Apple Developer News
MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
The deadline to apply for booth space in MACWORLD Expo Boston's
GreenHouse has been extended until July 10. The GreenHouse is
an area on the show floor set aside for new companies that want
to display innovative new products. The GreenHouse is a way for
small companies to get the exposure that they need to grow and
survive. Because there's a limited amount of space, applications
are screened and the participation is juried. Apple Evangelism,
MacWEEK, Farallon, Power, and MacTech Magazine have assisted in
the effort to organize this year's GreenHouse. At this event,
28 company spaces are available. Because of donations of equipment,
space, and labor, GreenHouse spots cost just $500--much cheaper
than typical booth space. The GreenHouse at MACWORLD Boston will
be located between Developer Central and the Apple booth. Booth
space includes signs, fixtures, a computer, a sales area, and
a network connection.
For more information on upcoming GreenHouse events, as well as
an application for the Boston GreenHouse, see this web site:
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WebSonar, a developer of speedy search engines, maintains a Macintosh
Vendors Database Library on the web, and the company is currently
offering free product listings to Mac OS developers. There are
over 800 listings in the library, with live links to more than
600 web sites. The database can be searched for keywords at a
rate of over 12,000 pages per second. This company has also had
a great deal of success with a new marketing tool called an "eBrochure." It works like an ad banner, but instead of transferring visitors
to a new web site, it downloads an electronic brochure to a viewer's
hard disk. WebSonar will also add free links to similar eBrochures
for any Mac OS vendor listed in their WebSonar database.
To add a product to WebSonar's database, see this web site:
To look for a product, visit this web site:
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The move to establish dedicated Apple Authorized Higher Education
Sales Agents (as described in detail below) provides education developers with many more opportunities to
partner with Apple sales representatives, to participate in demos
with key education decision makers, and to participate in sales
to larger purchasers of Apple hardware. Developers selling products
into this market may want to approach these new sales agents about
potential selling partnerships. Agent contact information is listed
in the Apple press release:
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PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Apple just announced that version 2 of the Apple Network Administrator
Toolkit (ANAT) is expected to ship in the U.S. in August 1997.
Designed specifically for the education market, ANAT 2.0 includes
many new features requested by educators. In addition to support
for AppleShare IP 5.0 and TCP/IP, ANAT 2.0 offers improved performance,
simplified installation and setup, an Internet client to promote
the school-home connection, and the ability to connect with Apple's
new mobile education computer, the eMate. ANAT allows a teacher,
computer lab director, or network administrator to maximize time
spent in the classroom working with students, while minimizing
the time spent managing the computer lab. Specifically, ANAT 2.0
allows teachers to create secure access setups, manage user lists
on the server, update software, restore hard disk configurations,
and provide direct assistance to users over the network--all from
a single point.
For system requirements and pricing, see the complete press release:
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OTHER DEVELOPER NEWS
A new study reports that school districts throughout the United
States are choosing Macintosh over the Windows/Intel (Wintel)
platform. According to new research conducted in March 1997 by
Quality Education Data (QED), a Denver-based research and database
company, a majority of U.S. K-12 school districts intending to
buy computers during the 1997-1998 school year are planning to
purchase Macintosh computers. QED recently released a 1997-1998
Technology Purchasing Forecast report that shows that 59 percent
of the planned computer purchases by school districts are intended
to be Macintosh, a 3 percent increase over last year.
Other studies support Apple's continuing leadership in education:
According to Field Research Corporation's 1996 K-12 School/District
Office Survey and 1997 K-12 Teacher Survey, Apple is the leading
brand of computer used by teachers in schools and homes. Nearly
2 million teachers use Macintosh computers at home or school.
The research also shows that Apple schools have a higher rate
of technology usage by teachers and students. In addition, teachers
who use Macintosh are more likely to use computers to teach and
to include the use of multimedia courseware and Internet in their
instruction with students. Schools with Macintosh computers have
a higher rate of Internet access, according to the K-12 School
Survey conducted in October 1996 by Field Research Corporation.
This study shows that 61 percent of all schools using Macintosh
computers access the Internet, compared to 44 percent of schools
that only use DOS/Windows-based computers. In addition, the K-12
Teacher Survey by Field Research reports that among school Internet
users, 57 percent of teachers and 56 percent of students use Macintosh
computers to access the Internet.
You can order copies of QED reports from Quality Education Data
at 1700 Lincoln Street, Suite 3600, Denver, CO 80231, or by e-mail
at qedinfo@qeddata.com.
For more details, see the Apple press release:
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Rebecca Gulick of MacWEEK, reports that Electric Image (EI), a
company that creates high-end 3-D animation and rendering tools,
is enthusiastic about Apple's next-generation Rhapsody OS. According
to a memo leaked to the Internet, Matt Hoffman, director of product
development, said, "Electric Image looks forward with great eagerness
to the upcoming developer release of Apple's new operating system,
Rhapsody. The list of advanced features present in this OS are
exactly what EI has been asking Apple to provide for several years."
The complete article on this topic is posted to the MacWEEK web
site:
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Apple is strengthening its local relationship with education customers
by establishing dedicated Apple-authorized higher education sales
agents and updating its successful K-12 Sales Agents program.
This expansion is designed to strengthen Apple's focus on and
support of the educational community--institutions, students,
faculty, and staff. The higher education sales agents and K-12
sales agents have been selected by Apple from a number of strong
Apple resellers.
Sales agents are an essential element of Apple's successful channel
coverage model for K-12 customers. In the K-12 market, these education
specialists represent Apple exclusively. Apple is now introducing
a similar program for higher education. The new sales agents will
be especially important for higher education customers who don't
have an Apple reseller on campus. With an updated K-12 Sales Agents
program and new higher education sales agents, Apple now has a
dedicated education division that provides its customers with
more than 900 education specialists. Developers selling products
to the higher education market may want to approach these new
sales agents about potential selling partnerships. Agent contact
information is listed in the Apple press release:
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Apple just announced the recipients in its annual Apple Education
Grants program. The 1997 program, called "New Connections," awards
computer systems to ten K-12 schools and ten teaching institutions
around the country. The grants, in total, are valued at approximately
U.S.$ 1 million in equipment and training, bringing total Apple
grant contributions to around U.S.$ 29 million since the program's
inception in 1979.
The Apple Education Grants program is designed to award computer
and professional-development grants to schools seeking innovative
ways to use technology in the classroom, and to provide solutions
to groups that otherwise would have limited or no access to technology.
Apple's most recent grants have involved collaborations between
K-12 schools and institutions that deliver ongoing professional
development for teachers. The goal of these collaborations is
to bring the expertise and experience of both allies to K-12 curriculum
development and to integrate the lessons learned from these efforts
to improve teacher professional-development programs.
The list of grant winners is posted at this web site:
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Michael Moon, director of executive programs at GISTICS, a respected
media technology research firm, recently presented data at the
Australia Seybold Seminar series that supports the premise that
Mac OS-based computers are much less expensive to own than Windows-based
computers. At the seminar, Moon presented slides with the following
information.
Mac OS users, when compared with Windows users:
- Spend 38 fewer hours per year fussing with files
- Save U.S.$ 4,950 annually on support and training
- Use more software applications (14.3 vs. 8.3)
- Save U.S.$ 2,211 in their computer's three-year cost of ownership
- Earn U.S.$ 5.01 more per hour
- Constitute 62 percent of the top 10 percent in personal income
Mac OS (vs. Windows) firms:
- Earn U.S.$ 12.22 more revenue per hour of labor
- Produce U.S.$ 25,550 more in annual revenue per person
- Create U.S.$ 14,550 more profits per year per person
- Earn 32 percent more net profit per project
- Achieve platform payback in 7.2 months (vs. 13.9)
(Source: GISTICS, Larkspur, CA © 1997)
Moon invites all interested developers to receive a 44-page return-on-investment
technical brief that provides a detailed trade-off analysis for
Mac OS computers versus PCs, and data on the economic consequences
of switching from Mac OS computers to PCs. There is also a section
that presents data on the number of months required to break even
on the cost of upgrading from 680x0-based to PowerPC-based Macintosh
computers. To receive your complementary copy, send a request
to this e-mail address: moon@gistics.com. In return, GISTICS requires that you complete a short subscription
form.
(Thanks to Andrew Steacy for this data.)
You can download the complete presentation at this web site:
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Newton, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Computer, has
selected Farallon Communications to develop Ethernet PC Card drivers
for Newton-based devices such as the eMate 300 and MessagePad
2000. The Ethernet PC Card drivers will be available in conjunction
with the September release of the Newton Internet Enabler 2.0
(NIE 2.0) and will enable users to directly connect their eMate
and MessagePad devices to Ethernet networks. Farallon is the only
vendor to provide PC Cards that can be used in a Newton-based
device, a PowerBook, and a PC Notebook.
For more details on Farallon's Ethernet cards, see this web site:
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Apple announced that it's inviting a number of advertising agencies,
including BBDO, Apple's advertising agency for the past 12 years,
to participate in an account review to determine the most effective
agency for Apple's U.S.-based advertising. The decision to change
advertising agencies is part of Apple's efforts to implement new
marketing plans, an outgrowth of the recent reorganization of
its marketing organization. Apple expects to finalize the selection
of an agency by the end of September, 1997.
For more details, see the Apple press release:
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EVENTS
The Center for Software Development (CSD), located in San Jose,
California, has an action-packed schedule in July and August,
with Game Night just two and a half weeks away and a BrewFest
for Java series starting in August. Here's the summer lineup:
| July 16 | Will You Be Ready for the Year 2000? |
| July 18 | Game Night at CSD--Computer Games Get Real! |
| July 24 | Import/Export International Trade |
| July 29 | Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Business |
| July 30 | The Next Revolution--Connected Information Appliances |
| July 31 | Fundamentals of Hi-Tech Marketing Workshop |
| |
| August 6 | BrewFest for Java--100% Pure Java Pre-Certification |
| August 7 | Venture Capital One-on-One With Aspen Ventures |
| August 19 | Patents, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets |
| August 20 | Finding the Right Equity Partner |
| August 20 | Choosing Accounting Software and Surviving Your First Audit |
The Center for Software Development (CSD) is a nonprofit organization
that provides key resources that software developers need to successfully
start and expand the next generation of technology businesses.
(Apple is a foundation partner of this organization.) CSD offers
self-service, multivendor test labs as well as business and technical
seminars. Fees for CSD's facilities and events are waived or reduced
for Mac OS developers.
To receive the monthly CSD update, send an e-mail message to events-request@center.org, and type the word "join" in the body of the message. For a free
CSD information packet, call 408-494-8378 or send e-mail to info@center.org. This information is also posted to CSD's web site:
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WEB-BYTES--Pointers to More News and Software
MacOS8.com is a new third-party Mac OS web site that provides
free technical support, discussions, live chats, tips, news, and
feature articles for Macintosh users:
Mac's Diner is a new web site dedicated to the proposition that
using a Mac OS computer doesn't have to be expensive. Mac's Diner
provides information on Mac OS freeware and "cheapware" (shareware
and commercial software that costs less than U.S.$ 25.) This site
also just won the prestigious Starting Point Hot Site award.
The home page of Mac's Diner is located at this web address:
If you have a product or service to list, go to the Mac's Diner
submissions page:
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If you have any suggestions or comments regarding Apple Developer
News, we'd like to hear from you. You can send an e-mail to
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Copyright © 1997 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
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