Dell buying Alienware might mean trouble for Apple

Dell buying Alienware makes very good business sense for both companies involved but it might also mean trouble for Apple since Alienware is targeting precisely the same market segment as Apple - and that is rich morons that mostly look at a computer as jewelry where the bling factor is by far the most important thing - and by bling factor I do not mean only the shiny looks (even if those are a part) but also things as the megahertz myth, multiple-video-cards-performance and so on ...

Dell was already killing Apple from the low-cost end but with Alienware (and the fact that the PowerPC myth was so clearly busted and the Macs are now on the same x86 CPU that was proven superior) Apple will now feel serious competition "from above" - meaning faster systems with more bling factor and matching price tags - and many people will go that way simply since it will make them feel more special than Apple could ...

The same "diminishing feel special factor" might also mean trouble for the Apple iPod monopoly - a few years ago having a twice more expensive MP3 player could make a teenager stand-out from his crowd but today in US the crowd does mostly have iPods and many people will discover that other models will make them feel different - and in some cases it will also bring FAR better features for a better price - like in the case of the "nano killer" :)