MAC OS LICENSEES haven't exactly been coming out of the woodwork. In the U.S., they number three, to be exact: DayStar Digital, Power Computing, and Radius. The number of Mac OS licensees outside the U.S. is inching upward. Taiwan-based UMAX, known in this country for its scanners, recently said that it will begin shipping Mac clones in Taiwan and China by the end of 1995 and in the U.S. by late 1996.
But there's a good reason why the number of Mac OS licensees worldwide hasn't hit double digits: Apple.
Any vendor shipping a Mac today has to rely on Apple's ASICs (custom chip sets) for things such as floppy-drive, SCSI, and network controllers. You know that parts shortage Apple keeps saying is the reason it can't build enough systems to meet customer demand? With only Apple as the source of these critical ASICs, clone vendors are constrained by the same shortages as Apple. Apple could sign up a dozen licensees, but there'd just be more vendors fighting over the same scarce parts.
A solution to this impasse may finally be in sight, with the launch of the PowerPC Microprocessor Common Hardware Reference Platform -- PowerPC Platform, for short. With this new multivendor standard in place, third parties that want to build Mac OS-compliant systems won't have to rely exclusively on Apple for the technology.
Formerly known as CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform), the PowerPC Platform was developed jointly by Apple, IBM, and Motorola as a set of system specifications that defines the minimum hardware a compliant system must include. To qualify as PowerPC Platform-compliant, systems must be able to run the Mac OS as well as Windows NT, OS/2, Solaris (Sun's UNIX operating system), AIX (IBM's UNIX operating system), and Novell's NetWare.
The-standard-formerly-known-as-CHRP has been a hot topic ever since the three participating companies announced their intention to develop it, back in November 1994. One year later, version 1.0 of the PowerPC Platform is a reality. Now the rush is on. Expect to see many more vendors offer systems that can do the Mac thing. More than a dozen companies have announced their intention to support the PowerPC Platform (see the "Lucky 13" list).
Having a standard is great, but how will it translate into more Mac OS-compliant systems? The PowerPC Platform will help alleviate the parts shortage that plagued earlier licensing efforts, by defining a set of open hardware specs for various system interfaces. The specs will enable anyone to build compatible chip sets. Several vendors in addition to IBM and Motorola have already indicated their intention to manufacture these chips. With multiple chip-set providers in the market, availability will increase and prices presumably will decrease.
By the way, because PowerPC Platform systems are designed to support PC as well as Mac operating systems, they'll include dual hardware interfaces -- IDE and SCSI ports, for example, and PC and ADB (Mac) keyboard and mouse connections.
But there's a catch. Although 13 system vendors have committed to the PowerPC Platform so far, less than half of them are currently licensing the Mac OS. Those that haven't yet jumped on the Mac OS bandwagon all point the finger at Apple: System vendors say they'll have hardware ready when Apple has a version of its system software that will run on the PowerPC Platform -- the current version of System 7.5 doesn't. Apple says that it will have a PowerPC Platform-compliant version of the Mac OS available in the second half of 1996. Apple's line: When the hardware vendors are ready, the Mac OS will be ready. Ever heard the one about the chicken and the egg?
It's anyone's guess when we'll see PowerPC Platform systems. My guess? Check back this time next year.
The Lucky 13
Vendors committed to supporting the PowerPC Platform (so far)
