During a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that his company would find it “perfectly technically feasible” to switch its architecture to any processor, including Intel’s line, but doesn’t “see a compelling need to switch.” He added that the road map for the PowerPC processor “looks very strong,” according to CNET.
Jobs also seems set against extending the Mac as a “media center” akin to recent Windows PCs that incorporate the ability to record video from a cable or TV signal. While third-party products exist that let some Mac users gain such functionality, Jobs said point-blank that Apple was “not going to go that direction.”
Jobs also indicated that Apple would focus its engineering on continuing to improve the iPod and iTunes, rather than extending either the music player or the music service to work with third-party software or products respectively.
In a step away from the “Switch” campaign, which some within and without Apple had hoped would build the company’s user base beyond its current borders, Jobs told analysts that Apple is now focused on “the lowest-hanging fruit:” Getting existing customers, particularly professionals, to upgrade to the Power Mac G5.
Jobs also claimed that the subscription-based .Mac service, now more than a year old, has seen a renewal rate of “86 to 87 percent.”