Apple Developer News
MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
Here's a chance to promote your product by publishing a book about
it. Ventana Communications Group is actively looking for book
ideas on the Internet, graphics, multimedia, operating systems,
networking, and business applications.
To be considered for this opportunity, send Ventana an outline
of your proposed book idea. Also suggest a page range and a price
that users would be willing to pay. (Ventana's minimum print run
is 10,000 copies, so your idea needs to have mass market appeal.)
Send book proposals to macs@lgate.vmedia.com.
For a list of Ventana's current book titles, see this web site:
(By the way, Ventana is currently offering Apple "evangelistas" 30 percent off the cover price of any Ventana or Netscape Press
book.)
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If you're marketing products in Europe, check out Apple Europe's
Market Resources web page. (The Directory of Online European Market
Resources is also available in print in the August 1997 issue
of Apple Directions.) Here's some of the information you can find
in this useful online directory:
- General information about Europe
- National statistics and trends in Europe
- Statistics on specific countries
- Foreign trade agencies
- Personal computing news and analysis
- Marketing services information
- Market access information on Apple web pages
Look for the Resources page at the following web address:
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PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS
[Editor's note: This is an excerpt from Apple's formal August
8 press release, which expands upon the Mac OS 8 sales report
that we mentioned last week.]
This week Apple formally announced that more than 1.2 million
copies of Mac OS 8 have been sold since the product's retail introduction
on July 26, quadrupling the company's expectations. News of the
successful sales figures were revealed by Apple director and cofounder,
Steve Jobs, in a keynote address delivered this week at MACWORLD
Expo/Boston.
Several major retailers, distributors, and catalog sales companies
have sold out of their Mac OS 8 stock during the first two weeks
of availability--resulting in the most successful sales performance
ever for an Apple software product. Sales continue to surpass
Apple's projections, with the channel reporting strong demand
and ordering substantial additional units. Dealers in certain
locations also reported an increase of more than 30 percent in
hardware sales during the first weekend of Mac OS 8 sales.
The full Apple press release is posted at this web site:
For Steve Job's comments on Mac OS 8 in his keynote address at
MACWORLD Expo/Boston, see:
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During the second fiscal quarter of 1997, Apple won back some
of the market share lost to third-party Mac OS-based computer
manufacturers. According to Dataquest, the company's share of
the Mac OS market increased to more than 80 percent, a 12 percent
gain from the first quarter. To read MacWEEK's article on this
topic, "Apple Picks Up a Little Speed," see this web site:
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Apple has recently "remodeled" its AppleScript web site to include
a library of utility, QuarkXpress, and OSAX scripts; information
on Mac OS 8 scripting; and more. AppleScript fans can check out
the site at this address:
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OTHER DEVELOPER NEWS
Apple recently initiated a special campaign to encourage OpenStep
developers to join one of Apple's developer programs. Interested
OpenStep developers can receive a free membership to the Associates
Program, or receive a membership discount that can be applied
to the Associates Plus or Partner Program. Visit this web site
for details:
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Apple just announced that it has completed its review of advertising
agencies and has selected TBWA Chiat/Day to work as Apple's advertising
agency. Terms of the relationship are currently being negotiated.
Chiat/Day previously worked with Apple and is known for creating
Apple's legendary "1984" commercial.
TBWA Chiat/Day is part of TBWA International (an Omnicom company),
which is and the fifteenth largest advertising network in the
world, with offices in 57 countries. TBWA Chiat/Day clients include
Nissan, Taco Bell, Polygram/Gramercy, ABC Television, Infiniti,
Seagram, Absolut, Energizer, Champion, Sony PlayStation, and New
York Life.
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Many people consider it a great honor to have their Mac OS-based
product featured in one of Guy Kawasaki's MACWORLD keynote presentations.
Here's a list of the hot applications that were demonstrated during
last week's MACWORLD Expo/Boston:
Connectix Virtual PC--an application that installs easily and runs PC software on
your Power Macintosh computer with high performance.
http://www.connectix.com
Starry Night Deluxe--you can explore the wonders of the night sky and outer space
from a Macintosh computer using Starry Night.
http://www.siennasoft.com
WiredWrite--a publishing application designed to help you create long, highly
stylized, 100% Pure Java documents.
http://www.jstream.com
Quake for Macintosh--the much-anticipated 3D shooter game from the creators of Doom.
http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft/
GoLive CyberStudio--a complete solution for web site design and management.
http://www.golive.com
Create--the equivalent of Illustrator/FreeHand on steroids with web
capabilities.
http://www.stone.com/
TIFFany III Image Processor--a multithreaded, batch-capable, high-end image processor with
a customizable user environment.
http://www.stone.com/Caffeine/
Movioke!--this product enables you to swap roles and switch dialog in
scenes from Hollywood films.
http://www.movioke.com
Retrospect--the best backup software for any backup device.
http://www.dantz.com
Commotion--the moving-picture paint and image-processing application designed
by Academy Award-winning professionals.
http://www.puffindesigns.com
Nodester (rhymes with "roadster")--a rapid panoramic editor for QuickTime VR.
http://www.panimation.com
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SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION RELEASES
Mac OS Runtime for Java (MRJ) is Apple's current implementation
of the Java runtime, based on Sun's JDK 1.0.2. MRJ 1.5 allows
you to run Java applets and applications on PowerPC, 68030, and
68040 processor-based Macintosh computers. MRJ 1.5 offers improved
functionality, and it runs ten times faster than previous versions
because of its just-in-time (JIT) compiler. You can download it
from this web site:
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This is a newer version than the one that comes with Mac OS 8.
To download it, visit this Apple FTP site:
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This system extension update enhances system stability on Power
Macintosh 5500, 6500, and Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh models
when video capture applications are running. To download this
version, visit this Apple FTP site:
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This version fixes a cosmetic error that occurs with Mac OS 8
(the camcorder icon was replaced with a stop sign in Bring Video
In Tab) and an audio level problem with versions 1.1 and 1.1.1.
You can download it at this FTP site:
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EVENTS
You can order audio cassettes or videotapes of all conference
tracks from the Expo (only keynotes are available on videotape)
from VWTAPES. Audio cassettes are US$ 10 each. Videotapes are
US$ 30 each (PAL or SECAM formats are US$ 35 each). Full sets
of Expo audio cassettes are available for US$ 895. And for every
six audio cassettes purchased, you get the seventh free. All tapes
come with a money-back guarantee.
For more information, call 1-888-898-2737 or visit the VWTAPES
web site:
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In reading through press coverage of last week's MACWORLD Expo,
we think Ted Landau, the MacFixIt web site editor, captured the
mood of the event best. This week he wrote:
"On balance, I came away from the Expo more optimistic than I
would have ever expected. I see the Mac poised for potential greatness.
The [PowerPC] 750 processor machines coming down the road will
literally need to be tied to your desk to keep them from taking
off. And some sneak peaks at Rhapsody suggest that it is everything
that Apple is promising it will be. Apple is finally putting it
all together and is ready to dazzle us again. And with a new energized
board of directors, the personnel needed to pull it all off successfully
may finally be in place."
To read Landau's overview of the Expo, see this web site:
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MacWest Expo '97 is a Macintosh computer trade show that will
take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 24
to 25, 1997. The show will feature over 100 exhibitors, seminars,
keynotes, and door prizes. For information on attending, exhibiting,
or speaking, send e-mail to diane_p@pacbell.net or call MacWest Productions at 1-800-371-3358.
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WEB-BYTES--Pointers to More News and Software
InformINIT is a shareware product that includes functional descriptions
of Apple and third-party control panels, extensions, system files,
and more. This information is extremely useful to technical support
people and developers.
InformINIT's author invites third-party developers to submit information
on any system files that they've developed, either as stand-alone
files or as files that support other applications or utilities.
If you want your extensions and system files to be included in
this resource, send descriptions to Dan Frakes at .
To download InformINIT, visit this web site:
IBM is offering a free one-hour Java training course on the web.
For more information, visit this web site:
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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
Send Apple developer-related news items to
To provide feedback on the technologies discussed in this issue,
send e- mail to the appropriate contact:
Copyright © 1997 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
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