Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently spoke with The Globe and Mail's Peter Nowak about the company's recent resurgence, saying that he's not sold on using Intel processors and that the iPod division should perhaps be spun off. Mr. Nowak noted that Mr. Wozniak is still on Apple's payroll, although it's something done "just out of loyalty."

Of the switch to Intel processors, Mr. Wozniak said: "It's like consorting with the enemy. We've had this long history of saying the enemy is the big black-hatted guys, and they kind of represent evil. All of a sudden we're the same in this hardware regard, so it's a little hard to swallow your words from the past."

While he acknowledged that "Intel just did a very good logic design," compared to Motorola's recent effort, he still maintained: "If it wasn't needed, I would say we shouldn't do it. And I still have some questions as to how much it's needed."

Comparing the separate iPod and Macintosh divisions to Apple's Apple II and Macintosh divisions during the 80s, Mr. Wozniak said that the iPod has been a distraction to the company and might be better off as a wholly separate business entity. "We're a computer company, and we really think computers," he said. "Spinning off a separate division makes a whole lot of sense."

Regarding Microsoft's attempts to take down the iPod, Mr. Wozniak said: If they do it, they better do it excellent, excellent, excellent because the iPod sure is. Doing something weaker and somehow trying to use your size and market power . . . that's just not good [enough] if you don't turn out something superior."

He added: "Microsoft wants to get out of the whole image of the big, black Darth Vader evil guy. Innovation is probably going on within the company, because any time you put smart engineers in places eventually they wind up talking and innovating no matter how much you try to hold them back. I hope Microsoft improves and becomes more like Apple."