And in other news...

Windows98 = Rhapsody? In a surprise announcement, Microsoft spokesperson April Daly revealed that Windows98, scheduled to ship this summer, is actually going to be Rhapsody for PC Compatibles. Microsoft essentially trashed its original plans for Windows98 due to continuing problems debugging the code. An article in the Wall Street Journal compares the Windows situation to the demise of Apple's Copland OS. The PC version of Rhapsody is expected to include a Blue Box (Mac OS) that will allow it to run existing Mac applications on Intel machines.

It now also appears likely that the release of the Mac version of Rhapsody will be delayed indefinitely as Apple assesses the impact of the PC release. If the PC version is as successful as expected, Apple may permanently halt development of the Mac version in order to focus exclusively on the PC version. The plan will be to shift Apple's entire product line to the Intel platform by the year 2000. Apple declined to comment.