TidBITS#360/06-Jan-97

TidBITS#360/06-Jan-97
=====================

Macintosh users begin the new year speculating about Apple's
purchase of NeXT, and, in this issue, Adam and Geoff examine the
acquisition. In other news, we report on new versions of
FileMaker, LetterRip, ListSTAR, and RAM Doubler, as well as poor
financial results in Apple's most recent quarter. We also note an
error in last week's Netter's Dinner announcement and invite you
to attend Adam's book signing at Macworld Expo.

Topics:
MailBITS/06-Jan-97
The NeXT Thing for Apple
What System Comes NeXT?

<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-360.html>
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Copyright 1996 TidBITS Electronic Publishing. All rights reserved.
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MailBITS/06-Jan-97
------------------
As we start 1997, I want to express our thanks for your votes in
the American Journalism Review's Top 50 news sites poll. They
arrived in sufficient numbers to place TidBITS 17th out of 50 news
sites, ahead of sites such as MSNBC and HotWired. In the related
story, Eric Meyer of AJR noted, "TidBITS readers ended up being
the most supportive of requests from publishers to cast ballots in
their publication's favor. Nearly 1,300 TidBITS readers followed
links from TidBITS to NewsLink to vote for that site." Some other
extremely worthy Macintosh news sites placed well, including Ric
Ford's MacInTouch (25th), ZDNet (34th, including MacUser and
MacWEEK), and Macworld (36th). Thanks again for your support - we
generally avoid blowing our own horn, so it's nice to receive this
sort of recognition. [ACE]

<http://www.newslink.org/bestresults.html>

**Fourth Down, $100 Million To Go** -- Following a surprise $25
million profit during its last fiscal quarter, Apple said it
expects a loss of between $100 to $150 million for the first
fiscal quarter ending 27-Dec-96. Apple blamed the decline on slow
holiday Performa sales and continued unavailability of PowerBook
models. Although most Apple executives did not expect to post
back-to-back profits for the two quarters, the deeper loss could
force more restructuring than planned, and possible layoffs. Apple
will announce the actual fiscal results on 15-Jan-97. [JLC]

<http://product.info.apple.com/pr/press.releases/1997/q2/
970103.pr.rel.earnings.html>

**More Power from the P.O.** The world of Macintosh mailing list
managers just became more compelling with the release of
StarNine's ListSTAR 1.1 and Fog City Software's LetterRip 1.0.
ListSTAR 1.1 (a free upgrade from 1.0) adds templates for easing
the creation of new mailing lists and email services, provides
digests with a table of contents, and is Open Transport native.
ListSTAR comes in SMTP ($499) and POP ($199) versions, although
the SMTP version is significantly more powerful. We run the
43,000-person TidBITS mailing list using ListSTAR/SMTP 1.1, and it
has proven an excellent performer.

The $295 ($195 through 31-Jan-97, with a 30-day evaluation
version) LetterRip takes a different approach. Where ListSTAR
provides tremendous flexibility and suffers from related
complexity, LetterRip has garnered kudos for its ease of use and
configuration. LetterRip is also Open Transport native, and can be
administered remotely. [ACE]

<http://www.starnine.com/liststar/liststar.html>
<http://www.fogcity.com/letterrip.html>

**RAM Doubler 2.0.1** -- Connectix has released an update to RAM
Doubler 2.0, its popular utility program that doubles (or triples)
the amount of memory your Mac thinks it has available (see
TidBITS-351_). The 2.0.1 update fixes a problem using Retrospect
3.0 to restore data to removable media on PCI Power Macs, and is
required update for the faster networking copying feature in the
soon-to-be-available Speed Doubler 2.0. [GD]

<http://www.connectix.com/connect/upda.ram.html>

**FileMaker 3.0v4** -- Claris has released an update to FileMaker
Pro 3.0, which fixes a number of memory leaks using Apple events
and other minor problems with record selection, portals, printing,
and more. The updater works on any U.S. version of FileMaker Pro
3.0; localized versions of the update are expected shortly.

<http://www.claris.com/software/highlights/filemaker/updaters/docs/
3.0v4.html>

Also of note, FileMaker Pro 3.0 has problems responding to Apple
events when ObjectSupportLib 1.1.1 is installed. (ObjectSupportLib
1.1.1 can be installed by a number of applications, including
previews of AOL 3.0). Claris has made ObjectSupportLib 1.1.6
available, which seems to work fine with FileMaker but has been
reported to cause problems with other applications, including
Eudora. If you have trouble using Apple events with FileMaker, you
may wish to revert to version 1.1 (1.1 should have come with your
System software) and place a copy of version 1.1.6 in the folder
that contains FileMaker. [GD]

<ftp://ftp.claris.com/pub/USA-Macintosh/Updaters/ObjectSupportLib1.1.6.bin>

**Netting an Error** -- In TidBITS-359_, I incorrectly noted that
the Netter's dinner at the upcoming San Francisco Macworld Expo
will be on Wednesday, January 7th. The correct date is Wednesday,
January 8th. My apologies; fortunately, the Web page for the event
states the date correctly. Also, anyone interested in meeting Adam
(and possibly myself) at the actual Expo should feel free to stop
by Adam's book signing at the Macmillan booth. The signing is also
on Wednesday, January 8th, and it will take place from 10:00 AM to
11:00 AM. According the Exhibitor list that MHA Event Management
has posted to the Web, the Macmillan booth is number 1846. [TJE]

<http://www.infoworkshop.com/~jonpugh/nettersdinner.html>
<http://www.mha.com/macworld/mwsf97/exhibitor.html>

The NeXT Thing for Apple
------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[email protected]>

On Friday, December 20th, we were packing up for Christmas
vacation when the rumors of Apple buying NeXT started in earnest.
By evening, when rumors coalesced into reality with an Apple-
organized press conference, we were eating dinner and leaving for
the airport. Luckily, Apple failed (as usual) to invite TidBITS to
participate in the conference via telephone - otherwise, we would
have had to rush dinner and packing to make our flight. However,
information about the deal wasn't hard to come by, and keeping up
with email over Christmas provided plenty of thoughts about the
acquisition, some founded in solid fact, others rife with bilious
opinion. I anticipate the big question at this week's Macworld
Expo will be "What do you think about the NeXT deal?" Here are my
thoughts.

**Trying to Be NeXT** -- Rumors have been flying around Apple's
possible acquisition of Jean-Louis Gassee's Be Inc., for the last
few months (see TidBITS-343_). From my correspondence with him,
Jean-Louis is a bright and interesting guy, and there's no
question Be has done great work with the Be OS, most notably (from
my point of view) in its use of an object-oriented database
underlying its file system. However, the very modernity of Be's
work is a blessing and a curse. As much as Be has done some things
well, the Be OS isn't a mature operating system with years of use
and hundreds of thousands of users stressing it.

Those facts are generally agreed upon. What is less agreed upon is
what Apple would do with a purchased operating system, and I think
that question is still up in the air. People kept going on about
how the Be OS had protected memory, preemptive multitasking, and
all those other words that give computer science majors wet
dreams. My mail was full of letters telling me to write about how
Apple had to buy Be or face immediate extinction, and to most of
them, I replied that I don't understand the low-level technical
issues, and therefore didn't have an informed opinion.

I stand by my admission of ignorance. I double-majored in
Hypertextual Fiction and Classics, not computer science. I suspect
that 99 percent of the Macintosh community lacks the technical
background to judge these OS issues on their technical merits, and
I strongly suspect that most of the remaining 1 percent don't have
the sufficient inside knowledge of Apple's OS efforts or Be's OS
work to make an informed opinion. In other words, almost everyone
was clueless.

I offer this bit of history by way of saying that frankly, I'm
still clueless now that Apple has bought NeXT instead of Be. Most
everyone else is as well, despite what they may say. In fact, to
judge from the confused and contradictory statements that have
emanated from Apple, I suspect even the people who made this
decision are winging it. We have to wait for Gil Amelio's keynote
at Macworld Expo for the party line, and then we must wait for
real information once engineers begin working with NeXT's
technology to see how it can and should be integrated.

**PR Value** -- That said, I'm fairly positive about Apple buying
NeXT. I believe Apple's management felt they had to do something
bold and exciting, if only to stem the tide of generally unfounded
negativity flowing from the press. Apple needed to shake things
up, both internally and externally. Bringing new developers into
the OS effort will certainly change the status quo inside Apple,
and bringing the mercurial Steve Jobs back to Apple can't help but
capture the attention of users.

But what about the press? I think Apple biffed the announcement
big time. What could they have been thinking to announce it on a
Friday night before the week of Christmas? Why not sit on the news
until Macworld Expo and announce it at the keynote? That would
have brought down the house. As it was, numerous publications like
TidBITS and MacWEEK were on vacation (although MacWEEK had
coverage on their Web site).

What then are the real advantages of the acquisition, other than a
PR boost? They fall into three categories: help with the Mac OS, a
high-end Internet strategy, and an entry into certain business
markets.

**NeXTstep and OpenStep** -- I last used NeXTstep in 1989 at
Cornell University, which had the first public room of NeXTcubes.
Unfortunately, that was version 0.8 of NeXTstep, and although it
showed much promise, its Unix roots kept breaking through to the
surface. NeXT has done a lot of work since then, though, and
there's no question that NeXTstep and OpenStep (the open-standards
version that runs on Intel hardware), have die-hard adherents. I
recently met a couple of ex-NeXT employees, who, through several
jobs, have steadfastly remained NeXT users (one even sticking with
NeXTstep on an elderly 68040-based NeXT slab). It's hard enough to
remain a Macintosh user when changing jobs - I can't imagine how
hard it would be to convince a new employer that you're going to
run NeXTstep.

OpenStep (NeXT's current application environment) is essentially
middleware, in that it sits between a kernel and applications.
Give OpenStep a different kernel, and it can run on different
platforms, such as Windows NT. The fact that OpenStep is designed
to run on top of multiple kernels may give Apple the technological
flexibility it needs to modernize the Mac OS while maintaining
compatibility with existing Macintosh hardware and software.

<http://www.next.com/>

Second, developing for OpenStep is a far less time-intensive
process than most any other operating system. That accounts for
NeXT's popularity in certain large business markets that rely on
custom applications. The downside of the rapid development
advantage is that it requires developers to use Objective C, which
isn't as widely used as C++.

Third, and finally, although NeXT's technology may not have all
the modern features of the Be OS, it has time and maturity on its
side. If one of Apple's goals in purchasing an operating system
was to improve the stability and reliability of the Macintosh, it
probably makes more sense to go with the tried-and-true over a
hotshot newcomer. NeXT's bugs and limitations are likely to be
better known than the Be OS's.

**WebObjects and the Internet** -- The second place NeXT
complements Apple well is in Internet technologies. Apple's
Internet technologies focus on multimedia and cutting edge stuff
like MCF that may never become standard. (See TidBITS-355_.) To
date, many of Apple's Internet advantages have been provided by
excellent independent developers and aren't inherent to the
Macintosh.

WebObjects, in contrast, is high-end, expensive software aimed at
big business. In essence, WebObjects is a CGI that enables a
company to connect its database to its Web server. Nothing new
there, but WebObjects is an industrial strength solution that also
works with legacy data stored on elderly mainframes. It may not be
sexy, but providing access to legacy data is big business, and it
can't hurt Apple to be in that market.

It's unclear how Apple will merge WebObjects into its existing
stable of Internet tools and technologies, but WebObjects has a
clear market and solves obvious problems, something that's not
true of many of Apple's Internet efforts.

**Foot in the Door** -- The final advantage that the acquisition
of NeXT brings to Apple is an introduction to some large
businesses that wouldn't previously give Apple the time of day.
I've been thinking about Apple's problems in the business market
recently, and it seems that they stem from the fact that Apple
made the Macintosh to be the premier computer for individuals.
Creative types have long embraced the Macintosh, but individuality
and the power to express oneself don't often coincide with the
goals of large corporations, which are interested in standard
solutions that can survive an individual moving on. Over the
years, the Mac has become a much better choice for businesses, but
selling large accounts on the advantages of the Mac has remained
an uphill battle.

Although NeXT has developed a loyal following similar to Apple's,
big business was always one of NeXT's target markets, so NeXT may
have enough of a better reputation (based on providing easily
customizable solutions) to get Apple's foot back in the door.

There's always been part of me that says, "Forget big business, we
don't need it!" Unfortunately, as attractive as that statement is,
I think it's false. Today, Apple needs the approval of the
business world, because without it, damning news stories appear in
the business press, creating a feedback loop that further harms
Apple's reputation. And, gradually, if businesses avoid the Mac,
it will become harder for people making individual buying
decisions to stick with Apple.

**Look
ing Ahead** -- So, once again, I think Apple's acquisition
of NeXT was a good move, primarily from the public perception
benefits it can bring to the company. Like anyone else, I'm
curious to see how Apple plans to use OpenStep in its operating
system plans, and I also want to see how well NeXT's technology
and people integrate into Apple. Finally, I hope to see Steve Jobs
inject back into Apple a spark of vision, insanity, or genius. If
anyone can do it, Jobs can, and, the combination of Jobs's panache
with Gil Amelio's stabilizing influence might prove formidable.

What System Comes NeXT?
-----------------------
by Geoff Duncan <[email protected]>

Apple marked its 20th anniversary with a major change in
direction: the acquisition of NeXT Software. Although Apple
highlights five rather abstract points behind its acquisition of
NeXT, most of the Macintosh community is concerned with two
things: what a Apple-NeXT operating system will do, and when it
can be delivered.

First, a caveat: don't expect a definitive evaluation of the
Apple-NeXT merger from TidBITS - or any industry publication - for
some time. Hindsight may be 20-20, but for the next several months
both Apple and the Macintosh community will be staring ahead into
a thick blanket of fog. By acquiring NeXT, Apple has defined the
arena in which it intends to play, but the first real test of the
Apple-NeXT merger will probably be at the World Wide Developers
Conference in May of 1997. Until then, all bets are off.

**What Happened When** -- With the plethora of announcements,
punditry, and vacation time in the last two weeks, it can be
difficult to grasp how the Apple/NeXT merger came about. Here's a
chronology that should clarify matters:

* Aug-96: Apple shelves Mac OS 8, codenamed Copland, in favor of
biannual incremental system updates that will incorporate some
Copland technology. Developers and users clamor for more details,
but aside from talking up the incremental updates, Apple is tight-
lipped. Be demos a version of the Be OS for Power Macintosh, and
rumors of Apple-Be talks emerge.

* Sep-96: Rumors of Apple-Be negotiations ignite press speculation
about Apple's OS future. NeXT is mentioned in passing.

* Nov-96: Speculation about Apple and Be is fueled by mostly-
unconfirmed stories in mainstream and trade press. Though Apple
and Be struggle with rumor control, Apple's silence on its
operating system plans leaves more questions than answers.

* Dec-96: Major Macintosh publications like MacUser and Macworld,
struggling to say something about Apple's OS plans, run extensive
features on the Be OS.

* 19-Dec-96: Serious rumors begin to circulate that Apple and NeXT
have reached an agreement.

* 20-Dec-96: Apple announces its acquisition of NeXT for $400
million; Steve Jobs is to return to Apple as Advisor to the CEO.
Significantly, Gil Amelio commits to having a Mac/NeXT hybrid OS
running on Apple hardware in 1997, and Metrowerks announces it
will support Objective C runtimes in CodeWarrior in time for the
1997 Apple World Wide Developers Conference in May.

<http://live.apple.com/next/961220.pr.rel.next.html>

* 23-Dec-96: Apple and NeXT executives meet with the press to
answer questions not covered at the initial announcement. Although
some answers were helpful, some were vague or contradictory.

* 26-Dec-96: Major winter storms hit Seattle and the U.S. west
coast; Geoff hunkers down with a blanket, some candles, and an old
book on Objective C.

**The Plan (As We Know It)** -- As outlined prior to the Macworld
Expo, Apple's operating system strategy can be summarized as
follows:

* Apple will continue to develop and enhance System 7.x on
schedule for at least the next 18 months, with the first
incremental update (Harmony, or Mac OS 7.6) shipping this month.
Additional Mac OS 7.x releases are scheduled for July of 1997, and
January of next year, although there will undoubtedly be updated
components available in between. Although some developers are
openly apprehensive, applications for System 7.x have at least two
years with a large (probably growing) market of installed users.

* Apple will begin working on a Mac-NeXT hybrid operating system,
with initial releases for developers and beta-level sites running
on Apple hardware at the end of 1997. Early releases of a Mac-NeXT
OS may not work or operate like today's Macintosh, and may _not_
include significant backward compatibility for current Macintosh
applications. According to statements from Gil Amelio and Ellen
Hancock prior to Macworld Expo, backward compatibility for current
Macintosh applications would be present in consumer releases of a
Mac-NeXT hybrid system, expected in 1998.

These plans don't mean you should start surfing the Web for
screenshots of the NeXT OS, thinking you're looking deep into the
eyes of a future Mac. No matter what else, Apple _must_ produce a
Macintosh. Apple's now-legendary ease-of-use and elegant design
must be apparent in any future operating system if Apple hopes to
compete with Windows NT and other mainstream systems. That doesn't
mean abandoning good ideas from NeXT, but rather making sure the
polish and style of the Macintosh are unequivocally present.

**The NeXT Hurdles** -- Why are the specifics of a Mac-NeXT
operating system so vague? Simple: Apple and NeXT haven't had time
to evaluate the complex technical issues at the heart of such a
project.

First, there's the question of a kernel. A kernel is a relatively
small bit of software that coordinates nearly all services for an
operating system, including memory allocation, process management,
data access, and interaction with hardware. OpenStep, conversely,
is a comprehensive software layer designed to run on top of
multiple kernels: it presently runs on the Mach kernel (a Unix
variant) and Windows NT, and can deploy to other flavors of Unix.

One of Apple's first tasks in designing a Mac-NeXT operating
system will be to decide what kernel to use as a building block on
Macintosh hardware. Numerous advocates would love to see Unix at
the heart of the Macintosh, and note that Apple has been
sponsoring development of a version of Linux for Power Macintosh
based on the Mach kernel. Since OpenStep is already available for
Unix, many people believe Mach is an obvious, best path for Apple.

<http://www.mklinux.apple.com/>

So far as Macintosh hardware is concerned, my personal bet would
be on NuKernel, Apple's own microkernel developed for Copland.
Although NuKernel (obviously) never shipped, Apple has been
working on it for some time, and it was designed with Apple's
existing hardware (PowerBooks and various AV capabilities) and
software (QuickTime, OpenDoc) in mind. However, OpenStep could
provide the possibility of developing a future Mac OS designed for
non-Macintosh hardware, and applications written for the Macintosh
could conceivably run under other operating systems.

Another fundamental question for Apple regards display technology.
NeXTstep relies on Display PostScript to generate its screen
display. This has always been one of the "gee-whiz" features of
NeXT, and graphics professionals have long wished for Display
PostScript on the Macintosh. However, Apple's acquisition of NeXT
doesn't mean Display PostScript is necessarily going to become
part of the Mac OS. First, Adobe owns Display PostScript, and
currently collects royalties for every copy of Display PostScript
sold, just as it collects royalties for every PostScript printer
sold. Apple might understandably be wary of entering into a
licensing agreement for Display PostScript, which would not only
put the Mac OS at the mercy of Adobe technology, but would
increase the already-high cost of the Mac OS. Second, Apple
already owns a graphics and typography engine that is (in many
ways) technically superior to Display PostScript: QuickDraw GX.
However, developer support for QuickDraw GX has been lackluster
(for a variety of reasons). So far, Apple hasn't said anything
about the fate of Display PostScript or QuickDraw GX in future
operating systems.

**Compatibility** -- An issue of primary concern is backward
compatibility with current applications. Macintosh users will
(rightfully) expect the vast majority of current and future
Macintosh applications to run on a future Mac-NeXT operating
system. Apple would do well to remember that a significant portion
of its customer loyalty stems from strong backward compatibility.
A Mac Plus can still run System 7.5.5, and many users (myself
included) run software written in 1988 or earlier. Although Apple
may attempt to bridge rank-and-file customers to a new operating
over a two or three year period, at a minimum that new operating
system will have to be reasonably compatible with System 7.x
applications.

A key to backward compatibility might be the work Apple has
already invested in MAE, a Macintosh application layer that
essentially lets Mac OS applications run on a variety of Unix
workstations. MAE is not faultless, but it does provide a
surprising number of Macintosh services on non-Apple hardware.
Technical knowledge from Apple's MAE effort may lead to strong
backward compatibility for System 7.x applications under a future
Mac-NeXT operating system, even on non-Macintosh hardware and/or
non-Apple kernels.

<http://www.mae.apple.com/>

**Vendors and Technology Support** -- It seems likely many major
Apple technologies will be available for a future Mac-NeXT system.
Some of these - like QuickTime - represent some of Apple's most-
coveted properties, and Apple has a tremendous investment in
making sure first-rate implementations run on Apple's operating
systems. Similarly, Apple is likely to maintain its commitment to
OpenDoc, which (in theory) could benefit significantly from a
Mac-NeXT system. Less clear are the futures of technologies like
Speech Recognition, QuickDraw 3D, and (particularly) QuickDraw GX.
Other core Apple technologies - AppleTalk, Apple events - will be
essential to making the new system walk and talk like a Macintosh.

However, less certain is how well third-party developers will take
to a new operating system. Several development tool companies
(including Metrowerks, Symantec, Altura, and Tenon Intersystems)
have already announced intentions to support a Mac-NeXT system; no
doubt numerous additional commitments will be forthcoming from
vendors at Macworld Expo. However, announcing plans to support a
forthcoming system is one thing: delivering products is another.
Apple and the Macintosh community probably won't have a good idea
how solid support for a Mac-NeXT operating system is until after
the World Wide Developers Conference in May.

**What to Expect at Macworld Expo** -- Let's face it: Apple and
NeXT haven't had time to make solid decisions about many of the
issues surrounding a Mac-NeXT system. As a result, you can expect
Apple to speak of schedules in vague terms ("first half of 1998"),
and to make general statements about commitments to backward
compatibility, core technologies, and key Apple markets. Apple's
objectives for this week's Macworld Expo are simple: demonstrate
momentum toward a modern operating system; ensure that attendees
feel good about the NeXT acquisition; and rally third-party vendor
and developer support.

**What About Be?** If you think Jean-Louis Gassee and Be will cool
their heels in the wake of the Apple-NeXT merger, think again: Be
plans to move forward aggressively with the Be OS. Be OS DR 8 for
Power Macintosh is now available for developers via the
CodeWarrior for Be OS package, the January issue of MacTech
magazine, and with Power Computing systems beginning this quarter.
Furthermore, Be is widely expected to demonstrate some Macintosh
applications running under a Mac OS emulator from fredlabs for Be
OS on Power Computing machines.

<http://www.be.com/>
<http://www.powercc.com/>
<http://web.xplain.com/mactech.com/>

Many technology writers have expressed disappointment that Apple
didn't purchase Be OS as a foundation for future Macintosh
systems. I think Be is in an enviable position and may have the
better end of the deal: they remain a nimble, forward-thinking
company with a genuinely exciting product and strong momentum. I
sincerely hope that Be and Apple will continue to work together
toward the success of both companies.

$$

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