Talk of the floor (clockwise from the upper left): At Macworld Expo, Apple presented its latest theories on the OS X architecture, which layers the Aqua user interface on top of the programming interfaces. Those are then put on top of the graphics-enabling technologies with the result on top of the UNIX kernel. MicroNet's SAN cube looks like a little brother to the G4 and stores 70-gigabytes. For constant USB-based server uptime, Sophisticated Circuits' KickOff restarts a crashed machine.

Appealing new carrots dangled within grasp of Apple legions

SAN FRANCISCO -- Steve Jobs, top gun at Apple Computer Inc., could have walked naked onto the stage for his keynote at the Macworld Expo 2000 held here in January, said he had clothes on, and the faithful would have believed.

The now-permanent chief executive officer (or "iCEO" -- "i" for Internet, so he said) delivered what was basically a sales pitch for the forthcoming new and different Macintosh operating system X (MacOS X), but in the usual Jobsian, reality-distorting way that has become a much anticipated part of these gatherings of confirmed Mac lovers.

This reporter soaked up every reality-distorting byte of information in the lengthy presentation, which ended with Jobs getting a standing ovation. Are these events now the rock-concert equivalent for us aging computer users? I have attended every one of these since 1985; in computer years, that makes me a gray-beard observer.

Moving the Expo so close to the start of the New Year made it a little inconvenient for some, but attendance was not shabby and there were more suppliers than ever in a space that was laid out better than in previous years.

Borrowed from Macworld Expo in New York was registration on a bevy of iMacs, rather than the venue's former focus on PCs -- another sign that Apple is really back. The way of Chairman Steve has, in three short years, made people forget the ponderous pronouncements of former heads Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, who were media-bashed (perhaps unjustly) into virtual roadkill on the information superhighway.

So what hath Jobs wrought? And what did his keynote on the state of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple portend, now that his words have had about a month to percolate through the ranks of Mac aficionados?

First, what of the Expo and its exhibitors? Yes, there were some noteworthy new things out there, but this wasn't as hardware-centric a show as it has been in the past, when Apple was getting its product house in order with the introduction of the iMac and iBook. In fact, there was an air of disappointment when the rumor about the introduction of new PowerBooks proved false.

No, this one will be recalled as the Expo where Apple announced its strategy for delivering OS X. (I believe the preferred pronunciation is "oh-ess-ten," but several people in the press room were calling it "oh-ess-ex.")

OS X-tra, read all about it
The new OS X, to be released this summer and to be included with every new Macintosh starting in 2001, is the modern operating system for which power users have been clamoring. Its pre-emptive multitasking and protected memory mean that if numerous applications are running simultaneously and one freezes or crashes, it won't force the entire computer to restart.

Jobs' demo this year was in part an early strike, to allay the fears of long-time Mac users that OS X would be radically different from the interface they have grown accustomed to since its introduction in 1984. That Finder-centered, desktop metaphor might have been inspired by other operating systems, but it was a major leap for the time and made computers much easier for nontechnical people. The system was also easy to maintain.

So OS X has a tall order to fill: do everything Mac users are accustomed to, and more. The demo was certainly successful in showing off its glitz and sizzle, but there are some glitches to overcome.

Here's a brief rundown of OS X, based on Steve Jobs' presentation to his rapt audience:

As almost everyone has heard, the core of the OS, Darwin (see diagram), is SCO Unix-based (the kernel is built on Mach 3.0 and FreeBSD 3.2, and that's as technical as I want to get with UNIX). Next comes the graphics-handling trio: Quartz for 2-D graphics, based on the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format; Open GL for 3-D graphics; and QuickTime for multimedia. For compatibility, OS X will be able to run three kinds of applications: the classic Macintosh programs (which won't be able to take advantage of any of the improvements in protected memory and true multitasking); Carbon applications, modified for use with OS X; and Cocoa programs, whose applications written for OS X will run only on OS X.

Overlaying all is Aqua, the new user interface, which does diddle a bit with the Finder as well as add some spiffy new icons and the translucent look of the iMac to the desktop. Window controls are all in the top left corner, and a Single Window Mode is available to help manage desktop window clutter by keeping everything in one window. Aqua also has a Windows-like dock at the bottom of the screen that can hold just about anything, to alleviate desktop mishmash.

What, then, is the bottom line for organizations that have a good sum of money invested in new hardware and somewhat older software? Will everything have to be upgraded to take full advantage of the new OS?

That's a good question, and the answer isn't immediately evident since the first version of OS X won't begin shipping until summer. The best estimate seems to be that the classic Mac applications can run under OS X, but not with Aqua or the improved memory-management features. The fully OS X-compliant applications should be fine, which is why Apple provided the easier Carbon-izing path for applications last year. It should not be too difficult, at least according to Apple, to get from classic to Carbon and achieve the OS X advantages.

Hardware, however, is another can of worms. It is likely, but not set in stone, that OS X will run only on machines powered by G3 and G4 processors, leaving all the earlier Power PC models (601, 603, 604) stuck on System 9 at best. With G3 or G4 upgrades these old machines might support OS X, but for now the situation is uncertain. However, it is definite that OS X will not run on any of the old Quadras and other 68040-based machines.

By getting its product line in shape, Apple has come a long way from the dozens of flavors of Performas, Newton personal digital assistants, printers and modems that were manufactured at one time bearing the Apple logo. With this iteration of the Macintosh OS, looking both backward and forward becomes a more daunting task. But based on the way the transition to the PowerPC processor was handled, I have every confidence Apple will be able to pull off this most important migration, though not without some problems along the way.

A turn around the floor
Now for a quick Expo 2000 once-around, and some notes on what caught my veteran eyes.