The Mac Is Back

by Steve Ostrofsky

Last summer, both the business and popular media had all but written off Apple's Macintosh. Years of management turmoil, weak marketing, vacillation on the direction of operating-system design, and costly internal operations had all taken their toll. Losses were mounting, the stock price plummeting, critical software developers had been alienated, and Microsoft looked like Godzilla marching through Tokyo. Even in the Mac's traditional publishing-industry stronghold, the perception of impending doom was starting to affect buying decisions.

What a difference a year makes. Apple has hot new professional and consumer products. Critical software developers (including Microsoft) have recommitted to the platform. Apple has achieved three consecutive quarters of profitability, and its stock has been one of the best market performers for almost the entire year.

Chris Gulker, Apple's director of strategic relations for the design and publishing market, believes the success of the latest generation of Mac products-professional-level G3 processor workstations, G3-based Powerbooks, and the new iMac consumer machines (pictured, above right)-is good news for both Apple and the publishing industry. Strong sales have answered the critical question of Apple's long-term viability, Gulker insists, noting that G3 revenues have doubled Apple's internal forecasts. Even more important, he says, is the fact approximately 28 percent of iMac sales have been to first-time computer buyers, or buyers replacing Windows machines.

This good financial news has reassured newspaper IS departments and purchasing managers, who were starting to question the wisdom of future Mac-based system plans, according to Gulker. Dennis McGuire, president of Managing Editor Inc. of Jenkintown, Pa., agrees. He notes a long-standing rift between leery bean counters and the Mac's end users, who preferred Apple's machines even through the company's darkest days.

During Apple's free-fall, MEI saw a pause-but not a stop, McGuire says-in requests for Mac versions of its automated advertising-pagination and management software. With Apple's turnaround, MEI has even had several customers who ordered Windows versions of its software switch back to the Mac.

At The News-Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., Senior Editor Tom Osborne feels that with its new G3 and iMac technology, the Mac is still the better machine, with better software specifically targeted toward print publishing.

Apple's G3 technology is capable of tremendous performance, Gulker contends, citing a study using the Bytemark test of processor speed indicating a 40 percent advantage over Windows machines based on Intel's 400-megahertz Pentium II processor-important since many newspapers use Macs for manipulating large, processor-intensive image files.

Though targeted to the consumer market, the iMac, with its low price and all-in-one design, may also play an important role at newspapers. Also based on the powerful G3 processor and sharing a considerable amount of technology with its professional cousins, the iMac can be a workstation for smaller papers, Gulker says. An example might be a combination of fast G3 stations with large monitors for graphics processing, and networked iMacs, which have built-in fast networking capabilities.

Even Microsoft, which made a $150 million investment in Apple last year, acknowledges the platform's continuing dominance in the publishing market. "Windows is coming from behind in many ways in the publishing sphere," Microsoft President Steve Ballmer said during September's Seybold publishing conference. Still, with 41 percent of publishers now using Windows NT, according to a survey by International Data Corp., "we are excited at the momentum Windows has," Ballmer added.

To counter the Windows push, soon-to-be-released upgrades to the current Mac operating system and an entirely new OS due in 1999 will both include features targeted to the publishing industry, Gulker says. They include: