Along with announcements of record sales, Apple announced that they will begin shipping iMacs that use Intel chips at their core. There have been rumors for years that Apple had secretly made an Intel version of the Mac OS. Now that it's not a rumor, there is nothing to stop Apple from selling it as an aftermarket OS, or even inking deals will Dell, Gateway and others to begin providing PCs preloaded with Mac OS. If I were Microsoft, one of my biggest fears would be that Apple starts making the Mac OS available to the millions of Intel owners. This would certainly give them a run for the money for their dominance of the desktop. The only question in my mind is whether Apple would want to invite competition in the hardware market it currently owns outright. Who knows, maybe Apple will ride the new found popularity it's gained with iTunes and the iPod to a serious chunk of the PC market too.
ABC News: Apple debuts Intel iMac after record sales
