Now, more than 10 years after Apple introduced the Mac, the first Mac OS-compatible systems sanctioned by Apple should be available soon
Dave Andrews
By the end of this month, at least three companies expect to be selling Mac OS-compatible systems. Each company will use a different strategy to complement Apple's line of Macs. For example, the first generation of
systems from Radius
(Sunnyvale, CA) will consist of high-end Macs for video-editing and color-publishing professionals. And other companies will introduce highly expandable systems with extra NuBus expansion slots or low-cost systems built using PC manufacturing facilities and some PC components. Also, companies such as Pioneer will release Mac clones for the entertainment market.
Bridgette (El Cajon, CA), a vendor of mass-storag
e products for the Mac, will be one of the first vendors to sell Mac clones. The company's first Quatro 850 systems, which will be sold under the Cutting Edge label, will use Apple's Centris 650 motherboard, the Apple SuperDrive floppy drive, and either a 25-MHz 68LC040 with no FPU or a 33-MHz 68040.
Bridgette hopes to introduce systems lacking from Apple's product line by introducing midrange tower Macs with three NuBus slots (the only systems available from Apple with three NuBus slots are the Power Mac 7100 and 8100), one PDS slot, five drive bays, and up to 128 MB of RAM. Future systems from the company will offer seven drive bays for RAID configurations.
The company may also offer DOS/Windows-compatible configurations through adapter cards from Orange Micro (Irvine, CA). For example, it expects to sell a 68LC040 version of the Quatro 850 with 8 MB of RAM, a 540-MB SCSI hard drive, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, and a 17-inch monitor for $1999. Another system, with 8 MB of RAM, a 270-MB SCSI h
ard drive, a keyboard, a mouse, and software utilities (but no monitor), will sell for under $1000.
Power Computing, a start-up company from Milpitas, California, is using the same components as Apple but in a motherboard of its own design. It will sell its own brand of Mac clones as well as motherboards to companies that want to build Mac clones. Power Computing declined to release specific details of its systems, but sources say the company will use widely available PC components (e.g., power supplies and chassis) whenever possible to make less expensive Mac systems. Power Computing's systems should sell for 10 percent to 15 percent less than a comparable Mac.
Power Computing's first PowerPC 601-based systems will likely ship this month in two configurations, a tower and a baby AT chassis, with standard Mac connectors, such as an ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) port for the keyboard and a 15-pin video connector. The first systems will contain NuBus slots, with support for PCI (Peripheral Component Int
erconnect) to follow. The company is employing a number of tactics to keep its systems inexpensive, sources said.
By making its motherboard fit the baby IBM AT form factor, Power Computing makes it possible for PC vendors, some of which may have excessive manufacturing capacity, to easily build Mac clones. PC makers can simply drop Power Computing motherboards into the baby AT chassis of their choosing.
CompuAdd (Austin, TX), a vendor of desktop PCs, notebooks, and servers, has already said that it will build systems for Power Computing that will be sold with the Power Computing label. CompuAdd expects to build 2000 to 3000 Mac clones a month.
Sources also indicate that Power Computing will reduce cost by building its motherboards using a four-layer process. In general, manufacturers make motherboards with four, six, or eight layers. Apple's Power Mac motherboards have six layers. Reducing the motherboard footprint generally requires more layers. Smaller footprints push the motherboard's
components closer together, which means more copper wires are closer together. Adding layers insulates those wires from interfering with each other. But increasing the layer count adds manufacturing steps and translates to increased cost, says Jim Turley, who is senior editor of the Microprocessor Report (Sebastopol, CA).
Sources say that by using a four-layer process, Power Computing can reduce its cost by $20 to $25 per motherboard compared to Apple's motherboards. "Using the AT chassis is a really shrewd idea," Turley says.
Tests done on prototypes of Power Computing's desktop system using the 680x0 version of BYTE's benchmarks indicate an overall performance comparable to that of Apple's Power Mac 7100/80 for Power Computing's 80-MHz desktop. BYTE's tests also indicate that Power Computing's 100-MHz tower system turned in a performance identical to that of a Power Mac 8100/100. BYTE will review the final systems in a later issue.
Volume purchasers of Macs look forward to Mac clones. "
Pricing is important," says Theresa Woodward, who is a purchaser for Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH), which currently has over 8000 Macs and buys 1500 more annually for new students. "If the systems are 100 percent compatible [and cost less than Apple's], we're more than willing to go with the clones."
Developers are waiting to see how well Apple's strategy succeeds before committing new programming resources. "The Mac is currently a lower priority [in Lotus Development's presentation-graphics products] than Windows and OS/2" says Nina McIntyre, general manager of Lotus's graphics products group. "It's definitely a wait-and-see situation."
Mac Clone Vendors at a Glance
Radius
, (408) 541-6100. Will build high-end Mac-compatible systems for high-end video editing and color graphics.
Power Computing
, (408) 526-0500. Will use PC components along with standard Mac components to introduce low-cost PowerPC and, later, 680x0-based systems.
Cutting Edge
, (619) 441-6992. First systems will be 680x0-based, highly expandable midrange systems.
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Radius's Mac OS-compatible systems will be high-end Macs for graphics or video-editing professionals. Radius's first systems will use the same motherboard as Apple's Power Mac 8100/110 and a PowerPc 601 CPU.
Mac Clones--Finally
