Five falls ago --
September 1991
-- we covered the big news of the Apple/IBM alliance:
NEWS: Microbytes: Apple and IBM Plot Portable Possibilities
by Ellen Ullman and Sharon Fisher
It could be the most significant partnership since IBM got together w
ith Microsoft. Or it could be yet another alliance that yields sound and fury and ink but little else. Although generally agreeing that the proposed technology-sharing agreement between Apple Computer and IBM could have awesome consequences, industry insiders are taking a wait-and-see approach.
By joining forces with IBM, Apple hopes to place itself squarely in what one Apple executive called "the mainstream." Each area of the tentative agreement offers Apple an opportunity to join or help establish an industry standard. A big partner like IBM would also give Apple someone to share the high costs of R&D and innovation. IBM could gain access to Apple's wealth of expertise in system software, graphical interfaces, digital media, and interapplication communications.
Apple says that it will integrate the Mac into IBM's Systems Application Architecture (SAA), which is IBM's environment for corporate computing. Apple will combine its A/UX with AIX, IBM's version of Unix. In A/UX, Apple has "a standard o
perating system, but it runs on the 68000," said Roger Heinen, vice president and general manager of Apple's Macintosh software architecture division. "There is a motivation to get it into the mainstream." IBM said that it plans to offer a version of the Mac interface on top of AIX.
Apple has been working for three years on a new object-oriented operating system, code-named Pink. The company would like to see this successor to the Mac OS become an industry standard. According to Ed Birss, Apple's manager of object-based systems, "We chose IBM because we always believed that in order to launch a new platform, to get industry acceptance, you need more than one company. We have been out looking to see the best one to help us get that industry acceptance."
Pink, the germ of Apple's next-century operating system, will have objectoriented structures implemented deeply into its architecture, according to Heinen. It will be portable and designed to run on multiple processors, including the Intel 80x86, Mo
torola 680x0, and IBM Power PC, derived from the RISC System/60O0 chip set.
According to Birss, the new platform has been designed "up front for portability." Written in C++ (with some assembly for tuning), the new OS will be portable with "less code rewriting than Unix," Birss said. The platform will interoperate with the existing Mac OS, the proposed Apple/IBM AIX, and OS/2 2.0. Interoperability may be accomplished through emulations, but "existing programs will run," Birss added. IBM, although scant with details, has confirmed that applications running on the Mac, AIX, and OS/2 will somehow work in this new environment.
Metaphor Computer Systems, now a part of IBM, will work on this new operating platform, although its role isn't clear yet. Metaphor had been working with IBM on the Constellation Project, another portable, object-oriented platform. That project will be rolled into the Pink project.
In the near term, Apple will continue to advance the Mac, Heinen said. The Mac OS will run o
n the new IBM Power PC architecture, to be priced in the range of $1000 to $3000. It will have improved networking, memory management, and security features, he said.
As for the new chips to be derived from the RISC System/6000 chip set, IBM said that it will develop several models; one for notebook-size computers, one for more powerful desktop PCs and low-end workstations, and one for big servers and midsize workstations.
The first products that are likely to spring out of this partnership are those that will let the Mac operate in "the IBM enterprise environment." Such integration could take place in two areas: integrating Macs with mainframes and with IBM PCs in a network, said Tom Pincince, product manager of micro-to-mainframe products for Avatar.
"My assumption would be that 'the enterprise environment' could imply, certainly, Token Ring connectivity, since that seems to be the stated direction for connecting IBM systems," said Tom Lenahan, senior product manager for Mac products at Di
gital Communications Associates. "On the software side, I would think that we would see probably a closer integration with things like APPC [Advanced Peer-to-Peer Communications] and APPN [Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking], and some of the stated technologies in SAA as well," he added. IBM might take advantage of some Apple technologies, said Steve Nelson, director of product marketing for Novell's Macintosh product line, "like the way AppleTalk automatically comes up and finds its address; they could graft that to SNA [IBM's Systems Network Architecture], or develop utilities."
Meanwhile, the industry waits for more details to shake out. Skeptics say this alliance-part business, part politics, and part technology-will never work, because you can't mix pinstripes with T-shirts. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the company's chairman Bill Gates asked, "How are they going to make money?" As other companies were quick to point out, Microsoft representative Claire Lematta said, "Customers won't see an
ything [from Apple/IBM] for a long time."
For now, life goes on, and most vendors and users don't need to worry about another operating system or new RISC chips. Anyone trying to look further down the road will see just a purple haze.
The Apple/IBM technology-sharing agreement consists of four "areas of
general understanding," which are listed here in order of their
probable appearance as products. The agreement concerns only these
"specific technologies," according to Jim Groff, marketing director
in Apple's Enterprise Systems Division. Beyond the listed areas,
Apple and IBM "remain fierce competitors," he said.
Integration of the Mac into IBM's enterprise Systems.
Networking
and communications products to extend operation of the Mac in the IBM
client/server environment. Joint development of a combined Apple/IBM
Posix-compatible version of Unix, consisting of the Mac interface and
IBM's AIX operatin
g system.
Future RISC-based Macs using a Single-chip implementation of IBM's
RISC System/6OOO chip set.
Single-chip implementation of the RISC
System/6000, to be called Power PC, will be manufactured by Motorola.
Apple and IBM will use the Power PC microprocessors in workstations
and file servers.
Common work on data standards for multimedia.
Apple and IBM to
create and license "platform-independent software environments" for
multimedia. The technology "will be made available for use on other
vendors' products."
A joint venture to produce a new, object-oriented operating system.
Apple's Pink scalable operating system will run on major industry
platforms, including Intel 80x86, Motorola 680x0, and IBM's RISC
System/6000 Power PC architecture. The system will be offered for
sale to run on IBM and Apple computers and "will be marketed widely
by the new company for use on other vendors' systems."
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5 Years Ago in BYTE
