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By: Duane Maxwell
Chief Technical Officer
Gryphon Software Corporation
The San Fransisco Chronical and Gate were beating up Apple for Windows failure with NT on PowerPC's. Here is the original fictional trash piece (sold as news) - San Francisco Gate (2/8/97) - ran the headline -
Microsoft Pulls Out Of Deal With Apple - Won't make new Mac software
by: Julia Angwin ([email protected]),
Jon Swartz ([email protected]
Editor -[email protected]However, some people understand how biased this article is, and Duane Maxwell wrote what the article should have said, how it should have spun, while being a lot more truthful
For those who doubt that the original SF Chronicle article has some serious spin, here's my submission from a parallel universe (the one where Spock has a goatee). It's even probably more factual....
Friday February 7 10:47 AM EST
Another Setback for Microsoft's Flagship Operating System
REDMOND, Wash., February 7 - In yet another setback for Windows NT, Microsoft has announced a phase out the port of the operating system to the PowerPC RISC microprocessor, citing low customer interest. This decision comes shortly on the heels of a decision by IBM and Motorola to abandon Windows NT in favor of UNIX and Macintosh operating systems for its workstation systems for similar reasons.
Windows NT was originally touted by Microsoft as a cross-platform solution for high-end workstations and Internet servers. However, Microsoft has been unable to follow through with this strategy, and several years into the plan, Windows NT is available on only a handful of chip architectures, most notably Intel's aging Pentium line, which many industry analysts feel will ultimately be unable to continue to keep up the speed race with RISC microprocessors such as the PowerPC.
The only major port of Windows NT to a RISC microprocessor, Digital Equipment Corporation's Alpha, has met with lackluster acceptance by industry.
Analysts also cite as reasons the low penetration of Windows NT in the Internet market, which is dominated by UNIX and Macintosh systems, as well as recent publicity regarding serious security flaws and reliability, resulting in low confidence levels by systems administrators.
In related news, Apple Computer recently bostered its operating system offerings by announcing its acquisition of NeXT Inc., and its plans to combine the UNIX-based NeXTStep Kernel with the easy-to-use Macintosh operating system, codenamed Rhapsody. NeXT's OpenStep, which is already available for a variety of chipsets, is strongly rumored to be the basis for future cross-platform offerings from Apple.
Duane Maxwell
Gryphon Software Corporation
Chief Technical Officer
619-536-8815 Fx:619-536-8932
All opinions expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Gryphon Software Corporation
This article is much closer to the truth than the spin put on by the Chronicle. Even more ironic is the fact that soon after, MS comitted more than ever to the Mac platform with a new alliance.
He does not even note that it is rumored that the only reason that WinNT is still being done for the Digital Alpha is because Digital Equipement is paying MS for the privelege. It is also rumored that the reason Motorola, Apple and IBM dropped support for WinNT is because Microsoft was trying to charge up to 400 million for the usage of NT. An outragious sum, especially considering the lack of consumer interest. Both of which could be spun to slam MS more (as they are usually diserving of).
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