Apple basically _did_ die, after Performa/Copland (and let's not forget Open Transport!!)
The resuscitation was truly miraculous.
The resuscitation was truly miraculous.
It was very cool tech. Closer to what Apple would get from NeXT years later.
My guess is as to why it failed (and this was also the common sentiment at the time) — it was an optional install and not a default. It's hard to imagine anyone writing an app around a component (extension) that few people had in the OS.
And I just thought about the other abandoned tech that came with System 7.1 Pro - PowerTalk.