Conflicting stories appeared yesterday on Apple Computer Inc’s plans to license its Macintosh System to other manufacturers, with InfoWorld reporting that the company finally has an undisclosed agreement with Acer Inc, and the Wall Street Journal saying that Apple has decided only to license it to IBM Corp and Motorola Inc for their PowerPC-based machines. Acer has already signed some OEM agreements to provide other manufacturers with systems capable of running System 7, sources told InfoWorld; it reckons Acer will have the right to sell PowerPC systems with the operating system in some markets under its own name, but will focus on supplying a number of companies with Mac clones, which would sell them under their own labels in the Far East. The paper says the announcement has been held until agreement is reached with IBM because Apple wants IBM to be seen as the first major licensee of System 7.5. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Motorola would sell a few of the clones it builds under its own brand name, but would likely manufacture most of them for sale on the OEM market.
