. No, Sneak would put money on IBM staying out of the PC business, PC or otherwise, and keeping well clear of Apple. Unless, say, Sun happened to merge with Apple, Sun-Apple then merged with Computer Associates, and IBM then bought CA-Sun-Apple. By which time the iPod would be called the BrightStor JavaPod, would be years behind the curve, and nobody would give a damn.

08 Dec 2004