Apple at a turning point as OS future is mapped

Electronic News, Jan 13, 1997 by Cynthia Bournellis

San Francisco--January marks Apple Computer's 20th anniversary. January also marks a turning point for the computer giant who has suffered from repeated financial losses, corporate and product restructuring and ongoing public criticism.

Last week's Macworld Expo was probably one of the most critical shows for Apple. For it was there where company executives finally committed to a schedule regarding the future of the Macintosh operating system and the new OS code named Rhapsody, which will be a result of the NeXT Software, Inc. acquisition (EN, Jan. 6).

Rhapsody will be crucial in order for Apple to win back the confidence of its developers. While a good majority are still loyal to the Mac platform, the mood from the show indicated that many of them are getting impatient, and in the meantime, a number are making products for Windows.

"Most developers and Mac clone companies have realized that you have to live in the Windows world in order to survive," said Bill Stackhouse, an independent software developer in Portland, Ore. Mr. Stackhouse, a one-man team, has been a Mac developer since 1984. His current product is StoneTable, a replacement library for the Macintosh List Manager. He said Apple's previous lack of focus has been a problem for small development companies with limited funds.

"Apple has created uncertainties for us. Because of this, we have been sitting back and waiting when it comes to buying (software) tools. This can lose us money." Mr. Stackhouse isn't abandoning the Mac platform, but he is now working on a version of StoneTable for Windows.

Neither are hardware developers backing away from the Mac OS, but they too are seeing the Windows light. Big Island Communications, makers of the YoYo computer telephony device for Macintosh computers (EN, July 29, 1996), unveiled its new Boogie Board ISDN PCI card for both Mac and Windows. The company will also working on a Windows version of YoYo. However, according to Big Island, the real opportunity for the company will not just be in selling products for both platforms but in transitioning the YoYo software to networking environments.

Apple is counting on Steve Jobs, founder of NeXT, and his company's technology to help rectify developer confidence. "We have to get them back," said Mr. Jobs during the Macworld Expo keynote session. The new Rhapsody OS roadmap will start with a Developer's release by mid-to-late 1997. This release will incorporate NeXT Software's OpenStep development environment, a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) designed to help software developers quickly get products to market. "You can get an application from concept to market within six months," said Mr. Jobs. "With OpenStep on top of the Mac OS, you can build phenomenal applications."

Rhapsody will give developers access to features such as preemptive multitasking, symmetric multiprocessing and protected memory, based on a modern kernel. And while the NextStep OS uses its own microkernel, it is possible they may move off of it, said Apple CTO Ellen Hancock during a press luncheon at Macworld Expo. "We have not yet made a decision on what the kernel of the OS will be."

The NextStep OS microkernel is a version of Unix. It is cross platform and runs on Pentium and Sparc processors, as well as supports Windows NT. Given that, many observers wonder what the advantage will be in using a Macintosh system. Ms. Hancock didn't answer the question, except to say that Apple will continue to support and sell OpenStep on the other platforms. "Our system will be cross-platform and cross-processor."

Both the Mac OS and Rhapsody will be optimized for PowerPC hardware. Rhapsody is expected to support all currently shipping PowerPC-based systems from Apple and its licensees, as well as the forthcoming CHRP platform.

The second phase of Rhapsody will be a premiere release, planned for delivery within 12 months. It is for early adopters of new technology in multiple market segments. These plans include a new but familiar look to the Mac OS interface. This release will let new software applications run in a fully preemptive and protected environment, and it will have limited compatibility with Mac OS applications.

A unified release of Rhapsody, scheduled for shipment in mid-1998, will be a general release to Apple's customer base. It will have next-generation technologies from both the developer and premiere releases, and it will be compatible with existing and future Mac OS applications. It will support Mac OS software through a Mac OS compatibility environment, which will be a complete implementation of the Mac OS hosted on the modern operating system infrastructure provided by Rhapsody. Since this environment will be provided by a complete Mac OS implementation, both 68000 and PowerPC-based software will be supported. Users will be able to boot either Mac OS or Rhapsody on a single Mac OS-compatible computer.

In the meantime, Apple will continue to improve upon the current Mac OS and will deliver upgrades this year. The first upgrade, due out by the end of the month, is System 7.6, or Harmony. It will be followed by the Tempo release later this year. The Allegro upgrade will debut beginning next year, followed by the Sonata upgrade in late 1998. "Eventually, the need for the old OS will be gone," said Mike Connor, VP of reliability and quality assurance at Apple.