Tom R. Halfhill
After years of carefully guarding its Macintosh system software, Apple (Cupertino, CA) is taking steps to spread the Mac OS to several different platforms, including the unprecedented step of licensing System 7 to third-party clone makers. However, there will probably be a few strings attached, and Apple is still working out the details.
One catch is that System 7 will be licensed only for systems and devices that are based on the PowerPC. Another is that Apple is unlikely to sanction Mac clones that compete head-to-head against genuine Macs in Apple dealer channels. Instead, Apple suggests, clone makers will be encouraged to explore new global and vertical markets that aren't central to Apple's hardware business.
This is similar to Apple's strategy for licensing Newton technology. Although New
ton partner Sharp (Japan) sells a hand-held PDA (personal digital assistant) that's almost identical to the Apple MessagePad, other Newton licensees are working on a variety of devices, ranging from digital cable TV set-top boxes to intelligent fax machines.
Why won't Apple license the Mac OS to run on Intel 80x86-based PCs? Because when Apple approached several potential licensees, says an Apple spokesperson, there was little interest in putting System 7 on PC clones. Instead, the vendors expressed more interest in building new PowerPC-based systems.
As with Apple's Power Macs, future "clone" systems could run the latest PowerPC Mac programs as well as existing Mac software, thanks to the 680x0 emulation built into the PowerPC version of System 7. An 80x86 version of the Mac OS would either require developers to port their software to that CPU or require Apple to add equally powerful 80x86 emulation to System 7. Neither task is trivial.
Another problem is that true Mac clones would requi
re additional hardware not found in PCs, such as the ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) and Apple's implementation of SCSI. Although Apple hasn't worked out all the details, licenses might include rights to proprietary Apple hardware as well as system software.
"This exercise is as much an art as a science," says Apple spokesman Frank O'Mahoney. "We're trying to make a marriage between two different business models--Apple's internal business model and those of our partners--and between two different technologies--our operating system and our partners' hardware."
Illustration: Apple and Microsoft are both trying to spread their system software to many different hardware platforms. One significant difference is that Microsoft is porting its flagship operating system, Windows NT, to run natively on various CPUs, while Apple is relying more heavily on emulation to run System 7 as a process on other operating systems. Microsoft is delegating Windows emulation to a third party (Insignia Solutions).
Apple Opens the Mac OS
