Is Intel the new PowerPC?

Maybe it's a good time for Intel to be cutting a deal with Apple. The latter company's market share is on the rise, and revenues are up--to $5.7 billion last quarter, according to Steve Jobs at today's Macworld keynote address. And AMD is breathing down Intel's neck in a serious way. The company yesterday, just in advance of Apple's announcement that Intel's Core Duo technology would grace both the new iMac and the all-new MacBook Pro. Meanwhile, in our AMD vs. Intel dual-core shoot-out, AMD stomped Intel, and Intel has since admitted it rushed its dual-core product to market. Now, Michael Dell is starting to make noises about switching to AMD, and analysts are saying it's looking more and more likely. Intel's got to be looking for any out it can find--but is it destined to become the next PowerPC, the chip of choice for a small-market-share, big-mind-share computer maker? It'll depend on how Apple's Mactel launch goes and how Intel fares in the PR battle with AMD. But one thing's for certain: Intel Inside just took on a whole new hue.