Playing with the Apple numbers can be fun. At their current size and growth rate Apple's calendar year 2012 revenues will exceed the 2012 Gross Domestic Product of Pakistan (~$177B) - the world's 6th most populous country, 47th on the WMF 2010 GDP list ahead of 137 other listed nations. Yes, this year one US-based international company with under 62,000 employees might sell more products and services than an entire nation with over 177 million citizens and almost 800,000 square kilometers of natural resources to exploit.

The amazing Apple growth figures for the last two years if you'll remember also happened while the entire world was crying in their beer about how the economy was wrecked and nothing could be done because people didn't have money. And yet Apple found a way to not only grow their worldwide operations and sell ever more premium products - but to increase their margins as well and introduce even more lines of business and disrupt more industries. Imagine what they can do when the economy is on the upswing.

Personally I don't care for Apple products - the whole Cathedral thing just isn't me. The whole Jobs/Android grudge thing just seems spiteful and mean. And I do like my Flash content, sideloaded apps, and SD cards. But man, can they run a business. I can't imagine what kind of disruption they could achieve with a hundred billion dollars in cash, but it's a lot seeing what value they have been getting for their money.

The times, they are a-changing. Microsoft can keep HP and Dell in line, prevent them from implementing new technologies that delight and amaze - both by playing them against each other to keep them on 5% margins in a good year and by marketing subsidies that could take away even that. But there's nothing Microsoft can do about Apple. Apple doesn't owe Microsoft diddly-squat, and that's the powerful thing that enables Apple's growth and profits because they can innovate when HP and Dell can't. Apple now could buy both HP and Dell - for cash - tomorrow morning if they cared to, and have lots of money left over - but they don't care for that low-margin business and the choker that comes with it. Samsung, HTC and all the consumer electronics players smell blood in the PC waters though and the sharks are circling because in CE their margins are even worse. HP and Dell are in trouble anyway, because Microsoft looks to be ready to throw them under a Nokia bus when Windows 8 comes along.

Now that the Wintel thing is on the rocks it looks like Intel's coming around. They're late to the party but I hope they get some traction on their Android/Medfield thing. That looks pretty cool. But it looks like they're shopping it around to the same old crew that builds a proof of concept and then hides it on a shelf, which ain't gonna get 'er done. I'd like Intel to come with us into the mobile future because they do have some really great stuff. But they don't seem on track to do that.