Apple Computers Inc, at its Macromedia Developer’s Conference in San Francisco this week, said early next year it plans to launch new desktop editing and CD-ROM hardware and software packages from other companies in the multimedia market, Reuters reports. Ian Diery, executive vice-president of Apple’s Personal Computer Division, said Apple has addressed slow multimedia growth by offering CD-ROM drives at cost this year, sacrificing over $100m in gross profits and hopes a larger base of CD-ROM drives will offer developers greater flexibility. Apple will soon sell hardware and software combinations enabling Macintosh computers to be used to create CD-ROM disks that play on personal computers using Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system, Dow Jones reports. Two new products, tentatively called Apple Media Authoring Solution and Digital Video Production Station, will ship early next year and combine high-end Macintosh computers with special circuit boards, software and other accessories now available from third-party suppliers. The key new element, is an Apple-developed program called Media Tool enabling programmers to store video clips and other multimedia information and replay it on both Windows-based and Macintosh personal computers, reducing the time and cost of making new CD-ROM products. The Media Tool should create one compact disc that can be played on both Apple and Macintosh, so software need not be rewritten or a separate authoring system purchased. Prices are not set, but will be cheaper than buying the elements from separate companies.
