Re: You may have got it the wrong way around!
"IBM sold off the x86 hardware business to Lenovo and the Apple/Microsoft partnerships are not interested in alternatives to OSX and Windows."
Hmm,.. I recall Dell occasionally steps into the fray with Linux developer laptops and Windows-free desktops. Dell isn't as much of a direct competitor to IBM as others like HP, Oracle, etc, so a partnership where Dell boxes get shipped with IBM logos at a marked-up price to big IBM shops might work.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
