Journalists don’t always matter

Not one, but two emails today asking about Apple’s switch to Intel. Both writers were sure that Apple had blown it (one works at Intel!) and wanted my take on how this changes Apple’s story. The thinking is that after years of telling people that they are better because they don’t use Intel, how can they change their story?

The problem with this analysis is that only geeks and journalists are listening to Apple’s story with that sort of clinical attention to detail. Ask ten typical Mac users and perhaps one can tell you which company made the old chip. Mac users don’t like Macs because of the chip. Far from it.

If the Mac looks the same and the mouse moves the same, they don’t care.

If Jobs is smart, he’ll use the increased heat efficiency and scale of the Intel chips to put more money into drop dead sexy cases for superlight laptops. That’s the story Mac users want to hear.