From: an780@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Travis Grundke)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Farewell to the Mac? (not flame)
Date: 20 Nov 1992 02:10:33 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: an780@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Travis Grundke)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, coolidge@sirius.aux.apple.com (John L. Coolidge) says:

>hades@coos.dartmouth.edu (Hades) writes:
>>terjer@ifi.unit.no (Terje Rydland) writes:
>>>This will run on faster machines (RISC instead of CISC).  At some point
>>>the CISC (680x0) based machines will not be able to run the latest
>>>improvements (like Casper f.inst.).
>
>>    This just ins't true. In fact, all of the improvements you mention
>>above are slated to be run on the current line '040 macs, and also on
>>the new line of '060 macs that will be introduced in the next couple of
>>years. And the idea that an '040 or '060 can't run Casper is ludicrous.
>>Casper is being developed for the Mac, not the PowerPC. They are
>>differnet things.
>
>Yes and no. The PowerPC family _are_ Macs. The idea is that anything
>that runs on the current Mac line will run on the PowerPC Macintosh
>(at speeds similar to the current high-end Macintosh machines). In
>addition, native PowerPC applications will run much faster than
>anything in the current line.
>
>>>This doesn't mean that the old Macs will be unusable.  System 7.1 is
>>>constructed so that to add functionality you just drop a new extension
>>>on the System folder (like QuickDraw GX etc)
>
>>    What about System 8 and the new MicroKernal that is being developed?
>>If Macs are going to be phased out, then why would Apple spend so much
>>time and money on developing new system software for them. The system
>>software for the PowerPC is being developed by Taligent.
>
>This is Just Plain Wrong (TM). There is no single thing which is "the
>system software for the PowerPC". There will be at least three
>operating systems for the PowerPC:
>	1) The Macintosh OS
>	2) PowerOpen (A/UX 4.0 aka Unix)
>	3) TaligentOS
>The first should be available when the first PowerPC Macintosh systems
>ship; the second at or around that point. The third is probably a
>couple years away according to public statements made by Taligent.
>
>>    PowerPC machines will not be Macs, they will be PowerPCs. This has
>>been stated more than once. The current target for the RISC based
>>machines is the workstation market currently dominated by Sun, but there
>>will continue to be a need for business level PCs for quite some time,
>>and as long as that need exists, I expect there will be Macs to be
>>purchaced.
>
>If it's been stated more than once, the people who stated it weren't
>paying attention. The PowerPC machines _will be Macintoshes_. They
>will be marketed across the spectum of the current Macintosh line
>(everything from cheap consumer-level machines to business-level
>machines to workstations to portables).
>
>All of this is based on public information and things in trade
>reports; I'm not releasing any inside information...
>
>--John
>
>        It must be really nice to not let knowledge get in your way.
>                -- Anne Archer, _Narrow_Margin_
>
>+++John L. Coolidge++++++++++++++++coolidge@apple.com+++++++++++++++++++++++
>I speak for myself, not for Apple Computer. Copyright 1992 John L. Coolidge.
>Copying allowed only if attributed, and if all copies may be further copied.
>

 Gee folks, MAYBE just MAYBE John knows what he's saying? <grin> I agree
completely with John's comments, and they are comments made again and again
in press statements, etc. Its straight from the horse's mouth!
-- 
Travis Grundke	 	    |  For More information about MacGames Digest,
Contributing Editor-        |  The First Publication Dedicated to Macintosh
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an780@cleveland.freenet.Edu |  E-mail address. (c) 1992 Travis Grundke/MGD