Apple's MAE targets Sparc, PA-RISC systems

Electronic News, March 21, 1994

SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Computer, Inc.'s Macintosh environment will run on non-Motorola 680x0 or PowerPC processors for the first time as a result of a sales and distribution agreement announced last week with Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems (EN, March 14).

In rolling out the Macintosh Application Environment (MAE) at $549, Apple said that it would will own the source code to the MAE; however, the software will be bundled into Unix-based Sun SPARstations and HP 9000 Series 700 workstations, running on top of the native operating systems for those machines.

The MAE, whose rollout was anticipated at this weekhs UniForum, will run on both Sun's Sparc and HP's PA-RISC 7100 processors, including the 7100LC. To end-users, the MAE graphical user interface will be the same as on Apple's 68K and PowerPC-based systems within a UNIX X window. MAE runs on Solaris 2.3 or HP-UX 9.01 or later, and requires an X11 release 4 or later window display server.

"We own the source code, we own the actual appliation environment," said an Apple executive. "It is significantly different than licensing the operation system. What we are doing is providing a software application engine for these (HP and Sun) environments. They are distribution and sales agreements rather than licensing agreements. It's not the entire operating system that we've brought across in version 1."

For example, MAE supports the Network File System (NFS), for networking; Apple plans to add support for AppleTalk to MAE in the future. Building upon Apple's existing A/UX Unix implementation, the new MAE includes system services such as QuickTime, Apple Desktop Manager, application engines, and development tools. Users will have to System 7.0 features such as Aliases, TrueType, publish-and-subscribe, AppleEvents, Balloon Help, QuickDraw, and 32-bit addressing.

Apple had indicated it would enhance its Unix hardware strategy at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in May last year. According to some reports, Apple is in either OEM manufacturing discussions or licensing negotiations, or some combination of both, while the likes of Acer and Compaq.

While not an outright licensing of the Macintosh OS, the MAE is a significant step in Apple leveraging its software technology. "The Macintosh Application Environment demonstrats Apple's commitment to makin its unique technologies available to a wider range of computer users, said Morris Taradalsky, vice president and general manager of the Apple Business Systems (ABS) Division.

Apple said it has been workign with independent software developers (ISVs) so that Macintosh appliations are MAE-compatible at introduction. The MAE architecture also supports workstation devices, allowing access to Macintosh-formatted floppies and CD-ROMs from existing workstation drives.

Apple said MAE will be available on Series 700 workstation customers in late April.

Meanwhile, amid much fanfare, Apple Computer last week also formally unveiled its first PCs based on the PowerPC reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, which it developed with partners IBM and Motorola (En, March 14).

Apple said it has already booked orders for more than 150,000 units on the new products, which are being positioned

to run both existing and future Mac and Microsoft MS-DOS operating system applications. Ostensibly to fore-stall historical criticism that it has been slipshod on availability of hardware and software with past new introductions, Apple said its production lines are "on the way to meeting that demand" and claimed at least 30 native mode applications are ready to be purchased with system shipments at this time (plus 50-70 more applications will appear in the next 30 days).

Apple's plunge into RISC for mainstream processing is viewed as a potential watershed development for the company--much more so, for instance, than last year's lackluster introduction of the Newton palmtop products which use a different RISC device from ARM and of the UK. Apple targets the PowerMacs at its strongest markets--consumers, education, research and publishing--plus intends to build strength in scientific segments and office information system environments.

The line includes a 60MHz Model 6100, 66MHz Model 7100 and 80MHz Model 8100, at about $1,800-$2,500, $2,900-$3,380 and $4,250-$5,300, respectively. There also is an exhaustive upgrade policy.