Oh wait, yes I did…

Is Apple getting ready to run Windows? - Engadget

Notable curmudgeon John Dvorak raised hackles last month when he suggested that an Intel-powered Apple would dump OS X and switch to Windows. Turns out he may have been right — sort of. Word is out now that Apple has joined BAPco, an industry group that does one thing and one thing only: create benchmarks for testing the performance of Windows-based PCs. The move comes on top of rumors that Apple will include VMWare-style virtualization capabilities in the next version of OS X, which could enable the Mac OS to run Windows apps without requiring a third-party emulator or a reboot. While those rumors have yet to be confirmed, it does seem possible that Apple is indeed working on a way for OS X users to run Windows apps, and wants to use BAPco’s tools to benchmark the Windows-on-OS X performance (though the tools are said not to work all that well in virtual environments). Either that or they just want to confirm the rumors that the MacBookPro is the fastest Windows laptop out there.

I DESPISE the tech rumor-mill circuit as for all intents and purposes its the /dev/null of the tech news industry in regards to quality of information you can gain back in return for the time you just put in… you might be able to recover a couple of bits here and there, but for the most part what goes in is NEVER to be seen again in any result format that even closely resembles the original.

That said,

… this post seems to contain just enough quality to further expand upon the point I tried to make in the post linked to above… However, while the fact that they have apparently joined BAPco is significant if it turns out to be true, there are SO MANY OTHER “signs” that make this particular rumor less of a:

“oh wow! Maybe they really are thinking of integrating a virtualized Windows Vista”

and more of a:

“Good for them… its important to work together with the rest of the software and hardware industry leaders involved with BAPco to ensure the hardware and software you are developing to run, or run on, Windows is of the best quality possible for the technologies (and techniques) being used”

To summarize: Dump the TDB (Times /Dev/Bin or To Be Determined… you pick.:) You only need three tools to gain the best possible information to aid in gaining an understanding as to where a particular company is headed, no matter what industry they belong to:

- The ability to read.
- Access to the press releases for each company you have interest in
- Access to the existing and announced (via the press release mechanism already mentioned) product’s and their related collateral including marketing, technical, tutorial, knowledge base, or anything else that doesn’t fall into one of these categories.

I was going to add “The ability to use your brain effectively” but if you have the ability to set aside TDB and instead focus on the last two line items then in and of itself, you’ve proven the ability to effectively use your brain.

Of course if you ARE able to set TBD aside, it could be because of a negative response to the first line item, but if this is the case, then the chances are good you’re not reading this post either.

With this in mind, I guess we should scratch the first one off the list…

And to prove the love I have for each and every one of you, for all those lazy perfectionists out there who can’t sit still unless the i’s are dotted, t’s crossed, yet are too lazy to actually “do the deed” youself, the newly revised list would look like:

- The ability to read.
- Access to the press releases for each company you have interest in
- Access to the existing and announced (via the press release mechanism already mentioned) product’s and their related collateral including marketing, technical, tutorial, knowledge base, or anything else that doesn’t fall into one of these categories.

You see that? Do you see how much love I have for each of you in this heart of mine???

You’re welcome. :) It’s no problem it’all.. This heart of mine is ALL about the LOVE… Thump, thump, Thump thump.

Peace unto you all :)

[UPDATE: It took me all of two miinutes to realize that through force of habit I left off what has become the #1 MOST IMPORTANT tool in regards to understanding where a particular company is heading towards:

- Blogs from the employess of those companies in which allow and encourage their employess to blog.

Want to know one of the reasons why both allowing and encouraging your employees to blog is one of the most important survival factors of the modern busines age?

* Direct and instant customer interaction and information streaming via a medium in which can be easily covered from a legal risk standpoint using a pre-existing and easy to locate/duplicate “copy-and-paste” disclaimer.

Employees are people and people, for the most part, are not stupid. They know not to divulge what can be seen as competitive strategies or secrets, so they don’t. As such, by allowing and encouraging your employees to blog you are developing a relationship with your customers in ways that CAN NOT be developed via ANY OTHER medium, and doing so in a way in which you are running ABSOLUTELY ZERO risk. (or at least risk so neglible that even the tightest of lawyers could care less about)

Customer relationships, ESPECIALLY in the tech industry, are what make and break a company.

As such, if you’re not allowing and encouraging your employees to blog, and your competitors are… If not already, you might want to consider updating your resume. Although something tells me that C-level types that don’t get the power of blogging, are not going to be in high demand in the near to mid-term future…

Forget the resume… How are your table waiting skills?