APPLE FOCUS: Rotten to the core

Is this the end of Apple? asks Colin Barker

From its inception 22 years ago, Apple defined the personal computer revolution. Now the Cupertino company is facing an uncertain future accompanied by its smallest-ever share of the personal computer market and the looming threat of financial failure.

In such circumstances, a white knight would be useful, but it will be difficult for anyone associated with Apple to see Microsoft in that role. The software giant has traditionally played Darth Vader in the Apple universe.

Nowadays, it is difficult to remember the pleasure that Apple's chutzpah brought to the industry.

The Apple II - launched in 1976 - made Apple the first $1bn personal computer supplier. Its streamlined design, fancy colour logo and full-colour display contributed every bit as much to its success as the flexibility, speed and memory capabilities it demonstrated.

Since 1976, Apple has experienced success and failure in almost equal measure. In 1982 we saw the disastrous Apple III; in 1983 the glorious failure of Lisa; and then, in 1984, the runaway success of Macintosh. If the Apple II made Apple, the Mac defined the company, along with the effervescent Steves - Jobs and Wozniak. The former charmed and angered employees, shareholders, developers and customers alike; the latter was the techie, who left the company to fritter away his fortune organising rock concerts.

It took Apple 18 months to put the Mac together, then Bill Gates spent seven years perfecting an imitation on an Intel chip. And that was always the difference between Apple and Microsoft.

Almost since the launch of the Mac, software has been Apple's Achilles' heel. There were some early successes, and Apple did succeed in positioning itself as the de facto standard in desktop publishing, with the help of applications from Quark and Aldus, but after that the pluses are hard to find.

Apple's operating system strategy has been, and continues to be, disastrous. Pink, the project conducted under the Taligent alliance with IBM and Motorola, has long since been abandoned. Then we had Copeland, which was cancelled. Next came Gil Amelio's desperate talks with Be in search of the next- generation operating system.

Then there was Next, bought for an inflated $600m in December last year. It's true that Jobs came along as part of the deal, but how will that benefit the company?

While there is optimistic talk of a new operating system based on the best of Mac OS and NextStep, its future is uncertain.

What Apple needs now is a a chance to move along in its own way. It needs snappier advertising and marketing. Macs have to be state-of-the-art, cheap and available - and that means clones.

Apple must stop being so precious and get out and compete. It's never too late for miracles.