Either News.com has taken a flyer of historic proportions, or they’ve got a great exclusive - and Apple really is going to announce on Monday that it’s switching to Intel processors.

Apple has used IBM’s PowerPC processors since 1994, but will begin a phased transition to Intel’s chips, sources familiar with the situation said. Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007, sources said.

The announcement is expected Monday at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, at which Chief Executive Steve Jobs is giving the keynote speech.

For my money, I suspect this is true. Rumours have been persistent over recent months that Apple was in talks, and while it could have been for a new breed of consumer devices that don’t rely on the OSX operating system, that always sounded a bit unlikely.

But the move, if/when it is announced, raises interesting questions - not least what happens to everyone still using PowerPC-based systems, and about software compatibility, and about whether or not one should invest in Apple hardware over the next year or so prior to the move.

The biggest questions are, however, strategic; not what lots of people are already asking - will other manufacturers be able to make machines that run OSX - but rather: will this mean all existing PCs can run OSX? Or will Apple add something to the Intel chipsets to make sure only Apple hardware can run OSX?

Let’s hope it is the former - because I think OSX versus Windows Longhorn (when it finally arrives) could be a very interesting battle indeed for PC users, not least because Longhorn has had its… er… horns clipped, feature-wise, in order to get it shipped that year. And if Longhorn ship dates continue to slip, it could be OSX versus old Windows XP - and that battle has already been called in Apple’s favour by many, including Walt Mossburg:

"Overall, Tiger is the best and most advanced personal computer operating system on the market, despite a few drawbacks. It leaves Windows XP in the dust."

Longer term, it might be convenient for the iPod-era Apple to get out the long-since commoditised PC market, and focus on its fringes; higher-margin digital home devices, and the very high end workstations on which it still makes decent margins. Its big products for the PC market would then just include annual versions of its operating system, and new or improved online services for which it can charge rolling fees.

Truth is, Apple - by design or good fortune - has done far better at exploiting the opportunities to sell online services to consumers than Microsoft has. Taking that battle onto MS’s home turf, just as MS has to make a vital play, could be a symbol of just how confident Apple now is about the strength of its software, and strategy.

Update: More from News.com, this time on how the deal could play in Hollywood. This story seems a little thinner, mind you - like a news editor has told the reporter to spin the big exclusive out, and this was the best they could come up with…

• BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
• « For the love of pod
• » Here’s the future of storytelling

• BROWSE / IN Apple
• « Today I shall mostly be watching progress bars
• » We asked for the Apple media centre…