THE COMPANY THAT started the whole PC-clone business is getting into the clone business itself, sort of. IBM eclipsed its own announcement of PowerPC-based desktop machines by making a commitment to bundle the Mac OS with future systems. The other clone players -- Radius, DayStar Digital, and Power Computing -- are talking prices and committing to PCI.
IBM. The deal is this: When IBM ships PowerPC systems compliant with CHRP (the Common Hardware Reference Platform) sometime next year, the machines will support the Mac OS. We already knew that CHRP-compliant systems should be able to run the Mac OS -- no news there -- but IBM's firm commitment to offering the Mac OS on its machines means that Apple will gain some much needed credibility in the corporate world.
Don't confuse this news with a Mac OS licensing announcement. When we asked an IBM spokesperson about the specifics of bundling, pricing, and advertising of the Mac OS with IBM systems, all we got was a blank stare.
Radius. Radius has shifted gears slightly in its clone-sales approach. It has announced the Radius 81/110, which still targets high-end users but will definitely appeal to more than just big-buck video producers. The machine's moniker betrays the similarity to the now-vintage Power Mac 8100/110 -- it contains the same motherboard. Configured with 16 MB of RAM, a 2-GB hard drive, and a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, the Radius 81/110 is targeted to sell on the street for $4,600 to $4,700.
How does this compare to the newest Apple systems? The Power Mac 8500/120, also with 16 MB of RAM and a 2-GB hard drive, sports a faster processor -- a PowerPC 604 -- and lists for almost exactly the same price as the Radius 81/110 (see "Power Macs: The Sequel," in this issue). So we'll see whether customers will consider this latest offering from Radius a bargain.
DayStar. DayStar, meanwhile, has finally released the specs and pricing for its Genesis MP system. It will sport -- count 'em! -- four PowerPC 604 processors running at 132 MHz and will come equipped with 32 MB of RAM, a 2-GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive, a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, and a mouse. Keyboards, video cards, and display systems are extra. But extra bucks may be in short supply after you've written the check for $14,999 to DayStar -- no CODs, please.
Power Computing. Power Computing is also very interested in multiprocessing. Details are in short supply, but the company is considering a full range of possibilities: multiple PowerPC 601s, 604s, even 603e's.
When Power Computing talks about multiprocessing, it can't help but mention its PCI-based systems, due out this fall. As previously reported, Power Computing will offer not only all-PCI machines but mixed-bus computers as well. You'll have a choice between either five PCI slots or two NuBus and two PCI slots. In the low-profile system, you'll be able to choose between a three-slot PCI design and a one-NuBus-and-one-PCI configuration. Power Computing will even offer buyers of mixed-bus systems the option to upgrade later to a system based solely on the PCI bus.
Details on these new systems were unavailable at press time, but Power Computing did let us in on some price cuts for its current line of NuBus-based systems. For instance, the current top-of-the-line Power 110 (configured with a 110-MHz PowerPC 601, 16 MB of RAM, a 2-GB hard drive, and a quad-speed CD-ROM drive), formerly $5,649, is now available for $4,149. Do the math, and Power Computing's price comes out to $500 less than that of the nearly identical Radius 81/110 system mentioned earlier. Can you say "price war"?
