Apple Computer Inc says that it believes the new Power PC line of computers it is developing with IBM Corp will offer the best performance and price of any computers on the market when they are released in two to three years – and will be able to recognise speech as well as analyse foreign languages, and eventually this will lead to computers that can take dictation. The computers will also be able to run word processing programs embracing multimedia functions such as the inclusion of graphics and digital video into documents – a decade and more ago, the British state-sponsored Nexos was promising the same thing, but Nexos had ideas above its station and all it made was losses. The new machines will also support video teleconferencing, but Apple stresses that it will continue to bring out new Motorola Inc 68000 family Macintoshes after the PowerPC versions appear and that the latter will be upwards-compatible with the former. The promises appear in a new Blueprint for the Decade published by Apple, which also says that System 7 will be enhanced to support applications written for Microsoft Corp’s Windows and MS-DOS – and to read Windows disks. Apple also says it continues to spend more than half of its research and development budget on software and the emphasis will remain on powerful and easy-to-use systems, highlighting the importance of pen-based computers to Apple’s future. Apple expects demand for multimedia players for the home to grow rapidly, suggesting they will broaden access to a wider audience, and we anticipate that their high-quality graphics, sound, video, and animation will cause the entertainment and education segments of the technology market to grow rapidly, especially as prices drop. Although Sony Corp was believed to be Apple’s chosen partner on the fun-and-games end of the market, the paper says Apple has enlisted support of several consumer electronics firms rather than just Sony. Apple also promises to offer colour laser printers and three-dimensional workstations. In a foreword, chairman John Sculley says saying As the computer industry increasingly requires complex interdependencies for the development of new industry standards, Apple will no longer go the distance alone. Apple says that it will now work more closely with major companies in an effort to develop leading edge products: in future, whenever technologies can be best developed with partnerships and licensing arrangements, it will enter them.
