Apple's PowerPC Success Hinges on Apps Delivery

Apple Computer Inc's first PowerPCs will be comparable in price and
positioning to the company's Macintosh IIsi and Quadra 700 systems and
will run Macintosh applications natively or in emulation mode.

Code-named Tesseract, Apple's first RISC-based desktop systems, due
early next year, will be based on the 66MHz PowerPC 601 processor,
sources said. Preliminary specifications include built-in Ethernet
connections, three high-performance expansion slots and a minimum of 4M
bytes of RAM, expandable to 132M bytes, they said.

Software, however, is the key to driving acceptance of the PowerPC
systems, observers said. Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., is expected to
begin delivering to developers this spring a 601-based Macintosh card to
help them begin porting applications to the native PowerPC environment,
sources said.

"If the software isn't available, it could be a lengthy and costly
transition away from the 68040," said Pieter Hartsook, editor of the
Hartsook Letter, an industry newsletter published in Alameda, Calif.

Users will find varying levels of support and performance for
applications running on the PowerPC systems, sources said. The systems
will run the MAcintosh operating system - parts of which are being
ported to run on the PowerPC architecture - or PowerOpen, which Apple is
developing with IBM.

Macintosh applications will be able to run unmodified on the machine in
68020 emulation mode. However, according to estimates by Apple
engineers, native 680x0 software running in full emulation will achieve
only about 10 percent of the 601's performance capabilities, comparable
to a 25MHz 68030-based Mac IIci.

Mac applications that are recompiled to address the native PowerPC
Macintosh code will be able to achieve performance equivalent to a 25MHz
68040-based Quadra 700, sources said.

Developers who use Echo Logic Inc.'s FlashPort binary-to-binary
translation technology or a software development kit from Apple to port
680x0 applications to the PowerPC can expect to take advantage of about
90 percent of the 601's processing power, which is two to three times
faster than a 33MHz 68040-based Quadra 950, sources said.

"This level of power will enable applications such as speech synthesis,
ray tracing, telephony and digital video without adding supporting
processors to Macs," said Hartsook. "Apple will also need the horsepower
to accommodate system software components such as Quicktime, OCE,
Quickdraw GX and AppleScript," he said.

Apple also plans to provide a "mixed mode" for running 680x0
applications in emulation and native PowerPC application modes
simultaneously.

Application development for the PowerPC has been slow so far, sources
said. Developers have their plates full with other platforms, and
currently an expensive IBM RS/6000 workstation is required for program
development.

Several companies, however, have software ports well under way,
including Claris Corp., Aldus Corp., Adobe Systems Inc. and Specular
International Ltd., according to sources. A Microsoft Corp. official
last week said the company plans to offer its popular applications for
PowerPC. "Our goal is to be there when it ships, said Hank Vigil,
director of marketing for applications at the Redmond, Wash., company.

The transition to PowerPC may be made easier by board upgrades from
Apple and third-party vendors for some of the existing Macintosh models.
To attract Windows users, Apple is reportedly working with Insignia
Solutions Inc. to develop its software-based Windows emulator for the
PowerPC, sources said.

In addition to its PowerPC development plans, Apple has the option of
extending its Motorola line by adopting the next generation of 680x0
processor, the 68060. The chip, which should have a high level of
compatibility with the existing base of software, could be available for
sampling by the end of the year, sources said. But it is unlikely that
Apple will embrace the chip. Although performance of a 66MHz 68060 chip
matches the 601, it won't be available in volume until a year later than
the PowerPC 601. By that time, the more powerful PowerPC processors, the
603 and 604, should be ready, sources said.

 
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