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A TEACHER FOR THE APPLE?APPLE, WEIGHED DOWN BY A misbegotten software strategy, is in merger negotiations with an outside hi-tech shop, say figures close to the talks. The long-rumored union with Be Inc. is aimed at bailing Apple out of its Copland project, the Macintosh operating system's next version. In July, Ellen Hancock, the new chief technology officer, all but froze Copland, which is years late. Apple is under pressure to have a new software plan ready for the MacWorld trade show in January. Be could be a big help for long-troubled Apple. Founded by former Apple tech czar Jean-Louis Gassee in 1990, it employs some of Apple's most respected former engineers and is adapting its Copland-like OS to run on the Mac, even if a merger fails. Apple has yet to put a dollar figure on the table, but Gassee met with Apple CEO Gil Amelio in Hawaii in late October. Execs and advisers are working on the details. Closing the merger may not be all that easy, however: The silver-tongued Gassee wants a stock deal worth hundreds of millions, say insiders. Pushed out once as a result of Apple infighting, he wants broad control over OS development, although he has agreed to work for Hancock. Apple and Be declined comment on the negotiations.
EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT
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Updated June 14, 1997 by bwwebmaster
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