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Ready and Waiting (12/16/98)
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Poor Mac OS X Server-- it just can't seem to catch a break. Back when it was known as NextStep, it had a small but fiercely loyal following among the programmers of the world, but it could never make the transition from "cult movie icon" to "blockbuster star." Its ship seemed to come in when Steve Jobs sold NeXT (and NextStep) to Apple a couple of years ago, as NextStep was groomed to become the next-generation Mac OS-- an operating system with a much bigger audience base. Now working under the screen name of "Rhapsody," it prepped hard behind the scenes, ever hopeful for its grand debut, but the premiere kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. Now, though, despite yet another name change (this time to "Mac OS X Server"), it seems that the latest incarnation of NextStep is just about ready to step out on stage...
...Except now there's a another new star in town that seems to have caught Apple's eye. According to Computer Retail Week, Apple is preparing to ship new PowerPC servers running a flavor of Linux, the free open-source Unix-derived operating system that's captured the hearts and minds of many a geek in the computer world. It's no secret that Apple's been devoting some resources to the development of MkLinux, its own flavor of Linux for use with PowerPC computers, for several years now, but it still seems strange that they'd choose to ship some new Linux-based computers when Mac OS X Server is, by all accounts, ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille. To add insult to injury, Mac OS X Server's guts are also Unix-inspired, and have many (if not all) of the same "modern" operating system features that Linux has. And the announcement of these supposed Linux machines is expected to coincide pretty well with a mightily downplayed introduction of Mac OS X Server, at or shortly after the Macworld Expo in three weeks' time.
The consensus seems to be that if these reports of an Apple-branded Linux computer are true, Apple is releasing them to please the education market, which is reportedly quite enamored with Linux of late. Personally, we at AtAT are just a teensy bit skeptical of these rumors, and we're wondering if someone just got the wires crossed and the servers to be released are actually running the Unix-based Mac OS X Server and not Linux. If that isn't the case, well, then: poor, poor Mac OS X Server-- always a bridesmaid and never a bride. But with some more hard work and extensive behind-the-scenes plastic surgery, it'll emerge again later in 1999, this time as "Mac OS X," with nary a command line or hint of Unix to be seen. Unless, of course, something else comes along to court Apple's fancy...
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SceneLink (1223)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 12/16/98 episode: December 16, 1998: You all know that Apple's doing better these days, but did you know that Apple is lifting up the rest of the industry? Meanwhile, Apple tweaks Sherlock's plug-ins to transform them into a potential no-effort revenue source, and Mac OS X Server might take a back seat to the introduction of new Apple-branded Linux computers...
Other scenes from that episode: 1221: Recapturing Relevance (12/16/98) Holy cats, what a difference a year or two can make. Not very long ago, the overwhelming sentiment in the tech industry was that Apple Computer had ceased to be at all relevant, and it was only a matter of time before they tanked and faded into obscurity... 1222: Resourcefulness Redone (12/16/98) Wanna know why we're not running Apple? We mean, aside from the obvious reasons like we have no formal business training, we'd hire all our friends regardless of their skills, we'd institute a policy that every new Mac made should have a one-of-a-kind swirled two-tone translucent case even if it added $200 to the price, etc...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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