Comet to Brighten Apple's SkiesAs you know, May marked the final "Mac Chooser" column by John Tyler. That doesn't mean an end to our Mac coverage, though. Beginning this month, we introduce a new bimonthly column by Forest Linton that will focus on Apple Japan and the Japanese Macintosh market .-Ed.
Forest LintonRegular readers will know me from the Internet-focused column that I have been writing in Computing Japan for the past three years. But perhaps you don't know that I am also a big Macintosh user, so first let me give you a little background on my Mac experience. I have been a Mac user since it was introduced in 1984, and I have been working in the Macintosh industry for over a decade. In 1987, I started a Mac-based publishing company while at the University of Illinois, and I ran that for some years before coming to Japan. During my first three years in Japan, I worked for a Japanese publishing company, Koyosha Graphics, which was not only a pioneer in desktop publishing and digital prepress but which also localized and distributed Macintosh software tools for graphic design, publishing, and the Internet. Last fall, I moved to the Internet Explorer Team at Microsoft Japan, where I am currently product manager for Internet Explorer 4.0. (And before you ask: Yes, we are working on a Mac version of Internet Explorer 4.0!) I am looking forward to doing this new bimonthly column. As always, your feedback is what shapes my columns, so don't hesitate to send your comments to me at forest@gol.com.
Apple Japan in trouble? In my May "Digital Forest" column, I did a special report on the state of the Mac. In that column, I wrote that although Apple was laying off 4,100 employees worldwide, Apple Japan was not to be touched. This was a true statement, at the time. The subsequent management reorganizations that rippled through the company however, have also plunged Apple Japan into chaos. What started as just a few persons leaving for personal reasons has seemingly turned into a mass exodus. A source close to the situation informally calculates that nearly forty employees are in various stages of leaving. Apple Japan has always operated with a very slim, skeleton crew (almost notoriously so) of - at most - 250 employees or so at any given time. With potentially over 15% of the staff leaving, Apple Japan could be in serious trouble. Preparations for the upcoming summer holiday season will begin soon, this in a company that was understaffed and overworked to begin with. When a lot of people leave a company, two big opportunities present themselves. Other companies in the industry will surely find use for some of the talent that is leaving Apple Japan. And if you ever had a desire to work for Apple Japan, now couldn't be a better time to rush to the company's aid. I guarantee that they will need the help, and the last thing we all want is for Apple to fall.
Apple's Comet is landing Apple regrouped, found an interesting partner in IBM Japan, and together they co-developed a new subnotebook (then code-named Comet). This was originally intended for the Japanese market only since, according to Apple's research, subnotebooks are a very important segment in the Japanese market. But after doing additional research, Apple decided to market the Comet (officially named the 2400c) in the US as well. The 2400c is the smallest and lightest Mac portable available today. Physically it is a bit smaller than the Duo, and just a bit heavier at about 2 kg. It features a 10.4-inch active matrix screen and a 180-MHz 603e Power PC processor. I'll review the 2400c, due to ship in May in Japan and July in the US, in my next column.
Internet Explorer 3.01J for Mac
Microsoft's Personal Web Server for Macintosh is also included. Both 68K and PowerMac versions are available. By the time you read this, version 3.01 of Internet Explorer for the Macintosh should be released on the Web, and a retail package should be available on store shelves in Japan.
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