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Is the iMac an NC? Since Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison joined the Board at Apple, numerous rumours of a MacOS-based or Apple-branded Network Computer have popped up here and there. In fact, some of the more interesting rumours started when the Rhapsody project first was announced. In Rhapsody, Apple had a powerful OS that could be a powerful OS server. All that was needed was the NC... Some think that the iMac is the NC. As you may already know, the iMac has Ethernet and BootP hardwired into the computer, just as a PowerMac has ADB support hardwired. Upon startup, the iMac sends out BootP requests, most likely to find an OS server. The iMac could be an NC. But if Apple wanted the iMac to be an information appliance, there would be two versions: the consumer one that already exists, and the stripped bare one that does not. Then again, Apple often finds a way to defy the norm whenever possible. Perhaps, the iMac is what a NC should be. Perhaps Apple figures that homeowners want a chubby client: a thin client with a HD and CD/DVD player. Such an approach would bring in more consumers to the NC paradigm because it would give users the feeling of more control of their workstation. In essence, the iMac could be Apple's attempt to define, in the public's eye, what is fat and what is thin in the home market.
To be a player in the NC solution market, Apple would need a total package first. The package includes four different pieces: client software, server software, client hardware, and server hardware. To take one piece at a time, Apple should develop MacOS X and MacOS X Server as NC-servers. These servers, which could double as MacOS servers, would be fine-tuned to serve with a wide variety of NC solutions, such as Oracle's. A MacOS X-based NC-server solution would be great for Apple's business, and could reestablish the company as a major player going into the next century. With these powerful NC-servers in hand, Apple places itself in a potentially dominant position in a potentially lucrative market. It would be a great diversification for Apple, which would by then have a stable, quality OS, an excellent line of consumer and professional hardware, powerful enterprise software, and top notch multimedia software. The server hardware would make almost no difference for Apple. The only emphasis would be the ability to run MacOS X. Not only does this add another market for MacOS X, it also means more MacOS X developers brought into the fold. This move could also give MacOS X Server/x86 a push in the right direction. The NC server market is another perfect opportunity for Apple to start creating Intel-based server solutions which would run MacOS X. Apple could expand OS marketshare by assuaging the innate fears of IT managers that Apple hardware is faulty. Where things start getting messy is when you bring up client software/hardware. It makes sense for Apple to help develop client solutions for MacOS X desktops. This move, while perhaps viewed as excessive and NC-paradigm defeating, will make MacOS X look much more appealing. The more NC solutions to which a desktop computer can connect, the further that computer can be integrated it can be into the organization-wide information network. Hardware costs would also go down, since the hardware piece (the desktop computer) would already have been purchased. With a quality server, Apple could encourage developers to deploy more NC solutions with an Apple server. If the client software could function flawlessly, Apple can open more doors than with the server alone. And by working with NC solution providers, such as Oracle and Sun among others, Apple could make MacOS X a brilliantly positioned software solution on both client and server ends.
But…it is not Apple's place to deliver the whole package. If Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs want Apple to be an NC market player, Oracle and Apple should help each other. Oracle already has the client software/hardware. But since Oracle doesn't seem to be completely wed to manufacturing the server side, Oracle could use Apple's G3/G4 computers as the server hardware, and perhaps MacOS X as the server software. Then, these two companies could team up to conquer the industry before there is one. Apple should definitely make all attempts to ride the Ellison coattails to prosperity in the NC market, but not as a one-stop solution provider. Apple does not have the pull to make the NC market, but it does have the opportunity to be a major player in it. Screwing this one up could be devastating to Apple's long-term success. |
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All content - ©1998-2012 - Mark J. Hershenson |
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The MacOS Xclave is hosted by green-ant.com.
