Apple tastes open source

NEWS According to US reports, Apple Computer will today offer its server operating system (OS) to developers as an open source product. The move would see the release of much of Apple's OS X Server source code into the public domain. The company has so far remained tight-lipped on the subject, but CEO Steve Jobs is expected to make an announcement later today. The booming open source market - characterised by the recent success of the Linux OS - has so far focused on the PC market. Industry observers are speculating that Apple's sudden embrace of open source programming is designed to bring attention back to the Mac OS, and once again make it the system of choice for 'alternative' developers. Eddie Bleasdale, director of Netproject, claims the move is just part of a marketing strategy. "Linux is set to become the dominant technology on the desktop," he said. "Apple is faced with that and doesn't know how to compete. It's panicking. " According to US reports, Apple won't release all of its source code, as that could open the door for Mac clones on any hardware. It is also thought the company will retain the right to withdraw the code at any time. OS X - Apple's first offering in the server market - was announced in January and was originally scheduled for release last month. Jobs is also expected to announce a price cut for the OS today from $995 to less than $600.