You've Got Company, Mac

The Mac clone, finally, is about to happen. On Mar. 15, a Silicon Valley upstart will announce what for nine years seemed impossible: technology that opens the way for the first legal imitations of Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh computer.

NuTek USA Corp., a little-known company just three miles westof Apple's Cupertino (Calif.) headquarters, says it has completed a painstaking, four-year odyssey to develop the critical software and hardware from scratch. It is ready to sell its knowhow to assemblers and resellers, who could build Mac compatibles selling for at least $300 less than comparable Apples (chart). NuTek also plans to sell a $2,996 machine of its own, called the Duet, which runs both Mac and IBM-compatible software. Says NuTek founder Benjamin Chou: "We guarantee our technology. It is absolutely original."