“In the long run, [Apple Computer's] move [to Intel processors] could make a big difference for Apple. It could substantially increase the company’s current piddling 1.8% market share of the global personal computer market. (Its market share in the U.S. is slightly higher.) Powered with Intel chips, future Macs will be able to also run Windows. I’d wager that Macs could become the top-of-the-line PC for the style-conscious. Windows users wouldn’t have to dump their precious applications and ingrained habits to take advantage of Apple’s snazzy applications, such as the iLife suite. That includes iPhoto, iTunes (generally cooler on the Mac than on Windows), and lesser-known gems like GarageBand, which lets even the most pitch-challenged person to compose music,” David Kirkpatrick writes for Fortune.

“How will it look to customers when Apple runs ads touting head-to-head comparisons for running software on OS X versus Windows on the same hardware? PC Magazine’s John Dvorak speculates about this in a recent column: ‘This change to Intel will not only save the platform but potentially drive it into a position of dominance.’ That may be going too far, but clearly there’s a great opportunity here,” Kirkpatrick writes. “Another respected industry pundit, gung-ho about the switch to Intel, is eWeek’s David Coursey. In his column, Coursey argues that there will be far more Windows customers switching to Macs as a result of this move than there will be Mac customers turned off by whatever inconvenience a platform change may mean to them.”

“I can only imagine how creative Jonathan Ive, who designed the iMac and the iPod, will be when he can shrink the size of Mac notebooks even further. We’re likely to see some pretty cool boxes,” Kirkpatrick writes. “It’s also worth remembering just how much better the Mac OS X operating system is than Windows. Senior executives at some major PC companies have told me that they think Apple’s system is significantly superior to Microsoft’s Windows. And hardware design-wise, there’s really no comparison between today’s Macs and even the best Windows PCs.”

Kirkpatrick also speculates about Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ being tempted to release Mac OS X for run-of-the-mill PCs assembled by the likes of Gateway, HP, and Dell in his full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: The lightbulbs are starting to go off now, folks. People are beginning to realize the implications of all of this. As we asked via headline yesterday, Why buy a Dell when Apple ‘Macintel’ computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows? When your average person tries a Mac OS X machine, not just plays with it for 5 minutes in a store, but actually starts to do things with it, they very rarely desire to return to the Windows slum.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Mossberg: Switch to Intel will strengthen Apple and the Mac – June 08, 2005
Apple’s Intel shift could result in market share gain – June 08, 2005
Windows users who try Apple’s Mac OS X Tiger might not want to go back – June 07, 2005
Apple Macs are less expensive, more secure, longer-lasting than Windows PCs – April 21, 2005
Apple Macs are far easier, cost less to manage than Windows boxes – March 02, 2005
Michael Dell owes Apple an apology; Apple up 176 percent vs. Dell’s 13 percent in past 12 months – January 15, 2005