We all love to point and laugh when bloggers and tech writers tell us what massive multi-billion dollar public companies "need to do" to survive, or how they can easily "be saved." When the writer offering advice is the co-founder and former CEO of a successful public company, however, his advice might at least be worth considering. EarthWeb/Dice co-founder Jack Hidary oversaw a record-breaking IPO in 2007, and he has taken to Fortune to offer some free, unsolicited advice for struggling smartphone vendor Research In Motion (RIMM): "Pull a reverse Apple."

Shares of RIM stock are hitting record lows as investors wonder just how bad things might get over the next six months as the company preps its first BlackBerry 10 smartphone. While RIM continues to weigh all its options, Hidary offers one that doesn't appear to be anywhere near the top of the company's list.

In 2006, Steve Jobs's Apple (APPL) ditched PowerPC in favor of Intel chipsets across its PC line, allowing Apple to focus more on its own software and the associated user experience.