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Mac OS' Little Brother (4/18/98)
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While no one else we've discussed this with thinks it's very likely to happen, Mac the Knife continues to forecast that Apple will introduce the Newton-replacing Mac OS Lite (also known as Allegro Lite) at the Worldwide Developer Conference in a few weeks. Mac OS Lite, faithful viewers will recall, is the rumored "thin client" little brother of the Mac OS that will drive many of Apple's lightweight computing products, like the rumored NC, Columbus/Apple Media Player, and "eMac" projects, as well as the other expected Newtonesque handhelds slated to appear next year. Considering that Newton was canned less than two months ago, we're not surprised at the skepticism surrounding this WWDC rumor.
Now, the Knife doesn't explicitly state that Apple will actually be able to demonstrate the new OS variant at the conference, but it's pretty clearly implied; he reports that Apple is pouring "plenty of resources" into the upcoming shindig, presumably in order to get the Mac OS Lite into a presentable, or at least an announceable, condition. And we're particularly doubtful that Apple could actually launch the "eMac" (color eMate running Mac OS Lite) for a September shipping date if the operating system that drives it is only in the planning stages.
As for AtAT's prediction, we think that this WWDC is the perfect time for Apple to announce that Mac OS Lite exists and is the future of handheld operating systems, but we still doubt that the project could really be far enough along to be demonstrated next month. We're expecting an "OS Roadmap" and "Support from Industry Players" kind of presentation instead of an actual demonstration. But if Steve pulls out a working eMac, we'll be more than thrilled.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/18/98 episode: April 18, 1998: Apple prepares its next hard-hitting commercial, touting the incredible speed of the upcoming Wall Street Powerbooks. Meanwhile, those selfsame Powerbooks may debut at a slightly higher price than most of us have been expecting, and rumors persist that Apple will unveil the Mac OS' little brother at next month's WWDC...
Other scenes from that episode: 638: Think Butt-Kicking. (4/18/98) The progression of harder-hitting Apple ads may continue. First, we had the Snail ad, which likened the speed of Intel's Pentium II to that of everyone's favorite shell-lugging gastropod, while claiming that the G3 chip is "up to twice as fast" according to Bytemarks... 639: Powerbook Price Creep? (4/18/98) We're noticing an irksome trend for newly-released Apple computers to emerge with pricing significantly higher than expected. The most recent and obvious example of this phenomenon is the Powermac G3 All-in-One (née Artemis), which had been widely reported both in the Mac-centric world, as well as in the more general computer press, as being Apple's sub-$1000 consumer Mac...
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