This year O'Reilly & Associates is expanding its presence in the Macintosh developer and administrator markets. As part of this move, O'Reilly is teaming up with Apple to produce titles on Mac OS X, Apple's new operating system.
At first glance, O'Reilly's move into the Macintosh market may seem surprising, given that other publishers have largely abandoned it. However, this move is completely consistent with our commitment to the Open Source Movement. Until recently, Apple has been fiercely proprietary. With the release of Mac OS X, though, Apple is taking a bold step toward a more open operating system and architecture. The underlying kernel of Mac OS X is Darwin, a partially open source technology based on FreeBSD, 4.4BSD-Lite, and Mach 3.0. With the release of Mac OS X, BSD Unix is suddenly a significant player on the desktop.
What's more, many open source tools, such as Perl and gawk, are available in Mac OS X. It's also possible to run X Windows in Mac OS X concurrently with Aqua, the native Mac OS X desktop, by installing XFree86 with a patch. In addition, Mac OS X ships with a built-in Apache server and offers support for Java developers. As a result, many developers who already read O'Reilly books are starting to pay attention to Mac OS X. And O'Reilly has the advantage of already having strong publishing programs in Unix, Open Source, and Java technologies. More information on Mac OS X and its relationship with the open source community is available at the O'Reilly Network's Mac DevCenter.
We already have some experience with the Mac community through The Missing Manual, a popular series of books for end users that we're publishing with Mac guru David Pogue. With the recently signed Apple agreement, we'll have an inside track on information that Mac OS X developers and administrators need. By working with Apple, O'Reilly will have:
Regular meetings with key Apple technical employees. At these meetings, Apple will update us on essential technical work, so we'll be able to quickly cover the latest information in our books.
Access to Apple consultants, tech reviewers, and authors. Our first two Mac developer books, Learning Cocoa and Learning Carbon, were actually written by Apple employees, so we'll be able to release these two books right on the heels of the OS X release.
Apple has been reviewing Mac-related books we've already published, including AppleScript in a Nutshell and the second edition of REALbasic: The Definitive Guide. We're looking forward to the Apple team's assessment of our books.
Apple's brand on O'Reilly book covers. The Apple Developer Connection logo, recognized by hardcore Mac programmers and administrators, will appear on our covers along with our legendary animals. This dual-branding approach builds on the strengths of both companies.
Although O'Reilly will have a close working relationship with Apple, we will maintain our independence. Our goal is to produce useful O'Reilly books that Apple happily anoints with its logo and recommendation. Apple has the right to choose the books that have its logo on the cover. And O'Reilly has the right to publish any book it chooses, whether or not Apple gives its official seal of approval. And we're not obligated to publish specific titles that Apple may suggest. Unlike other publishers with an "official" series, such as Addison-Wesley's Java series, O'Reilly will retain complete editorial control.
We're excited about working with Apple and the Mac developer community. We think we have a lot in common--a passion for cool and useful technology, an appreciation for good design, and a vision of the power of the Web. O'Reilly is pleased to launch its Apple program on March 26, 2001, coinciding with the public release of Mac OS X. [Read the press release.]
Copyright © 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
