Apple Computer Inc’s wholly-owned Claris Corp software subsidiary in Mountain View, California, has begun soliciting investment banks to make proposals for handling a public flotation of the business later this year, perhaps in the summer. The company reckons that it is number two behind Microsoft Corp in the Macintosh software market and will be within striking distance of Microsoft by the end of the financial year in September, when the Microsoft Macintosh software business is expected to be running at an between $90m and $100m annualised.