T hereis a short group of people in the tech industry that have our absolute respect in most matters, and Dan Gillmor of the San Jose Mercury News is one such person. He has been a champion of free speech, a staunch foe of copy protection, and always has insightful comments on related matters. Better yet, from the standpoint of Mac fans, he often has very good and/or interesting things to say about Apple.
Mr. Gillmor has penned a 2003 predictions column that has several items of note, including comments about Apple. The piece takes the form of a quiz, where Mr. Gillmor offers several popular scenarios, and asks you to guess which one he predicts will come true. From the Mercury News, question #3:
Apple Computer will (a) announce plans to ditch the PowerPC microprocessor and use Intel-compatible chips in upcoming machines; (b) sell its first palm-size handheld organizer; (c) be sold to Sony; (d) be sold to Disney; (e) merge with Sun
Fortunately, he provides the answers to his own questions, and in the case of Apple, Mr. Gillmor predicts that Apple will "(b) sell its first palm-size handheld organizer." Note that he is specifically not saying that Apple will be having a firesale, and that (a), (c), (d), and (e) are in fact incorrect choices.
The column also has some very cogent observations about Microsoft (hint: none bode well for you and us), and other aspects of the tech world. Read the full column at the Mercury Newsi site.