So things were so incredibly slow yesterday that we resorted to covering how the IBM-Transmeta deal fell apart-- which drew criticism from one Mac fan for being poorly researched. Hey, we're the first to admit it: we know next to nothing about the Crusoe processor except what we glean from the info-bites scattered across the Web. The only reason we mentioned it at all was because IBM's sudden unexplained decision to shelve its Crusoe-powered ThinkPad mere days before Transmeta's IPO smelled slightly of that corporate drama we usually get in such abundance from down Cupertino way. Plus, the vague rumors that Apple's working on a prototype Crusoe-based PowerBook to hedge its bets against Motorola's stagnant PowerPC situation gave us the flimsiest of excuses to claim that the story was relevant.

Anyway, while we aren't particularly sorry that our original coverage was poorly-researched (you folks surely expect that from us by now, right?), we do apologize for missing the real drama in the whole IBM-Transmeta story. Whereas we mentioned that some analysts attributed IBM's change of heart to lackluster performance and battery life that wasn't nearly as good as originally expected, faithful viewer Peter Pediaditakis noted that The Register took the angle that we sadly missed-- namely, that Big Daddy Intel isn't too happy with the Crusoe poaching on Pentium turf and might therefore be putting the squeeze on Wintel manufacturers who dare to dance with Transmeta.

See, it's like this: Dell has been practically begging Transmeta for chips, but word got back to Transmeta that Dell took its buddy-buddy (or, more appropriately, toady-bully) relationship with Intel a notch too far. Dell allegedly shared technical info about the Crusoe-- info which Transmeta divulged only under NDA, of course-- with Intel, and the peeps at Transmeta are positively unthrilled at such a transgression. As a result, Dell's been phoning for weeks, but Transmeta's screening and refuses to return Dell's calls; as faithful viewer Julie Lewis so appropriately puts it, "this is what happens when you 'kiss and tell.'"

What does this have to do with IBM's decision to drop the Crusoe, you ask? Well, Dell's relationship with Intel was allegedly strong enough to get the company to break a contract and sour its deal with Transmeta. That serves as a reminder that IBM has to stay in good standing with the chip giant, too, if it wants a steady supply of Pentiums to ship in the vast majority of its computers. Having done a little more research on the Crusoe and finding it to be one intriguing little piece of technology, we wouldn't be at all surprised if IBM was, er, "persuaded" to drop its Crusoe plans at the behest of Chipzilla, who envisions warehouses full of unsold mobile Pentiums if the Crusoe reaches critical mass.

What does this have to do with Apple? Well, not a lot, admittedly, unless the rumors of a Crusoe PowerBook are true. Motorola has an even greater hold on Apple than Intel has on any PC manufacturer; whereas at least the x86ers could turn to AMD in the event of a total Intel lock-out, Apple's got nowhere to turn if Motorola decides to take its ball and go home. Sure, IBM can make G3s and even Altivec G4s-- but its Altivec license comes from Motorola. So unless Apple plans on moving to an all-Crusoe product lineup, it's going to have to tread lightly as far as handling Motorola is concerned.