Thinking about Apple some more.

I Find Karma (adam@cs.caltech.edu)
Thu, 22 May 97 17:18:52 PDT


I went back to

http://live.apple.com/next/961220.pr.ltrs.amelio.html

and tried to figure out, again, what Apple's strategy is. I guess now I
can see it: OpenDoc never caught on, so it was ditched in favor of
integrating Java into the Mac OS. Cyberdog was killed because it's
based on OpenDoc. Copland was killed because Rhapsody wants to take its
cues from NeXT. And pushing the Newton away allows Apple to focus its
efforts completely on Rhapsody, so they can be a world class Internet
and intranet enterprise provider. I think.

Still, there's some interesting things in Gil's open letter, such as
those I snipped below. -- adam

---------------- 8< --------------------------------------------

A little background as to why we chose NeXT: As we looked at various
partners for our operating system development, we discovered that Apple
and NeXT had surprisingly complementary products, technologies, and
services. In fact, the more we looked at the two companies, the more we
realized that we each were strong where the other faced challenges, and
in many ways we filled in the blanks in each other's strategies. For
example, Apple needed a truly modern operating system and NeXT had an
exceptional operating system with modern services and API's. At the same
time, NeXT needed a high-volume installed base and Apple -- one of the
world's largest personal computer manufacturers -- has sold more than 26
million Macintosh systems.

...

Apple will be open to new technologies, and where they're developed
doesn't matter. In this new era, we will not be an island in the
industry; but rather build a bridge to the center of an open standards
world based on industry alliances.

...

Apple's Acquisition of NeXT: Five Key Points

1. Proof of a New Open Apple. Embracing outside technology and
cross-platform industry standards, Apple believes it can innovate in the
key areas that give its products and technology differentiation. NeXT's
cross-platform development environments in the enterprise and
Internet/intranet space allow developers to write once and deploy across
a range of Internet and client-server platforms. With Apple driving
alliances in the Internet/intranet space, Apple technology will
contribute to the further development of the information industry.

2. Strengthened Enterprise Position. NeXT's dynamic object-oriented
development environments allow enterprise customers to develop software
solutions quickly and deploy reusable applications on either traditional
client-server or Internet/intranet based networks. These powerful tools
allow new applications to access legacy data and applications, a key
concern for enterprise customers in the late 1990s. This, coupled with
Apple product offerings and the "megatrend" toward corporate-wide
intranets, reinvigorates Apple's product offering to enterprise
customers.

3. Strong Internet/Intranet Position. The acquisition of NeXT will
significantly strengthen Apple's technology portfolio in the
Internet/intranet space. Apple's current Internet products and
technologies, when combined with NeXT's object-oriented Java-enabled
open development platform, give the company a competitive advantage.
Apple Computer believes the acquisition of NeXT will give the company
the opportunity to become a preeminent development and deployment
platform for Java technology.

4. Kick-Start Apple's Software Business. The acquisition of NeXT's
development environments for enterprise and Internet markets will allow
Apple to supplement its growing list of software products with a
ready-made portfolio of powerful customer-focused software solutions.
Apple is committed to increasing the revenue it makes from its software
business and the acquisition of NeXT will be a significant milestone in
building a differentiated, sustainable and profitable software business.

5. Delivery of Next Generation OS. NEXTSTEP's maturity, networking,
customer and developer acceptance, multi-tasking, protected memory,
scalability from portable to server-level products, information linking,
and powerful object-oriented architecture - will provide the Mac OS the
underpinning it needs to provide differentiated multimedia and Internet
leadership moving forward. Apple is also confident that compatibility
with existing applications will be strong in Mac OS as it evolves.

----
adam@cs.caltech.edu

No one says Hey Dude with the gusto and verve that Tim does.
-- Rohit Khare