Apple wants Intel chips early, oh flipping Dell

THE POPULAR MEDIA KEEPS reporting that Apple plans to release its X86 based Macs in June next year, probably with a big fanfare and many black turtlenecks.

So far so good. The problem is that the chips that Apple is going to base its systems on - Woodcrest and Merom - are not due until the third quarter of next year.

This would make it hard for Apple to release computers if there are no CPUs for them, unless it has decided to use Yonah processors. Apple is big, but not nearly big enough to bully Intel, unless it has to do with iTunes DRM. So just what can Apple do? It could attempt to put pressure on Intel to give it the necessary chips early. So Apple is doing just that, and sources claim that it isn't flying as well as it had hoped. Any tale of cool, need or woe won't fly very far against the argument of "Dell sells 20 times what you do, why should we give you preferential treatment again?". Those same sources claim that this what Intel is saying. µ