> Apple hardware direction suggestive of truth to NT kernel rumors?
>
> Over the past month, numerous readers and trusted sources have spoke of
>several new trends in Apple
> hardware development, including what appears to be an about-face on CHRP
>(the Common Hardware
> Reference Platform), the open PowerPC platform advocated by the clone
>makers before Apple ended
> new licensing and bought PowerComputing's Mac assets. This is very
>significant, because along with
> several other technologies that Apple is now focusing on, CHRP is the
>quickest route to compatibility
> with something else that has been long rumored to be in the wings for
>Apple: the Windows NT for
> PowerPC kernel.
>
> Rumors of Apple considering developing new versions of the Mac OS on top
>of the NT kernel for
> purposes of compatibility, portability to the Intel/x86 hardware
>platform, and the ability to shed the Mac
> OS's aging underpinnings (although -- arguably -- there could be better
>choices for this purpose) have
> been rampant for the past few months. It could be another "Apple buys Be"
>or "Apple partners with
> Oracle," something that was considered but hasn't been done -- but while
>skepticism keeps us from
> believing that it's likely, we can certainly see where it would make a
>certain amount of sense.
>
> With CHRP-based hardware and a new Mac OS built on top of the NT kernel,
>Apple would have an OS
> that delivered the industry's best interface, with a true plug-and-play
>platform (mostly avoiding the
> problems of NT's troublesome hardware setup) to back up the wide
>compatibility with Win32
> applications, drivers, and even hardware. It would also allow for a
>simple port of the new Mac OS to the
> x86 platform, where it could make further inroads where people are
>looking for familiar technology, but
> are open to better options that Windows itself.
>
> This scenario would explain rumors passed around earlier in the year of
>an Apple technology that would
> allow users of the Mac OS to run Win32 applications natively right in a
>Mac OS window, with all
> menus properly placed and speed being close to the same as using the
>Application in Windows itself --
> with little or no porting required by the developer.
>
> Of course, this is rather far "out there" as rumors go, and while a
>fascinating possibility that seems to be
> backed up by factual trends at Apple and elsewhere, it is far too soon to
>tell if this is a practical move for
> Apple, and if it would help Apple make new inroads in the Wintel space --
>or not.
-
Nobody really cared if Apple tanked it,
but now if Apple tanks it, it also tanks NeXT,
and we're going to do everything in our power
to make sure that doesn't happen. ... anonymous NeXT employee
<> tbyars@earthlink.net <>