The first is shipment of Mac OS 8, which is getting rave reviews from people who are using it. The file system is faster, having been rewritten in native PowerPC code, and the Finder is multi-threaded. The user interface got an overhaul, better more modern use of color and user preferences. People say it's solid. The undermining influence is Connectix's Virtual PC, which is also getting rave reviews.
People say it's solid.
It's shipping for Mac hardware over a year before Rhapsody and it already has many thousands of apps and it's fully compatible with Mac using Connectix's software. Certainly some users are waiting for Rhapsody. Given the number of Windows machines on corporate desktops this is bound to be a winning strategy, because the trend in companies is to consolidate onto one platform whenever possible, not shoot for diversity. Macs are only grudgingly supported, and then usually only for creative service and marketing types. Kim Polese that it wouldn't be long before Microsoft was doing Java better than Sun, and would ultimately seek to coopt it entirely by offering its tools up as alternatives to the ABM offerings.