APPLE MAKES IBM AN OFFER

IBM, whose decision to allow other manufacturers to copy its PCs made economic giants out of Microsoft and Intel, could become a clone maker itself. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple chairman A.C. Markkula said his company has asked IBM to make computers that use the Macintosh operating system. "The IBM name on a computer still means something to a lot of people, especially corporate buyers," says technology correspondent David Jackson. "A machine that would run the Mac O/S with the IBM label is viewed by most analysts as a great combination." IBM officials did not immediately respond to the offer, but adoption of the Macintosh platform would be an admission that the company has wasted $2 billion trying to get more people to use its O/S 2 operating system -- something IBM may be reluctant to do. "Clearly O/S 2 has not performed as IBM hoped, but the company remains committed to it," notes Jackson.