Apple Plans to License New Macintosh Software : Computers: The decision opens the door for other companies to build clones of the user-friendly computer.

SAN FRANCISCO —  In an important departure, Apple Computer Inc. has decided to license a new version of its Macintosh operating system software and thus allow others to build Macintosh clones, the upcoming issue of the trade newspaper Infoworld says.

Apple has long kept a tight grip on the widely admired Macintosh software, which makes personal computers exceptionally easy to use. While that strategy has protected Apple’s hardware business, critics have called it a disastrous mistake, relegating the Macintosh to a niche in a PC market dominated by machines that use software from Microsoft Corp. and chips from Intel Corp.

Apple on Friday would not comment on the report. The company is based in Cupertino, Calif.

A new licensing strategy for Apple would reflect its effort to establish a standard for next-generation personal computers in conjunction with International Business Machines Corp. and chip maker Motorola. The three companies are jointly developing a high-speed chip known as the Power PC, which will form the core of new PC product lines from both Apple and IBM.

Apple is writing a new version of the Macintosh software for Power PC machines, which will hit the market next year. A new licensing strategy would mean that other manufacturers will also be able to build Power PC Macintoshes. That could cost Apple some PC sales, but the company will still make money from licensing fees and will benefit in various ways if the universe of Power PC and Macintosh computers expands.

The Power PC machines will also run a version of the Unix software operating system as well as IBM’s OS/2. Eventually, they will use completely new software being developed by an Apple-IBM joint venture called Taligent.

Apple’s decision to license the Macintosh software is in keeping with a broader corporate strategy that emphasizes the importance of software rather than hardware. The company’s Newton technology for hand-held “personal digital assistants,” for example, is being licensed to a number of other hardware manufacturers.