Mac OS X on Intel? Convergance? iPod and iTunes.

Steve Jobs made some interesting comments at today's financial analyst meeting... addressing some questions about the future direction of the company.

One long-standing topic, Mac OS X on Intel, was addressed with Jobs stating that while Mac OS X (Panther) could run on any processor, Apple is happy with IBM at the moment:

"Right now we don't see a compelling need to switch processor families. We have all the options in the world, but the PowerPC road map looks very strong," said Jobs

When questioned about Microsoft's Media Center initiative, Jobs echoed previous sentiments against convergence and stated "We're not going to go that direction." Jobs was also critical that some services (such as recording television shows) should remain on dedicated devices.

Finally, Jobs addressed the interoperability of iTunes and the iPod with other services/players. According to CNet:

"Jobs rebuffed the idea that the iTunes music store should work with MP3 players other than the iPod, or conversely, that Apple's iPod should work with other music download services."

With the launch of several other music stores based on the Microsoft WMA file format, Apple's future support of this format has been debated. It appears Apple has decided not to support WMA at this time.