1. Netflix
2. The Verizon/ATT of Data - Wireless Everywhere with Apple
3. The à la carte entertainment king of the Internet
I don’t think any of those is a good match for what Apple is doing. I doubt you’ll see any movement in these areas ... :-) ...
Perhaps,
but
1) ipods, ipads, iphones, and I presume macbooks, run Netflix just fine. No compatibility issues, unless you are getting a poor internet/mobile data connection.
2) Probably similar.
3) Possibly
The real reason for a partnership is to pool resources and develop something that one would not do too well on its own. One example is 2006-2007, where Intel and Micron partnered up to develop the flash drives to get better flash drives that stored more data in a USB flash drive.
The only drawback of the partnership is the fact that you legally share, but I am pretty sure that both Apple and IBM have a plan so that despite what they end up sharing, they still have other markets to compete with.