Here's a quickie that's sure to wriggle its way into your most Kafkaesque nightmares: Microsoft is now making chips, and we're not talking about a buyout of Frito Lay. Although the way things are going, we wouldn't be surprised to hear about such a merger soon, with the Redmond Giant looking to corner the snack food market in an attempt to gain a better stranglehold on the developer community by controlling its primary food supply. Microsoft Doritos 2001... The horror... The horror... Uh, wait. What were we talking about again?

Oh yeah, the Microsoft chips. No, when we say chips, we're talking processors. Pretty much the only thing keeping the Wintel juggernaut in check (at least a little) is the fact that it was two virtual monopolies, not one. Microsoft had the operating system monopoly (argue if you like, but hey, that's how the judge ruled) and Intel had the processor market sewn up. But despite working together closely to maintain the hegemony, Microsoft and Intel didn't much like each other, if the stories can be believed, and that friction has always kept things a little on edge. Add to that the fact that these days Intel is feeling the heat from AMD, which we're sure would make any chip king a little cranky, and you've got an Intel who's not in the mood for any more shenanigans.

And that's the scenario into which Microsoft has injected this extra little kick of drama: according to CNNfn, those software geeks in Redmond are in fact diversifying their interests and branching further out into the hardware arena-- as in, beyond mice and joysticks. Reportedly Microsoft is trying to cobble together a new processor called "Solo2" to use in future WebTV devices, rather than relying on Intel to scrape something up. Microsoft feels this won't strain its relationship with Intel in the least-- though we personally have our doubts. And don't we recall some similar ugliness a few years back when Microsoft smacked Intel down for working on its own software? Hmmm. Sounds like this could get interesting.

Say, we're fully aware that Microsoft is much, much bigger than Apple-- but Microsoft's expansion into the chip field has us wondering how tough it would be for Apple to start designing and producing its own PowerPC chips instead of having to rely on Motorola and IBM. It's just a thought, but we can't deny that the idea of a future free of Motorola delays makes us weep with delight.