Apple Archive

Back in 1997, there was exciting news coming out of Cupertino. Apple had spurned Be and acquired Steve Jobs ... er... NeXT and announced its grand new OS strategy. We all know how the story ends, but it's fun to remember how the story began. The first article is a real blast from the past, since it talks about Apple's Network Computer strategy. The second article is a non-programmer's journey into Objective C prgramming with the NeXT tools, then called the Yelow Box, now called Cocoa. Enjoy!

Apple has hired Taiwanese contract manufacturer to produce one million iMacs with built-in 15in LCD screens, the United Daily News, a Chinese language newspaper, has reported." Get the rest of the story at TheRegister. Our Take: I just wish Apple could also upgrade the iMacs to a low-end G4, with 512 MB RAM (memory is so cheap these days!), a better 3D graphics card and a CD-RW/DVD combo, all for $999. I would definetely get one of these!

Apple has announced Final Cut Pro 3, a version of its professional video-editing program designed to run under Apple's Mac OS X operating system. With the latest version of Final Cut Pro, Apple is introducing a new format, OfflineRT, which can store 40 minutes of video per gigabyte of hard drive space. Final Cut Pro 3 will be available later this month for $999, or $299 for registered owners upgrading from an earlier version of the software. The software requires Mac OS X version 10.1.1 or Mac OS 9.2.2, a 300 MHz or faster PowerPC G3 or G4 processor, a built-in FireWire port and at least 256MB of RAM. In related news, rumours want the new QuickTime 6 to be built around Mpeg.

"Apple yesterday withdrew its latest OS X development guidelines after the document raised a storm of protest. Published four days ago, Apple posted Technical Information Note TN2034 containing advice on good programming practice for Mac OS X. Traffic on the list - usually confined to discussion of arcane programming tips - mushroomed as developers expressed their dissent." Read the rest of the story at TheRegister, along with further explanations about this story which apparently has a NeXT background.

"Apple is becoming increasingly irritated with its prime PowerPC provider, Motorola, to the extent that it talking to fellow PowerPC partner, IBM, about how the platform can continue to evolve without the chips-to-cellphones giant's participation, sources close to the Mac maker have claimed." TheRegister analyzes the situation and proposes alternatives for Apple. In the meantime, more information about Motorola's new G5 CPU are coming to light. Our Take: The article proposes that Apple should look into Itanium and Sun SPARC CPUs to port MacOSX into, but I think the author has left out a more realistic candidate, if indeed Apple is getting a divorce from Motorola: the AMD Hammer. Except Linux and some rumours that a new version of WindowsXP may run in this new AMD 64-bit CPU, I believe that MacOSX could enrich and also gain from this new platform.

From Wired News: Apple on Tuesday will unveil a new portable electronic device that allows people to listen to digital music files away from the computer, according to sources familiar with the company. The device -- called the iPod -- can be synched with the computer using a high-speed cable connection that allows consumers to download their music into a portable system, which can then be accessed by either a car or home stereo system. Last Wednesday, Simple Devices released a wireless platform that allows users to stream MP3 files from a personal computer to home or car stereo systems. Motorola will roll out a wireless receiver for home stereos that runs on the new Simple Devices platform.