Unless Larry Elison actually manages to buy it, Apple will survive, Apple has code names for MacOS (not Rhapsody) releases all the way up to the year 2000, second half. Also, I foresee Rhapsody actually taking market share away from windows on the INTEL platform, as long as someone shows the Apple marketing people how to find their backsides with both hands, the product will sell itself (now if someone could just add a tube of superglue to those hands, we might get someone else advertising the best product available, successfully).
Worst case scenario, Apple crashes spectacularly.
Possible outcomes
Someone buys out Apple and sells it of piecemeal. Very good outcome, the clone manufacturers get the chance to buy the hardware side of the business, then someone buys the OS and runs it as a separate business. MacOS is dumped and all future development is done on Rhapsody. Rhapsody's multi-platform appeal is radically marketed, and the clones market the fact they have the fastest processors, the most up-to-date equipment, and the most integrated and stable platform. Newton becomes its own company selling PDA's, and pippin probably dies.
If done fast enough, the developers will finish projects for the Mac that they were already working on, even if most start no new projects. Handled properly, and with the clone makers moving quickly to take up the slack, we morn Apple, get on with our lives, the developer start making Rhapsody programs again, and we start rumors and writing articles about the possible demise of whoever now owns Rhapsody, and their stupidity of going up against Microsoft.
Someone buys out Apple and tries to make it run. As now, with someone else in control and a general perception that this is a lost cause. The person would have to move fast to dump MacOS, pippin and sell off Newton as a separate company. They should sack their marketers, cut back in research and program development in non necessary areas. A very high budget, TV/Newspaper/radio blitz selling Rhapsody to wintel users should be launched, Windows compatibility should be made standard on all computers so that people are reassured that the computer will still be useful if the company collapses again.
Probably cause Apple to fail again later.
Microsoft buys out Apple. The evil empire launches a surprise attack that takes out the mother ship. Power Computing leads an all out guerrilla warfare campaign. They hire all former apple employees they can and try to buy access to the Apple OS. If they fail they try and write one themselves, cut deals with Motorola, IBM, Sun and apple developers to try and save the Mac platform. Microsoft throws Money and lawyers in equal proportions at the alliance until their cries fade into darkness, then it quietly renames Rhapsody "Microsoft Millenium II"TM, adds their logo, a windows compatibility environment and 3Megs of blot to it and launches an advertising campaign that drowns the globe. It then cuts PowerPC compliance, and MacOS compatibility and nails the coffin shut on Power Computing, and the lemmings quietly go on walking off the cliff.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Jude Coughlin's Macintosh/Apple News topic, please visit the Discussions page.