a couple of thoughts here... i read through a lot of the mega-thread yesterday, and most of this thread, so I think I'm not going to be re-hashing the same stuff...
1) I've noticed that nobody has really talked about why Intel found Apple to be such a good prospect where IBM/Motorola pretty much walked away. I think this switch speaks volumes about the Microsoft/Intel relationship. I personally don't think Intel has ever been happy about being associated with Microsoft the way they have been. Granted, because of the success of Microsoft, Intel has benefited greatly. But, because of Windows, Intel has been associated with buggy software, viruses, malware, etc. By getting Apple to port OS X to their chip, Intel can put a little distance between themselves and Microsoft. Also note, Intel's support of Linux has been getting better.
Another reason they might benefit is the same reason why Apple could make the switch -- it's obvious that the WinNT/2k/XP codebase is portable across processors as well. If Apple can pull off a CPU switch (or two), Microsoft could certainly do it. The big thing saving Intel was that nobody else had/has the capacity to build chips like they do. But, still, I'm sure it wasn't comforting to see Microsoft go with IBM for the Xbox 360. Speaking of which, considering that the devkits are PM G5s running a Win 2k derivative, it shows that Microsoft has been keeping their codebase up-to-date for other processors. Just in case.
2) Can anyone explain why OS X on x86 wouldn't cause Microsoft to just immediately yank support for Office on the Mac? Add to that iWork, and I would've thought for sure that we would hear that MacOffice development had stopped for good. Does it make that much money that Microsoft is willing to support a potential direct competitor and risk their position as the dominate x86 OS vendor? Or, is there something I'm just missing here?
3) Why not AMD? Well, I can think of two potential issues -- one is capacity. Could AMD supply enough chips to Apple? Maybe this is why Dell hasn't offered AMD chips? The other -- AMD doesn't make their own chipsets, Intel does. Obviously, Apple has had a bit of trouble with their own chipsets (USB 2.0 speed anyone? poor ATA implementations?). With Intel, they get a complete solution -- CPU and chipset. GPU will still be provided by Nvidia or ATI -- though, Intels integrated video is getting much much better. Might be enough for a mini, iBook, or eMac...
4) 64-bit support. No matter what is in the developer box, no matter how the binaries are currently being compiled, I just simply can't entertain the option that Apple will not have a 64-bit offering in 2006/2007. We already have machines today that can support more than 2G of RAM. And it's not that expensive to get that much. By 2007, it will be damn cheap to put 2G+ in a machine. I would be surprised if Apple's standard config didn't include at least 1G. Apple will have a 64-bit system, both on Intel and PPC (until the end of it's life, at least).
5) BIOS -- here's my take. Apple will license an existing x86 BIOS, but they will heavily modify it and lock it down (i.e, no pressing DEL to get to the config).
The big reason not to use OF is that they have to maintain that part of the widget. And the only good reason to maintain control over something is if it is central to your user's experience. OF is not a central part of using my Mac. From a geeky perspective, its neat. But, honestly, I've never went into OF on my mini or PMG5 at work. Or, for that matter, any of the machines at work. I did it a couple times on the old iMac and my old Performa 6400... but that was just out of curiosity. Nobody except us geeky types ever knew it was there. Its only job for most people is to find out what's installed in the machine, find the OS, and load it. A PC BIOS already does that now. And, Apple can easily modify the BIOS to provide that Apple touch (firewire target mode support, network boot, graphical mode right from power-on, no configuration outside the OS).
6) As for Intel -- I honestly don't care much for the x86 arch, and I certainly don't like most of the P4 line. But, I have been impressed by Intel's chipsets, motherboards, and their latest offerings. I do still find their heatsink/fans a bit hokey --- but, I'm confident that Apple and Intel working together will be able to come up with some slick hardware.
Okay -- so, that's my thoughts. Feel free to discuss/shoot me down 🙂