Apple Computer to Relax Grip on Some Key Systems : Technology: Firm will seek closer ties with other industry players. The action reflects an ‘open’ trend.
In a belated recognition that his company can no longer go it alone in the personal computer business, Apple Computer Chairman John A. Sculley on Monday said the firm will share some of its key technologies and seek closer relationships with other computer industry players.
The change in philosophy, which began last year when Apple introduced low-cost versions of its flagship Macintosh computer, reflects an accelerating trend toward so-called “open” computer systems and could eventually allow other computer firms to produce imitations of the popular Macintosh.
Open systems, embraced in varying degrees by most computer companies, rely on widely available core technologies to keep prices low and stimulate development of a wide range of compatible software and hardware products.
Until now, Apple has rejected the open-systems approach in favor of tight control over its widely admired technology. The company charged premium prices and refused to allow other companies to make imitations, or “clones,” of the Macintosh.
International Business Machines, by contrast, based its personal computer on technologies that are available to any company for a fee. While Apple was making solid profits with its proprietary approach, nine out of 10 computer buyers opted for cheaper, more flexible IBM-compatible machines.
Apple was thus at risk of being relegated to a small niche while the companies that control the core technologies in the IBM-compatible world--IBM, software vendor Microsoft Corp., chip-maker Intel Corp. and clone manufacturer Compaq Computer--determined the direction of personal computing. The low-priced Macintosh machines introduced last October were designed to counter that threat, and the company is apparently now prepared to go much further in its effort to gain wider acceptance for the Macintosh technology.
In a speech to software executives Monday, Sculley would not directly confirm that Apple had decided to license technology and allow other companies to produce clones of the Macintosh. But he acknowledged that tight control over technology has to be abandoned if Apple is to be a force in the computer industry over the long term.
Sculley also said that for a company like Apple, “the personal computer is the system software,” thus confirming that the company no longer considers it crucial to control all the development and sale of all hardware.
That comment fueled speculation that the long-awaited new version of the operating system software that controls the Macintosh, scheduled for release in May, will eventually be made to work with many different types of computer chips. Those could include machines based on a new high-performance chip technology known as reduced instruction set computing (RISC) and possibly even computers that use chips from Intel. Any such machine that uses the Macintosh operating system would be identical to a Macintosh, from a computer user’s point of view.
Sculley conjured an image of a “kinder, gentler Apple” that works closely with others, in contrast to its widespread image in the computer world as an arrogant, inward-looking firm.
The shift was greeted with enthusiasm by software developers and industry analysts, many of whom believe that Apple should have adopted a more open approach a long time ago.
“This is a much different view of the world than what I’ve heard him articulate before,” said Gordon Eubanks, chairman of Symantec Corp. “He’s talking about re-inventing Apple.
“Before, they had always worked in isolation,” Eubanks added. “This sounded much more like what Scott McNealy would say.” McNealy is chairman of Sun Microsystems, which has become the fastest growing company in the industry by developing a completely open design for its high-powered computer workstations and encouraging other companies to produce clones.
As part of the commitment to openness, Sculley promised to keep software developers and others better informed about Apple’s future plans, and pledged to become more involved in issues such as software piracy. Apple must keep the software developers happy if it is to assure a steady flow of software for its machines.
Although Sculley does not have an engineering background--he was a marketing executive at Pepsico before coming to Apple--he is Apple’s “chief technology officer” and recently assumed additional responsibility for long-term product planning while turning over much of the day-to-day operating duties to Michael Spindler, the firm’s chief operating officer. To compete in an open environment, he emphasized, the company would have to do a better job of bringing products to market quickly, and know when to collaborate with others.
Apple is believed to be working on notebook-sized computers with Sony and Toshiba of Japan, and Sculley said at least two such machines would be introduced this year. He also indicated that Apple considered products specifically aimed at the consumer market to be an important direction.
