There seem to be something the Apple hopeful are forgetting as they try to rationalize why Apple is making the switch to Intel.Yes, every developer I spoke to explained that the transition is no big deal and should be relatively painless. Yes, users should be able to switch even their current applications over to Intel thanks to Rosetta and I’m sure other utilities that will come down the pike. If you want all of your questions answered about the transition I suggest you go to the MacWorld site and read their FAQs on the subject.If you want the lastest news go to the InfoWorld story or you might even try Apple’s own site.And yes, Apple had no choice but to make the switch. Apple was just not a big enough customer for Big Blue to devote the kinds of R&D Apple needed to keep up with the Intel platform. For Intel, chips are all they have. For IBM, it’s a small piece of their revenue stream. However, what the Apple hopeful are forgetting is that even if the transition is seamless and even if we can all agree Steve Jobs had no choice and that he made the right move, it doesn’t mean it is going to work.Unfortunately it may be too late.Apple will now find itself competing in terms of applications and pricing with the rest of the world. It will lose that certain cache it always had. Yes, the industrial design will still be there but in a sense it will be a hollow design when at the end of the day it’s just Intel inside, nothing special.Of course, we also have the uncertainty over the transition period. As buyers get closer to the date when Apple moves 100 percent to Intel who’s going to buy a Mac? And once a buyer leaves the fold, will they come back?Even the good news for software developers who can write programs for the Mac and easily have a PC version as well, takes away from the uniqueness of the Mac. Could we be witnessing the beginning of the end for Apple? Only time will tell but from where I sit it doesn’t look good. Technology Industry