APPLE'S CROSSBRED MACINTOSHES BREAK THROUGH WINDOWS.Byline: George Avalos Knight-Ridder Newspapers Apple Computer Inc., squeezed by shrinking markets and swamped by an ocean of red ink red ink Health administration A popular term for financial losses. Cf in the Black. , has started a comeback by launching Macintosh machines that are faster, more powerful and can readily run both Mac and Windows software. Some new Power Mac computers enable users to switch back and forth between the Windows and the Macintosh environments without shutting down and then restarting the computer. The new computers, which range in price from $2,300 to $2,800, come with special electronic cards that make the Mac compatible with the Windows and DOS computer operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. from Microsoft. That means companies and individuals could operate Macintosh and Windows programs on the same machine. Although deemed generally easier to use than other personal computers, the Macintosh has been hampered because it hasn't been compatible with ``Wintel'' computers based on Windows software and Intel chips See x86 and Intel-based system. . ``People have faulted the Macintosh for . . . being able to only run Mac programs,'' said Pieter Hartsook, an analyst who publishes an Alameda, Calif.-based newsletter. ``The new computers make the Macintosh the most compatible machine in the universe. It runs more programs than a Windows machine. It is completely compatible with Windows and completely compatible with Macintosh.'' The new PC-compatible cards enable a Power Mac to run as fast as a mainstream Pentium computer. Power Macs that used earlier versions of the card were clunky and slow when running Windows programs. Still, Apple must climb a steep hill Steep Hill is a popular tourist street in the historic city of Lincoln, UK. At the top of the hill you will find the entrance to the Cathedral and at the bottom is Well Lane. The Hill consists of independent shops, tea rooms and pubs. . Apple's 8 percent slice of the personal computer industry is puny pu·ny adj. pu·ni·er, pu·ni·est 1. Of inferior size, strength, or significance; weak: a puny physique; puny excuses. 2. Chiefly Southern U.S. Sickly; ill. compared with the Wintel computers that account for about 75 percent of the PC market. What's more, Apple reported a $740 million loss for the January-March quarter and disclosed it must jettison jettison (jĕt`əsən, –zən) [O.Fr.,=throwing], in maritime law, casting all or part of a ship's cargo overboard to lighten the vessel or to meet some danger, such as fire. 2,800 jobs to get costs in line with expenses. The new Power Macs, analysts said, could bolster Apple's anemic presence in the corporate and small-business markets. The potential customers in these arenas primarily use Windows-based computers. The new computers could also help Apple tap some sectors of the home consumer market, said Tim Bajarin, president of Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif.-based Creative Strategies, a market researcher. ``There is a segment of the market that nobody has been able to quantify, namely where the parents use a Windows PC An x86-based computer that runs some version of Windows. See x86 and Windows. at work and the child uses a Macintosh at school,'' Bajarin said. ``This machine could address those needs. But nobody knows the size of that market. |
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