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Dear readers,

Welcome to the MacOS Xclave.

If you look around at the major and minor Mac-related sites around the Internet, you will notice that the only quality repository for quality MacOS X (Server)-related information is the fabulous Stepwise run by Scott Anguish.

Many Mac users do not yet understand just how vital MacOS X will be to not only their lives, but also to Apple's continued success. With no release of MacOS X (Server) to the public at large, there doesn't seem right now to be a public need for a dedicate MacOS X information site.

Yet, the truth is that in a year's time, the MacOS as we know it will be replaced with a powerhouse enterprise-level operating system which puts the current MacOS to shame. Having a site devoted to MacOS X is not a misappropriation of time or resources - quite the opposite.

And within the month, we will have our hands on the first release of MacOS X Server, the new line of enterprise-strength server software line from Apple. Combine that with WebObjects and YellowBox, both of which will be available on Apple-branded hardware, and you've got quite a product line of software and solutions unparalleled from Apple in the past, or anyone for that matter.

Whoa! So what the hell does that have to do with us?

Well first off, watch your mouth.

The Xclave is not yet another rumor site. MacOS Rumors and AppleInsider (which is already part of the Macintosh News Network if you didn't know) exist because people like to read about news, even when it doesn't come through official channels. People like to know that which is not public knowledge, and get a thrill out of reading NDA/privileged information and reports. We do, and know plenty of others who do too.

The Xclave is not a glorified soapbox either. We have plenty to say, and will, but it's by no means our true motivation.

The Xclave was not born out of greed. We're not here to cash in on the dearth of MacOS X/MacOS X Server news, and we're not here to make any news either.

Our vision for the Xclave is threefold:

1. We would like to use the Xclave to bridge the gap between the classic MacOS user/developer community and the NeXTSTEP/OPENSTEP/YB/WO communities, and forge a common future to become a collective MacOS X community.

   There is too much MacOS X rumor and misinformation, and not enough MacOS X fact and information. Nobody mentions Apple's updated dual-OS strategy, but instead focuses on how the MacOS development will stop eventually. That's not news - that's yelling fire in a crowded theatre.

2. Many people know or have heard about MacOS X Server. Others know about OPENSTEP. However, not many know what will actually be in MacOS X Server and beyond.

   We want to create a quality, factual repository of anything and everything related to MacOS X! As such, we are an exclave among MacOS-related sites, as West Berlin was in Germany itself.

   Apple has only started to divulge MacOS X Server information publicly, but are still not fully documenting the feature set of the new platform. When/if they do that, there will still be questions about smaller and bigger details. We hope to be provide the answers to your big, medium, little, and minute questions.

3. We want to be a conduit between end-users and developers.

   It may sound like an interesting way to view advertising, but it's true. YellowBox developers have no real channel for advertising their wares to the new MacOS X Server market. Would-be MacOS X Server users/MacOS X early-adopters have no easy-to-find channel in which to research available YellowBox applications.

   To us, our advertising is a good solution to this problem. We would like to function as the medium between advertisers and users in this undiscovered country that is the future of the MacOS X. That we get money from advertising is merely a very nice bonus.

If you are thinking that that's pretty damn corny, then think again. It's the truth.

And watch your mouth.

If you check the news archives, you'll see that there's been on an online version of the Xclave since early December. We've worked very hard on what you see before you, and we are not a fly-by-night team of capitalist pigs. We actually want to help other people.

We hope that we can make the Xclave the far-reaching, hard-hitting site about MacOS X and other Apple technologies like OPENSTEP, WebObjects, EOF, etc. that we have ourselves been waiting for. We got tired of waiting, so we're making our own.

We have put together a number of additions which we hope will help you, the reader:

• The Tweak List - a list of terms which you will encounter during MacOS X discussions. As new terms are brought up in Xclave pieces, we will be adding entries to the Tweak List.
   
• MacOS X and MacOS X pages - pages dedicated to archiving known and likely features and technologies which will be incorporated into the new operating systems
   
• More articles - an improved variety of articles concerning not only MacOS X, but potential applications, WO, EOF, networking, client/server, positioning, and many other possibilities
   
• More links and resources - we have started a list of links to OPENSTEP/MacOS X Server/MacOS X developers, information, and software
   
• Improved News Archives - we will be combining Xclave news, and soon the old RhapNet news
   
• XGolf - a long-term project to document the process of creating new MacOS X (Server) applications using YellowBox
   
• More news - we will be updating news frequently, including word from Apple, readers, and the press
   

Do you like that? Well, that's just the start! Upcoming features include: A Beginner Guide to MacOS X Administration, software reviews, a monthly .pdf newsletter.

In short, we hope that we can provide you with the MacOS X news and content you have been looking for!

Sincerely,
 
The MacOS Xclave Staff