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Thursday, May 28, 1998
By Jeff Valvano
Date: 5/27/98 12:08 PM Received: 5/27/98 7:53 PM From: Ken Bereskin, xxxxxxxx@apple.com To: jeffv, jeffv@webspan.net Jeff, Yes, this issue needs some clarification. This is our official view. Once Rhapsody 1.0 is released this fall for both PowerPC and PC-Compatible platforms, all of our energies will be focused on Mac OS X. As a product, Mac OS X will only support Apple PowerPC G3 systems. Processor independence is important longer term, but PowerPC is our singular focus for Mac OS X and we will apply our key resources on making Mac OS X exceptionally great. Ken ------------------------ Ken Bereskin Director, OS Technology Worldwide Product Marketing Apple Computer, Inc. ----------------- End Public Message -----------------
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News Index 1)Mac OS X Will Only Support Apple G3s |
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| iMac's Price to be Sliced to $999.95 for X-Mas? |
Welcome to the Reality distortion field, where the rumors fly high and far, but not out of range. With CompUSA placing pre-orders for the iMac of over 60,000 units, and Apple expecting to sell an additional 540,000 units in a years time, you kind of begin to wonder 'how they plan to do this?'.
Depending on the Success of the iMac...
We've received a number of identical rumors revolving around potential price drops on the iMac, over time. It may seem a little far-out to try and call a price drop on a unit that has yet to ship, but the iMac is a special case, within its self.
Sources who attended the WWDC a couple of weeks ago came back with some encouraging tidbits. According to sources who were in contact with Apple representatives, and marketing executives throughout the expo, dropping the iMac's price tag below the $1000 mark for the holiday season has been something they've been toying with. Though nothing has been engraved in stone, sources state that the decision will be made pending on how well the iMac does with its introduction and throughout the Fall shopping season.
Apple Pushes For Games
Jobs is making sure that Apple makes its mark at the E3 gaming conference in Atlanta this week, throwing the iMac in the face of game developers. We doubt that we'll see instant results, but it may help in the long run. MacWeek also reported that GT Interactive Software Corp. announced on Tuesday that sales of Apple consumer software rose by 100% in the first quarter.
We've got some really exciting news regarding iMac to tell you about in the coming week, so stay tuned.If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Mac OS X Graphics and Imaging 05/25 |
Mac OS X Graphics and Imaging:
DPS - Out, PDF - In
Jordan Dea-Mattson took the stage to introduced Peter Graffagnino, Director of the Graphics and Imaging group at Apple, to discuss Graphics and Imaging for MacOS X at the WWDC last week. Throughout the course of the conferences Graffagnino dealt with 4 designated areas: MacOS X graphics and windowing architecture, Implications for Carbon applications, Implications for Yellow applications, and Enhancements to QuickDraw.
Under Mac OS X, each Application will be a separate Mach task. Low-level applications services reside in servers and really low-level stuff will be part of the Core OS. The windowing server in Mac OS X is graphics model independent, meaning there is no PostScript built into the window server. Drawing will occur in the graphics library (ies) as an application task, and QuickDraw will be contained in an extremely important shared library that is on its way.
LightWeight WindowServer Architecture
WindowServer Architecture
LightWeigh WindowServer Break Down
Graffagnino then went on to explain implications for MacOS apps coming over to Carbon. The topics he covered included: What's changed, Gotcha's, and What's new. Graffagnino explained that very little has actually changed in terms of imaging for MacOS X from MacOS 8; QuickDraw and other related managers come over to Carbon with very little change at all. The topics contained under Gotcha's and What's new, are covered in the bullet sequences below. These topics are quite technical if you have no experience with the MacOS ToolBox.
MacOS 8 to MacOS X Graphics and Imaging Gotcha's
What's New for Graphics and Imaging in Carbon
Graffagnino moved on to the YellowBox where he covered the same basic topics as he did with the MacOS; What's changed, Gotcha's, and What's new. The slight changes for the YellowBox include, a slight alteration at the AppKit level, moving away from DPS-based (Display Post Script) WindowServer as low-level graphics and windowing engine, and in-turn, a move toward PDF as the standard graphic file format for MacOS X. And this is the big news.
MacOS X to Use PDF In Place of DPS
As we mentioned earlier, Display Post Script is out, and in its place Apple has placed
PDF. Graffagnino went on to detail the reasoning behind such a move. PDF will provide
a more reliable PostScript imaging model than PS language. For example, Explicit
page independence, random access, and simpler to parse and generate. PDF has widely
available viewers and creator applications. PDF is also a proposed ANSI standard
(PDF/X).
YellowBox MacOS X Graphics and Imaging Gotcha's
What's New for Graphics and Imaging in YellowBox
Making the Change from Rhapsody to Mac OS X
Graffagnino stated that PostScript is essentially the Language plus the Graphics
library. Apple will be implementing the Graphics library and dropping the language
in Mac OS X. This will lead the way and build a foundation for implementing other
emerging standards such as PDF/X, PGML, Java 2D, and so on.
What is Lost, What is Kept, and What is Gained?
Among the losses will be the PostScript language and direct EPS preview. But most
notably will be the loss of Client/Server "out-of-the-box", which in turn
means no NXHosting. However, Graffagnino mentioned that NXHosting could still be
implemented with some bitmap compressions techniques hooked in at the right levels
or by overriding all the procedures and graphics languages and then serializing them
yourself. Though as Graffagnino mentioned, building your graphics system for the
Mac OS around NXHosting is just not a smart thing to do; it really makes no sense.
The imaging mode, device independence and high fidelity between screen and page,
are retained from the transition. Among the features that will be gained as a result
of the transition are, direct PDF generation in AppKit; i.e. when you save in the
print panel, you'll have a PDF file instead of a PS file, smaller footprint, performance,
and control. The library will be built with AltiVec and the PPC in mind. This is
all Apple technology now.
"Enhanced QuickDraw" Goals
"Enhanced QuickDraw" Features
Enhanced GrafPort
Taking Advantage of QuickDraw Extensions
Summary "The Best of Both Worlds"
Overall, the response to the new graphics and imaging strategy was quite positive. Of course there were some concerns about the loss of DPS and NXHosting, but PDF will make up for the losses in other areas. In addition, those who were upset about the loss of these features, admitted openly that it was best for Apple to peruse the new strategy, as it made more sense for Apple's market. The advantage in Graphics and Imaging for Mac OS X is clearly in favor of YellowBox developers, though either way, the new strategy makes sense, and is bound to succeed.
For more information like this, and information on Rhapsody DR2, Apple's new hardware, and so forth, check out our WWDC 1998 Report, which we will continue to update.If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Apple's 4th Product Line?: See Mac OS Lite 05/25 |
Many of you may recall our recent stories entitled The eMac and MacOS Lite, and MacOS Lite & The eMac Part 2, which revolved around a watered down version of the Mac OS, a stylish new eMate successor in full living color, and a handful of third party Macintosh munchkins. You may also be asking your self, 'how does this all fit in with Apple's new hardware and software strategies?'. The answer is, it doesn't... at least, not yet.
What's Up Doc?
While the few WWDC sessions made public showed no sign of Mac OS Lite, or a new lightweight portable, sources who attended last weeks conference claim that the private, non-broadcasts sessions, especially those dealing with education, were full of juicy inside hints at forthcoming Apple products. The eMac, and by no means are we stating this will be the name inscribed within the Apple plastics come shipping time, was constantly referred to as 'the portable to be out in the first Quarter of 1999'. Apple representatives throughout the conference made constant reference to the eMate, acknowledging the hole it left in Apple's product line, its importance in the market, the tens of thousands which are still in use, and followed up by explaining how the 'new portable' would not only fill its shoes, but prove to be revolutionary.
Where's the Proof Johnny?
With the demise of the Newton official, Mac OS Lite is all but implied. Take a step back now. The NewtonOS is no more; Apple has the MacOS, and Rhapsody in its closet. Apple has also promised a new product line, and a new educational portable due in the first quarter of 1999. (This, though not officially public, has been promised to developers under NDA.). The portable will not run Rhapsody, and it will not run the full blown Mac OS, for that would defeat the common goal of the eMac. Enter Mac OS Lite: the essential NC/embedded applications OS, ideal for low-cost educational portables, and consumer market mini-macs (see munchkins, above). Why no visual proof? It's simple. Apple has not seeded a build of the software, nor have they distributed a product that will actually run the new software. Combine these facts with Steve Jobs' new security measures, and you have your answer.
Putting the Pieces Together
Ahh, the mysterious 4th product line often mentioned when Jobs collides with the media. Both slated for Quarter 1 of 1999, the 4th product line and the Mac OS Lite branded products virtually collide at an intersection, forming one common bond: Palmtop/handheld/lightweight portables for both the education and consumer markets. According to sources tucked tightly in their place, the 4th product line will include the eMacs, the Mac OS Mini's and so on, all operating on versions Mac OS Lite.Sources tell us that the revolutionary announcements scheduled for MacWorld New York in July, will included Apple's 4th product line, in order to build developer support for its January release. Though, this may not be the only surprise in-store, as there may be some significance to the fact that Steve Jobs will not be attending MacWorld NY this summer. He'll be beamed in via satellite to join none other than Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of worldwide product marketing.
Steve, say it isn't so. The calf has not yet learned to walk on its own.If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Allegro a5 and a6 Move System Update Closer to Beta 05/25 |
While readers have alerted us that Apple began seeding alpha 6 of Allegro, early this past weekend, Reality sources have yet to thoroughly test the built, and therefore we'll refrain from premature reports on the subject. However, sources who scratched and fought to obtain a build of the internally seeded Allegro a5 that was demonstrated at the WWDC, finally succeeded and they passed on their findings which we have highlighted below.
Changes Here and There
With this alpha build, Apple has set Netscape Navigator 4.0 to install on default along with Internet Explorer, thank the lord. Disk First Aid is becoming quite the utility. It now un-mounts the volume in question before checking/repairing the volume, and displays the time remaining for the check/repair sequence with a progress bar above it. The Disk First Aid error reports are also extremely detailed and color coded. The Network Browser, formally known as 'File Servers' has been updated, and sports an elegant new icon which slightly mirrors that of the Windows 95 Network Neighborhood. The MacOS Chooser has also been altered to express the platinum look of Allegro. The current Chooser version is 7.6.2a6c1.Allegro a5 Markup Image
half-size image (60K) high-quality image (183K)
Some minor changes and bug fixes in a5: The repetitive window shade sound has been re-implemented (this effect can be heard via option-click-window shade). Sound in Allegro is now functional with Apple Vision AV Monitors. The Hi-Tech theme once again works correctly. Menu's in some applications still don't take advantage of the theme files. This may or may not change come the release of 8.5 in September. It may be up to the third party to correct their application. The Scripting Additions system sub folder sports a shinny new icon and the default help icon has been changed from crystal blue, to gray.
High Quality PlainTalk Voices in Allegro?
Some major changes in Allegro a5 include the addition of 3 new 'High Quality' voices, and several other normal quality speech voices. Sources state that the 'High Quality' voices are a dramatic improvement over the standard 'Fred' voice. Could this possibly be part of the new speech synthesis we told you about a few months back? (see New PlainTalk Speech Synth?) It's hard to tell at this point in time. The speech control panel has also been updated. We'll keep you posted.
Update : These voices aren't brand new, and were previously an optional D/L. It looks like the New Speech Synth has still yet to be unveiled.
Performance
Applications launch rather fast under alpha 5 of Allegro. Finder windows seem to buffer themselves as the user sends a request to open them, via double clicking. The windows then instantly draw to the screen. Startup time has been reduced, but loading the desktop makes up for it. A sound effect is played as each volume mounts to the desktop. Theme files under alpha 5 are said to perform smoother and faster. Find 2.0 now reads from the event queue as it is launched (like find 1.0, so users can type their request before the application actually draws to the screen) and performance seems to have improved in this area as well, though sources state it could be the core system software which is making up the difference.
Allegro a5c2 is without a doubt the most crash prone build tested by our sources, though it wasn't a seeded build, so this may have something to do with it. Work still needs to be done on the three theme files, Anti-aliasing, the new control panels, the tear-off menu, and a slew of underlying features, before the system update hits the beta stage. Many of these issues may be addressed in alpha 6. Stay tuned for a report on a6 sometime soon.
Further information on Allegro can be found in our Allegro Information Archive.If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Rhapsody Intel - R.I.P. 05/25 |
While our previous report was clearly intended to express the long life of Rhapsody Intel, the major source of our initial argument retracted his earlier statement, because even those who are Apple employees make mistakes once in a while. This just goes to show the confusion revolving around the cross-platform/Rhapsody situation not only in the media, but also within 1 Infinite Loop.
It's All But Official
Jordan Dea-Mattson's latest statement can been read below. While this does not officially state that Rhapsody Intel is dead, everything we've learned over the past week has basically implied it. Therefore, we're confident that Rhapsody Intel will be 6 feet under the moment YellowBox runtime for Windows hits the market. Looks like our friends at the ThessaSource were right all along in their assessment of the NYTimes article published the day after the big announcement.Subject: I made an error in an earlier posting....
From: Jordan Dea-Mattson <xxxxxx@apple.com>
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 10:48:22 -0700
X-Message-Number: 31
All -
Folks are wondering about contradictions in my postings. Well, the
reality is that I made an error in an earlier posting. Which I worked to
correct going forward.
Yours,
Jordan
====
Subject: Re: Building a business case....
Date: 5/19/98 8:12 PM
Received: 5/19/98 8:18 PM
From: ----------, xxxxxx@tundra.orgt
CC: Jordan Dea-Mattson, xxxxxxx@apple.com
At 7:53 PM -0500 5/19/98, Andre Newdel:
>If you indeed wrote this, then there are some major communications problems
>within Apple:
(Note, he did write that e-mail, I have it as should many others on this
list.)
>"Apple will be delivering Rhapsody 1.0 for Intel and will continue to
>deliver Rhapsody for Intel. Bertrand stated this clearly in his keynote."
>
>versus
>
>"Our own market analysis doesn't show a business case that justifies that
>required investment."
>
>Which one is it?
I have to agree Jordan. I just used that e-mail to back up my own
arguments about Rhapsody/Intel. So far you've been a great source of
frank Apple info, and I'd like to see that continue.
So which one? Has Apple officially committed to R/I past v1.0?
Thanks,
xxxxxxxBut Why?
We hate to be optimistic about the demise of the OS, so we'll try not to be. If you look at the facts it will become clear. Apple is mainly a hardware company. 90% of Apple's total revenue generates from the sale of hardware. However a large percentage of Apple's overhead is due to software development and R&D. This all results from the fact that Apple produces the total package; the machines and the OS, where the OS helps to sell the hardware and vice versa. Investing millions on the further development and marketing of an Intel based server OS would oppose almost everyone of the morals that Steve Jobs has worked to instate over the past 9 months. Apple is about the MacOS, and it's 12 million plus loyal customers.
Apple would have to sell Rhapsody Intel dirt cheap for it to be successful, and they would in-turn profit very little no matter how many units they ship. It would give consumers an incentive to purchase Intel hardware instead of Apple hardware, a big no-no. Result: Apple actually loses. With developers in mind, Apple shifts to YellowBox runtime for Windows which they will offer at a small fee to consumers. The YellowBox is the cross-platform environment. For the average Macintosh customer, this means absolutely nothing. For those who craved the Intel server solution, 'Oh well, Apple's business strategy no longer follows this path.'.If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Apple Rethinks Its Distribution Channels 05/18 |
Mitch Mandich, Senior Vice President of World Wide sales took the stage at the closing keynote of the WWDC to talk about the channel. Mandich mentioned that the first thing Apple looked at last September, when it began to rethink its retail strategy, was friendship. In other words, did these resellers care for Apple, did they advocate the product, did they understand the technology, or did they just carry the product, making no effort to keep up-to-date with the technology, and care little about actually selling the Apple product. What they found was a lot of the latter, according to Mandich. So they began to look at where they (Apple) had support, and advocacy. Outlets such as MicroCenter, with their Apple Store within a store, were a perfect example of something that was working to sell Apple products. And so Apple set out to mirror this approach in what they found to be the best of the best; CompUSA.
Channel Structure -Distributors
- In the United States, Apple had 5 distributors, and now they have slimmed down to two. Ingram and Pinacor (previously known as MicroAge).
- In Europe, Apple is down to 2-3 distributors over the major regions.
- In Japan, and Asia, Apple will take the same approach as it did with Europe.
Channel Structure - National Reseller.
- CompUSA is Apple's National Reseller.
Mandich emphasized the importance of thinning the top layer, making it easier for Apple's distributors to help Apple communicate better to the entire reseller channel, globally. Something they felt would be quite difficult with a mass of distributors. Apple is keen on making sure these people are trained on Apple products, their knowledgeable about solutions, and that they can discuss promotions and relay this information to Apple's resellers.
Resellers
When Apple pulled out of the various other retail chains (see Best Buy, Sears, Computer City, and so on) they put 200 Million dollars of revenue up in the air. 'This is the risk we took', stated Mandich. Mandich touted the fact that to sell your product in the vast market, you would automatically think 'many distribution points', but this will only work if your product sells its self, if you have top of the line advertising to promote the product, and you have an outpour of advocacy. Otherwise, you become 'over distributed', to the point that it is embarrassing as a customer to walk into a store where your products, 2 generations old, are covered in dust and unplugged. 'This was the state of Apple 9 months ago.'.
Mandich explained the benefits of the Apple Store within a Store at CompUSA, how CompUSA have benefited, how Apple has benefited, and even how mail-order catalogs have benefited from the arrangement. He mentioned that while catalogs are a great way to sell Apple products, and their importance is increasing quarterly, it isn't the best way to promote Apple, as a company. The mail-order catalog is a channel that is more for the second time buyer, who know what they want to buy and who understands the technology.
As of today, CompUSA stocks over 200 Macintosh software SKUs (Stock-Keeping Unit), but basically what they are doing is going straight to Ingram's top 200, picking those SKUs, and bringing them to the store. Apple is now focusing on getting CompUSA to recognize some of the great new software from startup and smaller companies, and in turn bringing these products into the store. Mandich also mentioned that Apple's software sales at CompUSA have risen across the board, and they are working to obtain this effect elsewhere in the marketplace.
The Retail Experience
Mandich also touched on the regional retail situation, explaining that CompUSA is not the only place Apple is selling its products. Mandich complimented the J&R retail experience in NYC, and he enthusiastically expressed his commitment to bringing the kind of customer experience from J&R into all of the CompUSA's and other regional retail outlets; where the customer doesn't have to look aimlessly for a salesman.
Mandich stated that in addition to these retail outlets, Apple has 8 mail-order catalogs, and 3600 reselling locations. He stated that he felt this was excessive, and Apple would be making some changes in this area.
The Apple Store
The Apple Store has sold approximately 50 million dollars worth of Apple product since November 10th, and they plan to sell 100 Million by November 10th 1998. Mandich threw up the idea of placing Macintosh software and partner software on the Apple Store, and how would they go about doing this through a distribution channel, while working with Ingram and Pinacor. The U.K. Apple Store has been slightly disappointing so far, but Apple realizes that Europe isn't at the e-commerce level and Internet level that the United States is. Apple Stores for Japan and Asia pacific are next on the list. Mandich also announced that United States channel resellers will soon have the option to order built to order systems for resale.
Channel Inventory
Apple also plans to continue to reduce their channel inventory. At one time, Apple ended a quarter with 2 Billion in inventory, sitting like dead ducks. Last quarter Apple had 250 million worth of inventory in the channel, it's lowest in the history of the company. Apple's channel inventory is about 4 to 5 weeks as opposed to Compaq, who's channel inventory is 90 days. In the long run, this will be better for developers who wish to bundle their software on the new Macintosh models.
Apple Service Providers and Reseller Locations
Apple has cut their 8000 services providers (repair centers) to 3500. Apple realized that a majority of these providers had obtained a license in 1985, and since then, have gone down the drain to the point where they are no longer qualified to service Apple products, and hence, Apple is pulling their licenses. Apple will also be streamlining its reselling locations, removing an addition 1,100 selling locations in the United States who no longer meet Apple's standards. Despite the large number at hand, Apple only sacrifices 11 Million dollars of revenue from this decision. In reality, this will help Apple, who spends an excess of money supporting these un-loyal resellers who portray Apple products poorly and provide a unsatisfactory experience for the potential Apple customer. Apple will also be making the 'Learn and Earn' program mandatory in the retail channel and will push to increase the amount of software SKUs carried by resellers.
Wave Bye-Bye to Some of those Mail-Order Catalogs
Mandich continually hinted at down-sizing the number of mail-order catalogs from 8 to 3 or 4, and possibly making it a policy for the remaining catalog channels to carry 800 or 1000 software SKUs instead of the 400 they currently carry. Bravo, Mitch.
Mandich also mentioned that Apple would be increasing the amount spent on advertising, from 25 million per quarter, to 50 million per quarter, over time. In closing, Mandich ensured that the plan was get Apple healthy again, and once Apple is healthy, everyone else could succeed.
For more information like this, and information on Rhapsody DR2, Apple's new hardware, and so forth, check out our WWDC 1998 Report, which we will continue to update due to the overwhelming amount of information still flowing in.If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Yes, Apple Purchased Final Cut from Macromedia! 05/18 |
On May 4th, after rumors were flying high about the possibility of Apple purchasing Macromedia's Final Cut video editing software, Apple posted a vague press release entitled 'Apple Acquires Technology From Macromedia'. The press release neither confirmed, nor denied whether the 'software' was actually Final Cut, and to our knowledge, and that of the various other media outlets, it was still unclear. Until now, of course.
While keeping a close ear to the events at last week's WWDC, we came across a question and answer session with Mitch Mandich, which finally ended our confusion on Apple's mistery acquisition. The quotes taken directly from the conference can be seen below.Question : "You stated that Apple is primarily a Hardware company, how do you justify that with your current activities with the Macromedia folks?"
Mitch Mandich : "...we are really trying to go out and expand our software reach. I think it's very clear to all of you here; we want to make QuickTime the standard world wide. We are working really hard with it. Umm, the Final Cut decision is absolutely geared to make QuickTime a more integrated and stronger product."Apple is committed to making QuickTime the industry standard for digital video authoring and playback on personal computers and over the Internet, and this acquisition brings further proof to their statements. We'd expect to see the product of this acquisition with QuickTime 3.5 or later.
If you have any further information on this subject, please inform us.
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| Apple's 'Think Seinfeld' Commercial 05/18 |
Due to popular demand, we've posted a copy of the modified Think Different commercial that Apple ran during the final episode of Seinfeld last week. The .mov file is compressed to 3.5MB and requires QuickTime3. Is everyone happy now ? :) Many thanks go out to Cache-Computing for hosting the Apple movie file for us.
Get it here...
Seinfeld - Apple Think Different CommercialIf you don't have QuickTime 3, Get it!
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| This Week's Apple News 05/25 |
How Slow Does Windows98 Go?
-A recent series of tests by cnet with Windows 95 and Windows98 show Win98 to be significantly slower.
Bungie Announces Myth II
-Check out screenshots of the up and coming Myth II: Soulblighter.
Web Objects 4.0
-Users will no longer need a Web server to run applications created with WebObjects Builder.
-The release of WebObjects 4.0 is due in the fall of 1998.Steve Does it Again with Intuit
-Rumor has it that Intuit, makers of Quicken and QuickBooks, have reopened development of futures versions of the Macintosh Quick Books application. Wow.
You Know You Have a Problem When...
1. You wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and stop to check your e-mail on the way back to bed.
2. You decide to stay in college for an additional year or two, just for the ethernet access.
3. You laugh at people with 9600-baud modems.
4. You start using smileys in your snail mail.
5. You check your mail. It says "no new messages." So you check it again.
6. You name your children Eudora, Mozilla and Dotcom.
7. You refer to going to the bathroom as downloading.
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