IBM Corp and Apple Computer Inc duly – and extraordinarily belatedly – kicked off the week with the announcement that IBM has licensed Mac OS. But the company has carefully ring-fenced the operating system from its core products, and it is at present only in its IBM Microelectronics unit, which is the part that markets chips and other OEM products to the outside world. It is being made clear that the IBM Personal Computer Co is a now a PowerPC-free zone – iAPX-86 or nothing. Under the deal, IBM is simply free to license Mac OS on to any company buying PowerPC chips, although Apple will still certify each computer system built to assure compatibility. The agreement covers Mac OS 7.5x and the forthcoming Copland releases. Most licensees are expected to be in the Far East. In the US and Europe, the attitude is likely to be if IBM does not believe in it enough to add the thing to its own product line, we’ll get it from somebody that does believe in it. Accordingly, the first sub-licensing deals are with Datatech Enterprises Co Ltd and Tatung Co Ltd, Taiwan. Datatech has operations in China, Taiwan and Europe. The two also confirmed that they are working together on a subnotebook computer family to the PowerPC Platform specification, but only third parties and perhaps Apple will market the new machines. Umax Computer Corp took the opportunity to launch its SuperMac S900 deskside system, claiming it provides Unix workstation-class performance in a system fully Mac OS-compatible for as low as $3,100. The SuperMac S900 mini-tower is based on a single or dual 150MHz PowerPC 604 processor, and will ship in volume next month. Umax also says it’s set to announce a deal with a North American retail chain to sell its Mac PCs, which it plans to ship in June, proving it won’t just be looking at traditional channels but also targetting consumers and small businesses who may have bought from cloner Power Computing, Round Rock, Texas, or Apple itself. Umax has already signed up distributor Ingram Micro, Santa Ana, California. VLSI Technology Inc also said it will support IBM’s Mac OS program by supplying its Gold Eagle PowerPC Platform support logic components, currently in the final stages of development and testing, to third parties; and FirmWorks Inc, Mountain View, California said that its Power Firmware software is now available to people developing systems designed to run Mac OS on PowerPC.
