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Murder Conspiracy (3/5/98)
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While we haven't written our own Newton conspiracy theory into the show yet, we're happy to report that Don Crabb's doing an admirable job in our stead. Don's boss Stuart helps craft a diabolical web of intrigue which casts Apple and Intel as co-conspirators in the plan to axe the Newton. You can read his Rumor Reality Report over at MacCentral for all the sordid details.
The Crabb scenario has Apple interim CEO Steve Jobs seeing the explosion of activity in the handheld computer space, as evidenced by the incredible success of the Palm Pilot and the flurry of mediocre Windows CE devices. Steve also notices that the Newton is not faring too well, despite its five-year career which virtually pioneered the whole PDA market. (It may have fared better with more development and just about any marketing, but we digress.) Steve, thinking different, decides to scrap the Newton and start over by working with Intel on a new generation of StrongARM-based handhelds running a version of the Mac OS. This decision occurred last summer, but the announcement had to be delayed until well after Intel bought out Digital's chip designs, including that of the StrongARM at the heart of the current MessagePad, in order to avoid a price-fixing lawsuit. So he reeled in the recently-spun-out Newton, Inc. in preparation for the slaughter that finally happened last week.
We at AtAT doff our collective hat to Don and Stuart. We haven't heard a good "Apple in bed with Intel" story for a long time, and in fact, most Newton conspiracy rumors blame Intel's purchase of the StrongARM for prompting Apple's cancellation of Newton development. It's a refreshing change of pace.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/5/98 episode: March 5, 1998: It's Intel Day on AtAT! Did Apple plan Newton's demise with Intel last summer, in an intricate plot to revitalize its handheld line? Meanwhile, Intel readies a crunchy new chip infected with a less-than-compelling name, in an attempt to reverse their downward earning spiral caused by the growth of the sub-$1000 PC market...
Other scenes from that episode: 508: Low-Cal Snack, Anyone? (3/5/98) Who, in this modern world, hasn't heard of the Pentium? Darn near no one, right? Thanks to the miracle of television and the near-boundless advertising budget of Intel, even people who have never seen a computer, much less used one, know that the Pentium is the thing that makes those shiny bunnymen so funky.... 509: Cheaper Chips (3/5/98) And speaking of Intel, Wall Street is still feeling the aftershocks of their recent earnings warning, which knocked over ten points off Intel's stock price of 86 or so. In turn, most other technical stocks took a sudden downturn, as the NASDAQ likes to follow Intel...
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