According to rumor site appleinsider.com, Apple has reportedly reached a multi-million dollar licensing agreement with Dell to include its OS X Leopard operating system on all Inspiron desktop computers. This marks a dramatic departure for Apple, who has been notoriously stingy when it comes to sharing its proprietary software and hardware.
Appleinsider.com reports that they came into possession of an inner-office email from a Dell employee detailing the plans for converting their popular home desktop platform to run the Mac operating system.
According to the email, "We are confident that installing the rock-solid OS X Leopard will be a breeze. Our only concern is uninstalling the bloated OS currently installed on almost 500,000 units. Once that's done, it'll be a piece of cake."
The email goes on to detail how the machines will be reconfigured to automatically open iTunes and go to the iTunes Music Store, where consumers will be required to fork over an additional $29.95 to "register" their new Dell computer before using it. There will also be a feature built in where the computer will "brick" (or become inactive) if its owner tries uninstalling the Mac OS.
No word yet on how this news will be taken by Microsoft, whose Windows Vista has been routinely lambasted since its release and whose Longhorn OS isn't scheduled for release until 2015.
Rumor mills have been buzzing for quite some time about the eminent departure of Apple CEO (and mastermind) Steve Jobs. Could this be his final act as head of the tech giant? Or could this just be another ingenious decision from the company who brought you the single-button mouse, the Mac Cube and the Newton?
