>OpenStep may represent Apple's
> foray into the x86 world
Not to mention SunSparc, UltraSparc Solaris, HP Risc.
>
> By Tom Quinlan
> InfoWorld Electric
>
> Posted at 1:21 PM PT, Dec 23, 1996
> Having scrapped its own plans for a next-generation operating system and
> chosen Next Software's OpenStep over the BeOS to help replace it, Apple will
> be offering OpenStep for the MacOS on the Intel x86 architecture in 1997.
>
> Apple, which last Friday announced its intended acquisition of Next Software
> and the part-time services of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was rumored to be
> in similar discussions with Be Inc. The company has been searching for help
> in rejuvenating the MacOS, which has fallen behind competitors such as
> Microsoft's Windows variants both in terms of technological capabilities and
> market share.
>
> See Apple to buy Next Software for $400 million, rehires Jobs
>
> According to Apple, the company decided to go with OpenStep instead of Be's
> operating system because it was a more mature OS that offered the same
> multitasking, multithreaded features as Be -- with the added benefit of
>being
> network ready and stable.
Can we call a spade a spade? Apple chose to use a world wide proven
standard, vrs. the new Amiga.
>
> A company spokesperson said the fact that OpenStep already runs on the Intel
> architecture was a compelling factor in acquiring Next.
>
> "Apple recognizes that the PowerPC isn't the only hardware platform out
> there, and [Chief Technology Officer Ellen] Hancock is really pushing
>the idea
> of expanding the platforms the MacOS can run on," said one source close to
> Apple.
>
> "That's heresy to a lot of factions within Apple, but Hancock is very
> committed to it," the source added.
>
> Apple does not intend to spell out fully how it will use the OpenStep
> technology until the Macworld show in San Francisco next month, the
> company stressed Next's cross-platform capabilities in announcing the
>merger.
>
> A spokesman for the company said that Apple remains committed to the
> PowerPC chip as its platform of choice, but noted that "one of the
>features that
> we expect of a next generation OS is that it have cross-platform
>capabilities."
>
> If Apple does bring an integrated NextStep/MacOS to the Intel platform, in
> addition to the PowerPC, it may have a compelling competitor to Microsoft's
> Windows NT architecture, analysts said.
And finally we can truely call NT what it is, ...Nice Try
>
> "NT is still in the toddler stage at best," said Richard Doherty, founder of
> Envisioneering Inc., a market research and testing firm in Seaford, N.Y. "If
> Apple goes ahead and brings this technology to the Intel platform, they
>have a
> chance to be way ahead of NT in the 32-bit OS space."
>
> Much of that would depend on how long it takes Apple to integrate the two
> OS platforms into a single OS, something else the company doesn't plan to
> unveil until the MacWorld show.
No, Apple is just going to scrap Sys 7.x over time.
>
> Sources familiar with Apple's plans indicated that OpenStep, and Next's
> server-oriented development platform WebObjects, would form the basis of
> the OS, with a number of Apple technologies being grafted on.
>
> Apple's contribution would include technologies such as QuickTime,
> QuickDraw, its Meta Content Format known as HotSauce, and the integration
> of Java technologies into the NextStep operating system.
QuickTime, QuickDraw is the screen rendering technology, and hopefully they
won't fuck up Display Post Script with Apple's shitty QuickDraw GX
technology. HotSauce???? Pleeeeeeeaaaaaassssseeeee no.
>
> Apple's ultimate success, however, is likely to hinge on how quickly
> developers embrace the idea of porting their existing Macintosh applications
> to the new hybrid OS.
Again, fuck Apple and Apple developers. Go to Stone Design or Lighthouse
Design amongst many other good NeXT Developers. Apple developers can either
jump on board or sink.
>
> Many developers applauded Apple's acquisition, but reserved full judgment
> until they find out how and when the changes will take place.
>
> "I'm really in a wait-and-see mode," said John Blackburne, a programmer in
> Hong Kong specializing in Web pages. Like others in the Mac community, he
> wants future releases of the Mac OS to offer greater stability and improved
> multitasking.
???? A programmer in Hong Kong specializing in Web pages? He writes HTML
and he is in a position to judge anything?
>
> Others seemed encouraged by the return of Jobs to Apple.
>
> "The acquisition of Next as well as Steve Jobs provides a bright opportunity
> because Steve has not only seen the future but he drives it," said Robert
> Roblin, senior vice president of marketing at Adobe Systems in San Jose,
>Calif.
> "He can identify new opportunities because he has a proven track record."
>
> However, some industry observers feel that Apple is too far off of
>corporate IT
> buyers' radar screens to make a difference in their future platform
>strategies.
>
> "Apple is largely irrelevant. What does Apple offer corporations? Not much,"
> said Steve Auditore, president of Zona Research in Redwood City, Calif.
Well ask a MIS director trying to manage 1000 Win'95 machines with NT
servers how far NeXTStep is off his wish list. Of course with NeXTStep he
would have free time again, his angina would stop, and his hair would quit
falling out.
>
> Apple Computer Inc., in Cupertino, Calif., is at http://www.apple.com/.
DOH! and don't forget to go to the source, http://www.next.com
>
> Additional reporting by Pardhu Vadlamudi, Jim Balderston, and Jon Skillings,
> the Asia-Pacific bureau chief of the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld
>affiliate.
--Stick your dick in your ear and fuck some sense into yourself.
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