Radius widens its influence

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, March 15, 1995 by Debby Patz

Although Milipitas, California-based Power Computing's pledge to bring Mac clones to the masses will have little direct impact on the magazine industry, the granting of a license to niche clonemaker Radius, Inc., promises to be good news for publishers. Sunnyvale, California-based Radius, Inc., has announced its intention to combine its existing strengths in the DTP world with the Mac OS to create what could be the ultimate machine for desktop-publishing and prepress work.

"It stands to reason that a company like Radius that makes ... most of the components you need in a high-end environment would integrate [the Mac OS], " says Andrew Eisner, director of product communication at Radius. "The only thing we didn't have was the CPU. Now it makes sense for Radius to make a complete solution geared for a specific purpose. "

Indeed, Radius is well positioned to create what it is heralding as plug-and-play Macintosh-compatible systems for the high-end video and desktop-publishing markets. From its experience creating accelerator boards, video editing and production boards and monitors, Radius has expertise in the inner workings of the Mac, and is already a player in the markets at which it will aim its clones. The clones, says Eisner, will come equipped with vast amounts of RAM, application-specific accelerator boards, 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution 21" PressView monitors, color integrated hardware-basically anything a desktop publisher would have to add to a standard Mac. They may also come bundled with appropriate software; the publishing workstation, for example, could include pagination and photo-manipulation applications (with the specifics depending on software licensing agreements). Radius CEO Chuck Berger estimates the video workstation will sell for around $30,000, with the publishing version selling for less than that.

But nine-year-old Radius still has some barriers to breach. In a survey published by MacUser in November 1994, Radius consistently scored "significantly below average, " largely because of complaints about technical support. Under Berger, who joined as CEO in 1993, the company's fortunes--not to mention its image-improved, assisted by its August 1994 merger with competitor SuperMac. (SuperMac, along with Apple itself, was among the best performers in the MacUser survey.) In fiscal 1994, the combined companies reported sales of $325 million. Nonetheless, Radius ended with a net income loss of $77 million, which the company attributes to reorganization and relocation costs.

Taking a bite out of Apple

Some suggest that Radius is now in the position to beat Apple at its own game, providing such a targeted solution that it would come to own the desktop publishing market. Responds Apple spokeswoman Jeni Johnstone, "We recognize that there may be some cannibalization of sales, but the incremental demand for the Mac OS will exceed the cannibalization. ... Licensing is a key component to increasing overall global marketshare."

Plus, Johnstone adds, "Licensees can play the role of reaching certain markets that Apple can't." Cornering a market niche certainly couldn't hurt: by Radius' own estimates, color publishers spend $7.7 billion a year on equipment. For now, Radius will remain dependent on Apple's lead. "They control the operating system and what goes in it, " says Eisner. But this will change as Apple gets more comfortable with its licensing arrangements.

Predicts Will Zachmann, president of Canopus Research in Duxbury, Massachusetts, "For Apple to simply turn [the OS] loose as software wouldn't make sense fight now. But down the road there's a good chance we'll see the Mac operating system as a software application." Johnstone confirms that Apple, along with IBM and Motorola, has agreed on non-proprietary hardware specifications that it will make available by next year. When that happens, predicts Radius' Eisner, "the relationship with Apple will go through [more] changes."