Can you dive from the Mac into tomorrow's se of platform-independent Web applications?
Shelly Brisbin and John Rizzo
HERE'S A REVOLUTION going on out there. You've heard as much as you care to about the information highway, but wait: The Internet revolution means more than shopping and surfing. For computer users as well as for the software industry, it means a brave new world of applications that don't care whether you're using a Mac, a PC, or a UNIX workstation, because the software is out on the Internet, not on your desktop. In short, the true Internet revolution is platform-independence.
The World Wide Web started it all. NCSA Mosaic and other early browsers gave a consistent view of formatted text and links, regardless of operating system. Web-page developers use the same codes and file formats whether they're working on a Macintosh or a PC. Today the Web supports platform-independent multimedia via multimedia formats such as Macromedia ShockWave and sound formats such as Progressive Networks' RealAudio. Tomorrow, Sun Microsystems' Java programming language will make it possible for developers to bring full-blown applications from the Web to your desktop without stickers that say "for Macintosh" or "Windows 95-compatible." Despite a slow start, Mac users and developers will soon have the tools they need to become full participants in the revolution.
Java Jitters
Java is big. Really big. It's so important that even the mainstream press has begun trying to explain it. In a nutshell, Java is a programming language that lets developers embed small applications -- called applets -- within World Wide Web pages. Java applets can form the basis for Web applications that contain multimedia objects and that use the Net's distributed architecture by delivering only the bits of code needed to perform a task. Sun has dubbed the engine that makes it all possible The Virtual Machine. Once this engine has been ported to a specific platform, that platform can interpret and run any applet written in Java.
The first of the Java-capable browsers -- Netscape Navigator 2.0 and Sun's own HotJava -- have appeared for PC and UNIX platforms, but the Mac won't be far behind. Although Navigator 2.0 is shipping without Java support, Netscape says that Java applets will work with the next release, due this quarter. HotJava was slated for January release for all platforms, despite the lag of the Mac beta version behind the PC and UNIX betas at press time. Even in the world of The Virtual Machine, Mac users must be patient.
Web-based multimedia is not so hard to come by on the Mac. Macromedia ShockWave and RealAudio are cross-platform standards with a distinct connection to the Mac. Macromedia Director-developed movies dominate CD-ROM titles. These high-quality video images are coming to the Internet with the aid of the highly compressible ShockWave video format. And RealAudio makes it possible to play sound recordings -- of news, sports, talk shows, and more -- over the Internet without delays or fade-outs. As with ShockWave, compression is the key. Macromedia and Progressive Networks freely distribute the Web browser plug-in applications required to play video and sound. Although Macromedia's Windows player came out before the Mac version, Macromedia and Progressive Networks are now updating their Mac and Windows players simultaneously. Browser makers such as Netscape have cooperated by supporting plug-in technology for ShockWave, RealAudio, and other multimedia formats.
Smart Internet-oriented developers realize that Mac users account for a disproportionately high number of Internet connections, which means that advanced Web-surfing tools usually make their way to the Mac eventually. Still, it is unlikely that Windows 95 users will have to wait for new applications as Mac users often do.
Encouraging Developers
Like the software industry at large, the success of Internet application and multimedia technology depends on the easy availability of good development tools. Since uses of the technology on the Net range from the creation of video-enabled Web pages to full-fledged storefronts that have searchable product catalogs and electronic-transaction processing, tools must be both accessible and sophisticated. That combination is the essence of the Mac environment, and smart toolmakers are taking advantage of it.
For a while, it looked as if Mac developers would taste only the Java dregs. SunSoft, the software-development company within Sun Microsystems, announced Java development tools for its own Solaris-based systems and for Windows platforms. The Macintosh was conspicuously absent from the list of supported platforms. But what looked like a snub was, according to SunSoft, an attempt to avoid announcing a product that was still many months away. Although the Java Web site still offers few details, SunSoft says that it will ship Java development tools for the Mac within a few months of HotJava's release. The environment will use the HotJava browser to give applet developers access to HTML pages and the object-oriented elements they will use to construct their programs.
Whether they saw an opportunity to fill an empty market niche or just wanted to provide an alternative to SunSoft's offering, two other companies have decided to offer Java development tools for the Mac. Metrowerks, whose CodeWarrior development environment is single-handedly responsible for enabling software vendors to make a speedy transition to Power Mac applications, has announced that it will include a suite of Java development tools in CodeWarrior 9, due in May. Metrowerks will also include the Mac version of Sun's HotJava browser. Natural Intelligence will be shipping a Java development environment, called Roaster, by the time you read this. Unlike SunSoft and Metrowerks, Natural Intelligence has built its own development environment rather than licensing Sun's technology.
Multimedia toolmakers are making it easy for content developers to work on the Mac, going so far as to give away crucial conversion software. Macromedia promotes its video format by giving away the AfterBurner compression software you need to move Director movies into ShockWave format. And Progressive Networks distributes sound-encoder software freely, making its money by selling the server software you need to put RealAudio libraries on the Net. In case you're wondering, the RealAudio server software is available for the Macintosh.
Embarrassment of Riches
Although a platform-blind, Internet-oriented world may not sound Mac-friendly at first, it's likely to be a very good place for Macs. The advantages the Mac offers as a platform for multimedia make it a natural Internet platform for users as well as for developers. What makes the picture even brighter is that several companies are lined up to offer Java tools. If you're willing to wait, the tools you need to view and develop Net content on the Mac will surely come along. If you're not, go out and start a RealAudio talk show.
Associate editor Shelly Brisbin drinks a double espresso every single morning. Contributing editor John Rizzo is the author of several books, including How Macs Work.
Details and Downloads / Finding Out About Web Standards
THE BEST PLACE to see platform-independent standards demonstrated and to get copies of players and plug-ins is the Web. Check out these sites:
