CLONE MAKER REACHES DEAL FOR SOFTWARE APPLE WANTED.

Byline: David E. Kalish Associated Press 

The heat is on Apple Computer Inc.

Struggling to replace its aging Macintosh operating software, Apple was upstaged Tuesday when another computer maker announced an agreement to license a powerful new system that Apple itself had an eye on.

Power Computing Corp., which makes clones of Apple Macintosh computers, plans to install the new operating system in all of its computers by March and sell them at prices comparable to its current Mac clones.

Its licensing deal with Be Inc., the small California company that created the software, should bring such high-end Mac users as graphic artists a far faster, simpler system for controlling the look and feel of their computers.

``It applies a great deal of pressure on Apple to sign a similar deal or be faced with Power Computing (becoming) a much more compelling choice than Apple hardware itself,'' said Rob Enderle, an industry analyst with Giga Information Group.

Apple's stock dropped 3 percent, or 75 cents per share to $24.25, in Nasdaq Stock Market trading Tuesday.

A spokesman at Cupertino-based Apple declined to comment. Be's deal with Power Computer was said to be unrelated to Apple's long-rumored talks to buy privately held Be and use its operating system in all future Macintosh computers.

A replacement for the Macintosh system is crucial to Apple's struggle to climb back into the upper ranks of U.S. computer companies. With its next-generation operating system, called Copland, years behind schedule, Apple has said publicly that it is talking to outside high-tech shops about supplying a replacement for its operating software.

Because the Be system is so new, there are no software applications that currently run on it. But Power Computing hopes to spur Be developers by including both it and Macintosh operating systems in its computers, allowing users to run their programs on either or both.

Analysts said Apple may be forced to speed up its pace of acquisition talks with Be, which reportedly is seeking far more money than Apple has proposed paying.

Apple's sales have dropped precipitously of late as the personal computer pioneer, under attack from cheaper rival machines using Intel Corp. chips and Microsoft Corp. software, struggles to reinvent itself.

The Be licensing deal, meanwhile, gives a short-term boost to Power Computing, a 2-1/2-year old start-up company that has grown rapidly by building Mac clones that perform better in many instances than Apple Macs.

Power Computing has recruited 3,600 developers to develop software for the Be system in its computers, which cost from $1,500 to $5,000.

A Power Computing spokesman said Apple knew that the company was in licensing talks with Be for at least the past three months and that its deal should have no impact on those acquisition talks.

``This in no way should be viewed as a slap in the face of Apple,'' said Mike Rosenfelt, director of marketing at Power Computing, based in Round Rock, Texas.

The Be licensing deal also was good news for Motorola Inc., the Intel rival that helped develop the Power PC microprocessor that runs Macs and also will run the Be operating system.

``It's very encouraging,'' said Stan Tims, group marketing manager for Motorola's division that makes the Power PC chips.

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Photo: CEO Steve Kahng of Power Computing, left, and Be Inc.'s President Jean Louis Gassee have struck an alliance for a powerful operating system for PCs.