Apple and Open Software Foundation Announce Linux for Power Macintosh

Leading User-Supported Version of UNIX to be Available to Power Macintosh
Users

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts--February 5, 1996--Apple Computer, Inc. announced
today that it is supporting a project with the Open Software Foundation
(OSF) to port Linux, a freely distributed version of UNIX, to a variety of
Power Macintosh products. This version of Linux operates on the OSF Mach
microkernel which will be running natively on the PowerPC microprocessor.
The announcement was made at the Conference on Freely Redistributable
Software held in Cambridge. A demo of an early prototype was shown as part
of the announcement.

"This is part of Apple's overall effort to embrace more open industry
standards, particularly those popular in the Internet community," said Ike
Nassi, vice president of Apple system software technologies. "This
software will be particularly popular with Mac users in higher education
as well as the scientific research communities who have asked for our
support of Linux."

"We are pleased to be working with Apple on this important new port of the
Mach microkernel, now hosting the popular Linux environment," said Ira
Goldstein, executive vice president and chief scientist of the Open
Software Foundation. "We have a strong working relationship with Apple and
this is an important result of our cooperation."

Linux is a broadly used version of UNIX supported by a wide community of
programmers. Linux provides UNIX features such as true multitasking,
virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, TCP/IP networking and
many other advanced features. Versions of Linux are being ported to a wide
variety of platforms, including other PowerPC-based computers. This effort
marks the first time that Linux will be hosted on the Mach microkernel.
(For more information, visit the Linux Web site at http://www.linux.org)

Linux on Power Macintosh will be especially significant in several of
Apple's key markets, particularly the higher education and scientific
communities. With Linux a student will have an extremely low-cost, yet
high-performance PowerPC-based UNIX system for personal use. Advanced
research that requires UNIX applications will now be possible on an
engineer's personal Macintosh.

"As a long time Linux user, I am absolutely delighted about the
announcement of Linux on Power Macintosh," said Professor George
Blumenthal, chair of the astronomy & astrophysics department at Lick
Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz. "Now Macs will have a
dual personality, in the best sense of the word; on the one hand they will
allow users to exploit the ever popular and easy to use Macintosh
software, while on the other hand, they now provide a platform that
appears virtually identical to the UNIX machines that many of us use daily
in our work."

Linux for Power Macintosh adds a new UNIX alternative for PowerPC systems
to existing products such as AIX from IBM and MachTen from Tenon
Intersystems. This gives Macintosh users a range of options from a free,
user supported UNIX implementation up to commercial, mission critical
solutions for large enterprises.

In keeping with the spirit of the Linux community, Apple and OSF will make
the source code for this Linux port freely available. This includes source
code to the Mach microkernel and the required Macintosh platform driver
support. Linux is distributed throughout the world over the Internet and
other means, generally through the GNU General Public License, which
allows people to use it and change it so long as no further restrictions
are imposed and that the source code is made available.

Apple and OSF expect that the first port of Linux for Power Macintosh will
be available this summer. The system will initially support the first
generation of Power Macintosh computers based on NuBus expansion, and will
later be extended to PCI-based Power Macs as well as the upcoming PowerPC
Platform (formerly CHRP.) Apple will post information regarding this
version of Linux on its WWW site (http://www.mklinux.apple.com) Apple
expects to make the software available at this location as well.

This project is an outcome of Apple's ongoing relationship with OSF
(http://www.osf.org), which includes consulting work for Copland, the next
major release of the Mac OS. The Linux port provides Apple an open
environment for OS research work, as well as enabling an exciting new
opportunity for Power Macintosh users. This port delivers both the Mach
3.0 microkernel (developed by the OSF Research Institute) and Linux as an
OS "personality" on Mach. The OSF microkernel was originally developed at
Carnegie Mellon as Mach and subsequently enhanced extensively by the OSF
Research Institute.

Additional Related World Wide Web Sites:

 http://www.tenon.com
 http://www.ibm.com

Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry
and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on
easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, online
services, and personal digital assistants. Headquartered in Cupertino,
California, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) develops, manufactures, licenses and
markets solutions, products, technologies and services for business,
education, consumer, entertainment, scientific & engineering and
government customers in over 140 countries.

If you are considering the purchase of an Apple product and would like to
have product information faxed to you, please call 1-800- 462-4396 in the
U.S. or 1-800-263-3394 in Canada. If you do not have a fax machine or
would like to locate an Apple authorized reseller near you, please call
1-800-538-9696. Customers outside the U.S. should contact their local
Apple representatives for information.

Apple's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/
 
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