APPLE Computer - long the maverick of the PC industry - last week formalised its transition to the ''mainstream'', pledging to ''do more, cost less, fit in, and stand out''.
Delivering his first keynote address at the giant Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, Apple chairman Michael Spindler outlined significant departures from standard corporate doctrine, particularly in its premium pricing strategies and open architecture support.
Significantly, Mr Spindler said the next generation of the company's flagship Macintosh line - which is based on the new PowerPC processor from Motorola - will run software developed for the Microsoft Windows environment.
Mr Spindler promised ''very aggressive pricing'' for the PowerPC Macintosh systems when they are launched in the first half next year, with the view to establishing the PowerPC's RISC (reduced instruction set computing) architecture the ''mainstay of thedesktop''.
''We won't price technology at a premium ever again,'' Mr Spindler said. ''We will use technology to drive volume, and be the price-performance leaders.'' ''This is what I promise: It does more, it costs less, it fits in, it stands out. It's as simple as that.'' Apple announced that its System 7 operating system had reached the beta stage - meaning it had emerged from the development labs and was undergoing final testing.
By making the new Macintosh platform IBM-compatible via the PowerPC processor, Apple has fired what amounts to the first significant volley in what may become a colossal battle between Motorola's PowerPC platform (which was co-developed by Apple and IBM), and the new Pentium chip from Intel, the world's biggest semiconductor firm.
By offering a platform capable of running Windows applications, Apple is giving users of Intel-based systems an alternative desktop machine that protects the users' existing investment in software.