Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Why MacOS X Server?

Author:Chuck Shotton
Posted:3/11/1999; 8:51:37 AM
Topic:scriptingNews outline for 3/11/99
Msg #:3945 (In response to 3943)
Prev/Next:3944 / 3946

As for the underlying question of Why? I pretty much agree with what Wes was saying yesterday. Apple is releasing MacOS X Server to get the OpenStep developers excited, and up to speed on the MacOS user interface, so their transition to MacOS X later this year will be smoother. And to get some general mindshare and developer presence.

Yawn.

Apple has cried "Wolf!" one too many times for this developer. This is latest in a sequence of aborted attempts to get some flavor of Apple-branded Unix into the marketplace (don't forget A/UX, or the ill-fated AIX-based Mac).

The saddest thing is that over all this time, Apple still hasn't learned. They haven't learned that developers aren't a profit center to be milked. They haven't learned that developers have a large investment in often fragile codebases that require O/S continuity, not quantum leaps. And most of all, they haven't learned that if they want to get widespread support for an O/S, they have to incent developers to write for the O/S.

And you know what? Withholding pre-release versions of the O/S, changing out the APIs, forcing developers to use a new set of tools, making them pay for fully functional versions of the O/S, and then shoving the whole product into a niche market as a file server for their repurposed NC attempt (i.e., iMacs) pretty much guarantees that a vast majority of developers with even the smallest amount of business acumen will completely ignore MacOS X Server. The market is just too small to justify the cost of porting or developing an application for that platform. And charging Unix-like prices in an attempt to break even will just run more customers away from 3rd party software on this platform.

Apple could make an amazing leap into the Linux space, simply by releasing the entire set of Carbon APIs and the OpenStep interfaces as a GPL product. But it will never happen. They can't think that way. This product will be discontinued and removed from Apple price lists before the end of 2001. I'll bet anything.

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