As "will they/won’t they" scenarios go, it’s a saga long in the making and now that Apple and Intel have popped under the bedcovers for a frolic, there seems little reason for this pair not to get it on too. For a number of years now, the rumour mill surrounding these two swings into action on a regular basis. When I say two, I mean one. You see, the ball is in Dell’s court and Michael Dell has yet to lob it back over the net. He might be monogamous but he does like teasing us hacks and the industry at large. He recently told the press that the chip deal with Intel was not exclusive but denied having anything AMD-related to announce. That simple statement landed like a mini-nuke and threw all of the old rumours into the spotlight again.

Towards the end of last year it was reported that Dell had told its Taiwanese manufacturers to start getting their stuff ready for AMD engines but officially the company claimed the reports were rumours. As if Dell would confirm it anyway. A few weeks ago, just after Mickey dangled the carrot, analyst Les Santiago, with PiperJaffray, said in a research note:

"We strongly believe that Dell will start AMD-based system shipments as early as the second half of 2006. We further note that Michael Dell's recent comments noting the 'distinct possibility' of shipping AMD-based systems. Our conversations with sources further indicate that Dell's sales force is demanding Opteron-based server offerings to be able to better compete in the market."

And now this week, another analyst has put his head on the block, narrowing that prediction to next month.

Read the full story at The Inquirer.