Re: Apple+Clipper

[collins@newton.apple.com (Scott Collins)]

Tim and Paul present accurate evidence mitigating some of my specific
points.  I agree that the AV Macs and AOCE are steps (or even leaps)
towards a platform favorable for clipper infestation.

.....BEGIN HAIR SPLITTING MESSAGE.....
I would like to fine tune one of Tim's comments:

  >#1 and #2 are already satisfied with the new generation of av Macs, as

These machines most certainly do not contain the clipper chip (which I'm
sure Tim did not mean to imply), though they do show that Apple can make
machines with special purpose hardware and capabilities not present, or
emulatable, on earlier machines (this, I think, was Tim's point: a counter
example to my speculation).

It is illuminating to note, however, that the 880av is not based on the
same hardware as the 800.  It is an earlier generation that took longer to
come to market.  In this sense it recalls the late IIfx i.e., faster for a
while and then a dead end.  In many ways, the 800 is a superior machine,
and the 880 has some catching up to do (like adding interleaved RAM access,
for one).  By my count, the 880 has taken over three years to come to
market.

Summary: the AV Macs may indicate a new trend, but they do not represent an
immediate foothold for clipper.
.....END HAIR SPLITTING MESSAGE.....

Other than that, and although they come to slightly different conclusions,
I agree with Tim and Paul, who examined the root motives rather than
'diagnosing for symptoms'.  My final take on this is:

Apples history and our guesses about its likely motives lead me to (still)
predict that Apple can't immediately jump on the Clipper bandwagon; though
the further out we speculate (beyond 2 years?), the less faith in this
prediction we can justify.

I like to be wrong almost as much as I like to be right.  More, if the pay
is better.


Scott Collins         | "Few people realize what tremendous power there
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