Thus ends Apple’s embarrassing public search for its next-generation operating system. (Picture Ford admitting it wasn’t capable of making engines anymore.) Amelio says he chose Next instead of the much hyped Be software because of a ““perfect match’’ with Apple’s plans. Though no specific product was announced, Jobs and Amelio claimed that a new system would be implemented by 1997, and it would be able to run current Mac software. But Amelio sounded most thrilled by his sessions with the charismatic Jobs, who also heads Pixar, the company that made ““Toy Story.’’ The alliance may not topple Microsoft, but at the least, it’s soap-opera time again.
