The scene was
eerily reminiscent of the famous 1984 commercial that launched the Macintosh:
hundreds of people sitting in neat rows, their attention focused on the
chairman addressing them from a huge video screen. But this was no TVspot; it
was Macworld Expo. The man on the screen was Bill Gates, and this time there
was no hammer-wielding woman rushing forward to disrupt the proceedings.
Apple still lacks
a permanent CEO, and the thorny issue of Mac OS licensing is unresolved. But
under the leadership of de facto chief executive Steve Jobs, Apple now has a
new relationship with longtime nemesis Microsoft, as well as a revamped board of
di rectors.
"We have to
let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose," Jobs
said during his August 6 Macworld Expo keynote, adding, "The com- petition
between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned."
The new alliance has
the following components:
* Microsoft will
buy $150 million in Apple stock and not sell it for at least three years.
* The companies
have given each other a "perpetual cross-license" for their existing
patents, allowing both to develop new products without fear of law- suits over
alleged patent infringements.
* Microsoft's
Internet Explorer will be the default Web browser for the Mac OS, but Apple
will also ship other browsers with the system.
* The two
companies will work to ensure compatibility between their Java vir- tual
machines. Apple will support Microsoft's extensions to Java as well as Sun
Microsystems' 100%Pure Java.
* Microsoft has
made a five-year commitment to releasing new Mac versions of Microsoft Office.
Over that time, Macintosh users will see the same number of major upgrades as
Windows users. Speaking through a satellite connection, Gates said that
Microsoft Office 98 for the Mac will ship by 1998. He added that, in some ways,
the Mac version will "be more advanced than what's on the Windows
platform."
A New Board
Jobs, who has
essentially been running Apple without an official title since Gil Amelio's
resignation as CEO, announced that he has joined a revamped board of directors
that now includes experienced hardware and software industry veterans. Also
named were Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle; Jerry York, former chief financial
officer of IBM and Chrysler; and Bill Campbell, CEO of Intuit and former head
of Claris. Du Pont chairman Edward Woolard and Hughes Interna- tional president
Gareth Chang remain from the prev ious board. Gone is long- time director and
former Apple chairman A. C. Markkula, an Apple cofounder.
The Jobs Saga
The Expo
announcements capped a bizarre two weeks during which Jobs denied widespread
rumors that he was about to be named Apple chairman. In a memo to employees at
Pixar, Jobs's computer animation company, he said that he had been offered the
CEO and cha irman positions and had turned them both down. It was also a time
when Apple's testy relationship with its Mac OSlicensees nearly became open
warfare (see "Mac OS 8 Ships with No License Deal,"in this section).
New Directions
In his keynote,
Jobs said that Apple will focus more attention on the educa- tion and
content-creation markets. The company will also work more closely with major
developers, such as Adobe Systems, on comarketing deals and efforts to make key
applications r un better on the Mac.
Apple is shifting
public emphasis from Rhapsody, its next-generation operating system, to the Mac
OS, so people don't think Apple has abandoned the Mac OS. (Jobs didn't even
mention Rhapsody in his keynote speech.) Sales of Mac OS 8 have shot through
the roof, Jobs said, with 1.2 million copies sold less than two weeks after its
July 26 release.
Although it was
not announced at Expo, sources close to Apple say that Jobs has been working
with Apple engineers to develop a low-cost network computer (NC) that could
ship as soon as Christmas. Ellison, now on Apple's board after considering a
takeover bid earlier this year, has been a big NC advocate.
Another likely
change is an aggressive move into direct sales of Mac systems, a la Power
Computing. The Mac market has shifted largely to catalogs and other forms of
direct marketing, but until now, Apple has not aggressively pursued direct
sales.
Good or Bad?
Jobs's recent
involvement with Apple has generated much excitement among users, vendors, and
Apple employees, and he has filled the leadership void left by Amelio's
departure. However, in his opposition to Mac OSlicensing, Jobs has seriously
damaged Apple 's relationship with its licensees, and his looming presence
complicates the search for a strong CEO. Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and other
industry veterans may be on board, but it remains to be seen whether these
latest changes can help stop Apple's slid e into obscurity.
No comments:
Post a Comment