Okay, so I was wrong. So horribly wrong. Remember a week ago when I dismissed the Apple-to-x86 rumors and said it could be “pure distilled stupidity”? Remember when I implied that the only approach Apple would actually take was to go to Intel for PowerPC chips? Remember when I dismissed Paul Thurrott’s claims, even though he was right all along? Remember when I said that I didn’t expect anything?

I obviously wasn’t alone in my thinking.

I think that this has been a learning experience for all of us who write About Apple. When it comes to Apple, never say “never”. Apple said they weren’t planning to go lower than the eMac, but they released the Mac mini. Also, don’t dismiss some rumors that keep popping up over and over. Heck, at this point, I’d almost say that the Apple PDA rumors may be true (I said “almost").

If anything, this shows that Apple is a rare breed in today’s computer industry. Apple is willing to take risks, unlike some PC makers (Dell, Gateway, I’m looking in your general direction). And Apple isn’t willing to take smaller risks, like introducing a product that may or may not do well. Apple is apparently willing to take risks no other vendor is willing to do. The Intel switch is indicative of that. While it may seem unsettling, unpredictable, and unstable, it’s part of the reason why many of us love following Apple. In may respects, Apple is almost like a soap opera. There’s drama, excitement, and sometimes things somewhat over-the-top.  It’s fun. It livens up an otherwise dull world of personal computing lead by companies making big beige boxes. Not much exciting in the land of Dell.

I wonder how we all would have reacted if word of the Switch didn’t leak out and the WWDC keynote is the first we heard about it. It was still a shock to our systems, but at least we had a few days to prepare ourselves? What if we didn’t have those few days to prepare ourselves? My guess is that emergency rooms would overflow with Mac users in cardiac arrest. And the remaining few would storm Cupertino with torches and pitchforks. Needless to say, there wouldn’t be much of a Mac user base left.


But I digress. Here we are five days after the announcement and people are settling down for the most part. We’re still saddened by the fact that the PowerPC will no longer power our Macs, but by and large I’ve seen a shift in the Mac user base since Monday. Many people are actually excited for what the future will bring. Is it the result of us getting a little too close to Jobs’ Reality Distortion Field (rumor has it a new technology allows the RDF to affect people who watch h.246 streams of Steve’s keynotes)? Or did we move through the five stages of Intel Macs and come to our senses to realize that maybe Intel isn’t the devil after all? I can’t say for certain, but I do believe the Mac community will pull through this transition and be just as strong--if not, stronger--than before. Who knows? We might actually like what an Apple-Intel partnership will bring. If it means new ass-kicking products for us, the move was well worth it.

So what can we expect from Apple next? Who knows? Who cares? Just enjoy the ride.

Now if you excuse me, I need to have me a big ol’ helping of crow with a side of grits. And a mixed green salad. Mmm, tasty.