Apple updates operating system

Mac OS X: built on Unix, wrapped in Aqua

Apple's new operating system aims to give it a leg-up in the tough market for home computers, as BBC News Online's Kevin Anderson in Washington explains.

Apple Computers has not significantly updated its flagship Macintosh operating system since the launch of the groundbreaking computer in 1984.

And in the 17 years since its release, the once cutting-edge point-and-click interface has now become the mainstream as competitor Microsoft developed its own graphical system and grabbed the lion's share of the personal computer market.

But with the release of OS X, Apple says its new operating system will offer not only greater stability but also an updated interface the company calls Aqua.

Analysts say OS X will help Apple weather the current downturn pounding all PC makers.

But they add that even with OS X, Apple must work to shore up its base and win back the education market to retain its market niche in the difficult market conditions.

Needed update

Apple has been toiling for much of the last decade to update its venerable Macintosh operating systems.

This is the first major overhaul of the OS since the original Macintosh in 1984

"There is only so much you can do with the operating system they had," said Chris LeTocq, an analyst with IT consultancy Gartner.

Since the operating system was introduced in 1984, the OS was being asked to support a complex range of functions and hardware never envisaged 17 years ago, he said.

And during the last 10 years of work to overhaul the operating system, the company has gone through three chief executives and at least as many abortive attempts to bring a modern OS to market.

In the Macintosh community, they were known by their codenames: Copland, Rhapsody and even a project with IBM called Pink.

Apple faced some fairly major challenges in developing the new operating system, including making the new OS backwards compatible, Mr LeTocq said.

The development has been fairly direct since Apple decided to make NeXT's operating system the basis for its new OS, he added. But even after settling on NeXT, OS X has still seen delays.

The company's co-founder, Steve Jobs, returned with Apple's 1996 purchase of NeXT, the company Mr Jobs founded after he left Apple in 1985.

At a developer's conference in 1998, Mr Jobs promised Mac users that OS X would ship in the autumn of 1999. The ship date has slipped a number of times.

Under the hood

With the arrival of OS X, although much has been made of its Aqua interface, it will be the things that users cannot see that will mark a dramatic departure from its predecessors.

An Abridged History of the Macintosh

January 1984: The original Macintosh is introduced, running System 1.0

February 1994: Apple announces first effort at next generation OS: Copland

Late 1996: Apple cancels Copland

January 1997: Apple speaks of new OS code-named Rhapsody

December 1996: Apple buys NeXT software

May 1998: Steve Jobs announces new OS strategy, says Mac OS X will ship in late 1999

Early 1999: Mac OS X Server released

January 2000: Steve Jobs says Mac OS X will beta in the spring and be released in the summer

May 2000: Mr Jobs says a beta will be released in the summer and ship January 2001

September 2000: Public beta OS X ships

January 2001: Mr Jobs announces 24 March as ship date for OS X

OS X is built on Unix, the industrial-strength operating system that runs many internet servers and corporate networks.

OS X adds modern operating system features such as protected memory, pre-emptive multitasking and symmetric multiprocessing.

These features will help make the operating system less prone to crashing, smoother to use with multiple applications and able to fully take advantage of multiple processor computers that Apple began shipping last year.

Pretty face

And, of course, Apple's trademark graphical user interface was fully reworked.

"The new user interface appears easier to use and more intuitive, but at the same time, the company did an excellent job of soliciting feedback and incorporating that feedback to satisfy existing Mac customers," said David Bailey, and analyst with Gerard Klauer Mattison.

Mr LeTocq says that OS X again gives Apple a world leading user interface.

But not everyone sees the interface as a great improvement. Apple employee 31, Jef Raskin, who started the Macintosh project in 1979, said Aqua was extremely disappointing.

"This is a typical Jobs manoeuvre, thinking paint it a different colour and they will come," he said. Mr Raskin left Apple after Steve Jobs took over the Macintosh project in 1982.

He said that Apple had missed a great opportunity.

"Does it boot any faster? Does it really matter that instead of grey icons, you're hitting red yellow and green dots? What does red, yellow and green mean? Are they easier to see?" he asked.

He is not surprised that the computer industry, including Apple, has fallen on hard times. "I think the main problem is that the industry has got into a rut. No-one dares to make any changes," he said.

"The industry needs someone as bold now as Apple was once," he added.

Market share

But the question remains as to whether OS X will help Apple during one of the worst slumps the personal computer industry has seen.

Analysts see the Aqua interface as a competitive edge in the slumping PC market

Competition heats up during a downturn, Mr LeTocq said. "Having a new edge makes a distinct difference, and [OS X] brings an improved edge," he added.

He is not certain that OS X will help Apple increase its market share, but "at the very least, it will help Apple not lose any share".

Mr Bailey says OS X's impact on market share is a difficult question. "When the demand picture brightens, Apple may be in the position to gain market share," he said.

"But at this point, Apple should solidify its install base and try to regain momentum in education before it turns outward."

Early adopters

But for now, Mr Bailey said he did not see widespread adoption of the operating system until later this year.

"We don't think it will see widespread adoption because one, they are not pre-loading on existing systems until the summer time, and two, the great majority of third-party applications will not be written for the OS X."

Also, the operating system will not have the ability to write CDs or play DVD movies, which Mr Bailey said was more embarrassing than critical.

In the near term, Mr Bailey did not see OS X significantly impacting the company's financial outlook, but "it is critical to the long term," he said.

Mr LeTocq said it was crucial for Apple to launch OS X, especially as the industry was entering a slump.

"In a competitive marketplace, without OS X, Apple would be in for a tough time," he said.