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By: Mark J. Hershenson
(markhers@macnn.com)
On Tuesday (2/16/99), I had the privilege to sit
in on an Apple Computer "Technology and Information
Update" featuring two of our areas reps. The
meeting was primarily a sales staff meeting for
Sunrise Computers (the only Apple authorized dealer
in the area), but I think there were some other
people scattered throughout the room.
Some interesting general notes from the
presentation:
- The PowerBook G3's are essentially PowerMac
G3 desktops in a different casing. There is no
real disparity between the two models, and Apple
says that the PowerBook is "not a portable
computer, but a movable desktop." (more on this
later…)
- Apple is working closely with hardware
developers to get USB and FireWire products for
the Mac
- If you recall the box which keeps popping up
at Apple presentations:
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Consumer
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Professional
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Desktop
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iMac
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PowerMac
G3
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Portable
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???
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PowerBook
G3
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Well, the Apple rep told us all that the
portable won't be seen until at least midyear,
and that Cupertino is being incredibly secretive
about the project. No details, no leaks, no
nothing.
- Apple still recommends that anyone who wants
to keep using SCSI should purchase an Adaptec or
Atto PCI SCSI card, instead of a USB->SCSI
converter which costs about the same amount of
money anyway, and doesn't have the USB bandwidth
problems.
- Interesting story:
For quite some time, Apple reps/execs/etc.
have been struggling with one very important
question from their constituents: Is the MacOS
Y2K ready? Since Apple didn't really bring the
MacOS into "compliance", but instead designed
the MacOS to handle this problem a long time
ago, Apple doesn't have any special resources
dedicated to Y2K fixes. Since most people think
everyone has a Y2K problem, customers are scared
of using Macs since they feel that Apple isn't
making the MacOS Y2K-compliant.
Without status reports flowing from Apple,
customers don't know if the MacOS is Y2K-ready
or not, and can't tell if the product is
actually Y2K. I guess "we're Y2K" doesn't go as
far as it used to. :)
As these execs grappled with the Y2K dilemma,
the ad people made the Hal9000 commercial. Many
within Apple thought that there was no possible
way that this commercial was going to get past
Apple legal. The legal department, they
reasoned, would never let Apple make a public
statement about Y2K that was quite that bold
since it would open them up for serious legal
problems down the line.
In typical Jobs form, however, Steve decided
to air the Hal commercial during the Super Bowl
to just get the Y2K message out to a large
international audience at one time.
The commerical aired, and now many who were
asking are no longer asking!
- Apple is committed to Ultra-ATA. Internal
testing shows that the new batch of drives are
on par or better than SCSI, and since they are
cheaper, PowerMac/PowerBook/iMac's will be
cheaper and more powerful as a result.
- An interesting section in the new
Blue-and-White G3 ads has Final
Cut™ Pro featured as being a
great solution for video editing. It also has it
featured as a new solution. I don't remember
hearing about the release of Final
Cut™.
We got a demonstration of hot-swappable USB, and
the built in video-out capabilities of the
PowerBook G3's, as well as the DVD module for
PowerBooks
After the meeting, we had the opportunity to
talk with our presenters. Since there's no time
like the present, I asked about MacOS
X Server.
- Pricing: It may actually surprise you. It's
not final, but you'll like it. And, no, I'm not
gonna go and piss off the presenters by posting
it. I'll ask them if it would be ok with them,
though.
- Positioning: Apple doesn't know how to
market MacOS X Server. Is it a workgroup server?
Is it a newborn? Is it really just a
workstation? Is it professional? Is it UNIX
admin for the masses? What will it be, and who
will it be for? Who knows? Not even Apple knows
how to deploy MacOS X Server, and it is one of
the reasons we haven't seen it yet.
MacOS X Server will probably end up being
something different for everyone. If you who
want to ditch the MacOS for something better,
like a power-user's workstation, this is it. You
have a Blue
Box, so you can keep running your Mac apps,
plus you get YellowBox and access to the BSD
layer and so much more. The one rep said very
plainly that he will be installing it on his
computer as soon as it is released because it's
that great.
It's important to note that this dilemma has
less to do with a reluctance to ship than a
sincere want to properly aim this operating
system. Unlike the common perception that Apple
is internally scared of MacOS X Server, Apple
seems to be very pumped up about MacOS X Server.
They just want to make a spash in whatever arena
they choose for it.
- Availability: Look for MacOS X Server to be
out by the end of the month, or the first week
of March "at the latest."
- Notebooks: As mentioned above, the
PowerBooks are really no different than
PowerMacs, and therefore will be able to run
MacOS X Server. The only limitations will be
battery life/power management (it's a server,
people), and the lack of PCI card support. Other
than that, it will work fine. (Apple most likely
won't support this use. It is accompanied by
many many potential and very real problems.
Don't do it unless you know what you're getting
yourself into.)
- USB/PCI/peripheral support: No real answer
was provided. It wasn't a deflection as much as
a lack of information. Basically, anything that
needs to be loaded at startup, like SCSI cards,
will function normally, since they have to
interface with OpenFirmware and whatnot.
Specific peripheral support was not mentioned,
and will most likely be touted at release
time.
- MacOS X Server Seminars - Both presenters
mentioned a very neat idea. Since MacOS X Server
isn't the kind of product which is suited to a
demonstration on an overhead and a pat on the
back, Apple (at least locally - Philly area) is
considering public seminars on how to
use/maintain a MacOS X Server server.
The details aren't final by any means, but it
sounded like a very cool idea. Basically, every
warm body would be seated at a Blue and White
G3, and then trained Apple tech people would
guide the wanna-be admins through MacOS X Server
install, set-up, administration, and how-to.
This sort of hands-on exercise could go a
long way to getting Apple's new operating system
accepted in workgroups and small
offices/businesses. As the Apple rep joked "Not
sure yet, but we'll probably get a nice sized
convention room, and a keg of beer, and some
pizzas and learn MacOS X Server."
All in all, it was a very nice presentation, and
I enjoyed talking to the Apple reps. They will keep
in touch about MacOS X Server and the MacOS X
Server seminars, and I will pass along any news I
find out.
Note: Sunrise Computer is not
based in the Philly area. It is based in the
Chambersburg area, which is quite a bit west and
south of Philly. The reference to Philly was to the
local Apple office.
Posted: February 18, 1999 by
mjh
Last Updated: March 15 by Staff
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