PR Newswire
July 16, 1996
Apple Further Extends Easy-to-Use, Media-Rich Solutions to Internet and
Building on its
commitment to Internet solutions that are media-rich and easy-to- use, Apple
Computer Inc. further outlined its Internet and intranet strategies in a
keynote address presented by Larry Tesler, vice president of AppleNet, Apple's
Internet development group given at the Mactivity trade show today.
Tesler's remarks built on Apple's Internet solutions campaign, announced
earlier this year, to specifically address Apple's strategy for intranets.
"Apple is now recommending intranets as the network architecture for
enterprise networks that include Macintosh computers," said Tesler.
"We are committed to adhering to industry-standard networking protocols in
our product line and to integrating Macintosh Internet and intranet
capabilities into virtually all of our hardware and software products."
Tesler noted that intranets operating in Macintosh networking
environments provide multiple customer advantages, including the availability
of industry-standard components from a variety of vendors to help lower
customer costs and increase flexibility. Apple's intranet solutions also call
for improved communications and productivity within corporations by leveraging
rich data types such as page layout, graphics and multimedia. Other benefits
include increased corporate participation, particularly in cross-functional
applications, and modularity for smooth integration of new technology.
For corporate intranets, Tesler announced that Apple plans to deliver
its ease-of-use and rich media benefits in three areas: accessing intranets,
delivering information on intranets, and creating content for intranets.
Intranet Access
Apple is committed to delivering Macintosh clients that are
intranet-ready and can be easily integrated with intranet services and
corporate networks. Tesler explained that with an intranet as its network
architecture, a corporation gives its users the ability to choose the computer
that best serves their application needs, while plugging into an organization's
horizontal enterprise applications. The key is that the horizontal enterprise
applications are based on the same intranet that is native to any department's
specific client platform, giving users the best of all worlds.
An intranet can connect everyone in an organization to all of its
electronically stored information, whether in text files, web pages or
databases. That information can be browsed, queried, or viewed in a variety of
ways. But until now, it was necessary to develop special software for each
method of accessing each store of data. Tesler said that Apple is proposing a
new Internet standard, the Meta Content Format (MCF), that addresses this
problem. MCF opens up a new market for "data-independent viewers."
Because MCF is an open standard, software developers can create a wide variety
of such viewers. Database and web site administrators can describe their data
once in MCF and automatically make that data available for access through any
compliant viewer.
Tesler gave a sneak preview of two data-independent viewers that were
developed by Apple's Advanced Research Laboratories in an initiative called
"ProjectX." One ProjectX viewer offers a 3D information navigation
system that allows users to effortlessly "fly- through" any website,
database, or desktop folder structure for which an MCF description is
available. The other ProjectX viewer allows the same information to be browsed
using a 2D outline similar to that of the Macintosh Finder.
"The industry needs a common format for describing information on the
Internet and intranets, so that data become more accessible and easier to work
with," Tesler said. "Apple's Advanced Research Laboratories have been
studying this universal problem; we believe we have some unique solutions to
this challenge, and we'll be unveiling more of our approach in the months
ahead."
Tesler also demonstrated a new intranet feature that is expected to ship
with the 1.1 version of Apple's Cyberdog Internet software suite this fall.
This new feature which allows users to browse AppleTalk networks and save items
such as Zones and AppleShare files as live "Cyberitems." It is ideal
for mixed TCP/IP and AppleTalk networks, and integrates Internet and intranet
access into a user's desktop.
In addition, Tesler announced that Corel's WordPerfect product for the
Macintosh will offer OpenDoc Container support in its next release, later this
year. He also announced an agreement with Farallon to include Farallon's
Timbuktu Pro with the next release of Apple's QuickTime Conferencing Kit, as well
as including Farallon's Look@Me applet and web browser plug-in with Apple's
Internet Connection Kit 1.2.
Intranet Delivery
To improve delivery of information on intranets, Apple provides
easy-to-use servers for departments and Information Services (IS) applications.
Apple's scalable server products for Internet and intranet solutions are easy
to install and maintain, and range from easy-to-use, inexpensive solutions to
industrial-strength UNIX-based servers.
At Mactivity, Tesler demonstrated NetFinder, a Mac OS asynchronous
common gateway interface (ACGI) for distributing documents via the World Wide
Web. NetFinder lets administrators and webmasters of Mac OS servers distribute
documents via the web, including software and product documentation, using
Apple's familiar folder structures.
Previously, users connected to a server had to use FTP, Gopher or
custom-designed web pages to retrieve these documents. Now, with NetFinder
installed on a server, users will see an automatically generated HTML page that
looks like a Macintosh desktop folder. Users can open folders and download
documents by simply clicking on familiar icons. Apple server customers can
download NetFinder from the Apple website free of charge.
Intranet Creation
Apple's final intranet focus is the area for which it is most well-
known: providing technologies for ease-of-use in creating content. According to
recent surveys, Apple is a leader in multimedia and desktop publishing. A June
1996 survey from Dataquest named Apple the No. 1 vendor of complete multimedia
PC desktop systems worldwide for the second year running, with 18.8 percent of
the market, and a 1996 survey by Griffin Dix Research Associates found that 80
percent of all computers used for color publishing jobs in the advertising,
graphic design, printing, publishing and pre-press industries are Macintosh.
For creating intranet content, Apple will deliver creation platforms and
tools that make it easy for IS to leverage the new rich media enabled by the
intranet. With an intranet, corporations can introduce media-rich
communications into the corporate network environment to increase the
effectiveness of communication for improved productivity and corporate
participation.
Tesler highlighted authoring tools as an important factor in intranet
content creation, with products such as Adobe PageMill and Claris Home Page as
examples of how Macintosh developers are bringing Apple's ease of use to the
Internet/intranet. Claris Home Page is a new web authoring application that
hides the complexity of HTML by automatically generating HTML code when text is
entered and items are selected from pull-down menus or the Toolbar. Advanced
users can choose to edit their HTML code for more sophisticated authoring, as
well as developing dynamic, interactive sites that call applets (using Java or
JavaScript) and CGI applications.
"We're extending our strength in traditional publishing to website
publishing," said Tesler. "We're finding that the Macintosh customers
who have used the Macintosh for years -- graphic artists, writers, ad agencies
and creative services -- are now turning to the Macintosh platform to deliver
the most creative website designs."
Apple Platform Directions
In order to deliver the easy-to-use and powerful user experience for
which Apple is famous for, Tesler reviewed in today's keynote a set of key
platform components that provide the foundation for on-going Internet and
intranet development. The key components are networking infrastructure, the
QuickTime Media Layer (QTML), OpenDoc and Java:
Networking Infrastructure: Apple is supporting industry standard TCP/IP
protocols as a core component of the Mac OS. The first step of this move has
been the introduction of Open Transport, which makes TCP/IP an equal peer to
AppleTalk and is now available as part of Apple's latest Mac OS release, System
7.5 Version 7.5.3. Apple also recently announced plans to extend support of
TCP/IP protocols to its remote access product line.
QuickTime Media Layer: Today, QuickTime is already established as the
defacto standard for multimedia content on the Internet. A recent survey of
2,000 multimedia websites found QuickTime to be the No.1 multimedia format.
More than 20,000 web pages today use Apple QuickTime content and more than
5,000 use QuickTime VR, including industry leaders such as CNN, Tower Records,
Warner Brothers, Disney, MTV, BMW and Atlantic Records, according to a search
from the Alta Vista Web Index. Apple intends to proactively drive adoption of QuickTime
as the industry-standard multimedia format for the Internet. Apple recently
announced the invention of QuickTime "fast start" movie play-back,
which allows users to begin to view a movie while it's still downloading.
Additionally, the VRML 2.0 moving worlds standard, sponsored by Netscape and
SGI, has adopted Apple's 3DMF, a 3D file format. Netscape has also recently
announced that it will be bundling QuickTime with its upcoming Navigator 3.0
release.
OpenDoc: This industry-standard component architecture allows Apple to
merge otherwise disparate software such as Cyberdog, Java applets, and Netscape
plug-ins.
Java: Apple and Sun Microsystems recently announced that Apple has
licensed Java. Apple plans to embed Java across a range of Apple products and
technologies, including Mac OS, OpenDoc, Cyberdog, HyperCard, Newton, Pippin
and Apple Web servers.
Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry
and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on easy-to-use
personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, personal digital assistants
and Internet content. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops,
manufactures, licenses and markets solutions, products, technologies and
services for business, education, consumer, entertainment, scientific and
engineering and government customers in more than 140 countries.
Customer Information Contact: If you are considering the purchase of an
Apple product and would like to have product information faxed to you, please
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Apple's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/
NOTE: Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, AppleTalk, AppleShare, Mac OS,
OpenDoc, QuickTime, HyperCard, and Newton are registered trademarks, and Cyberdog
and Pippin are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe is a trademark of Adobe
Systems Incorporated or its subsidiaries and may be registered in certain
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names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are
hereby acknowledged.
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