Nothing up General Magic's sleeve?

For a company trying to turn itself around, General Magic (GMGC) seems to be relying on a lot of smoke and mirrors.

The company put out an announcement today that outlined its new strategic direction in the broadest of terms, promising "an Internet-based network service solution to small business professionals."

When asked to clarify what such a solution might entail, company officials admitted it could be just about anything. And they declined to release more details for fear of losing a "competitive advantage."

There was some hard news, however.

The company has begun shipping its new operating system, Magic Cap 3.0, which has been rewritten to run on RISC processors.

But this new OS, which was formerly known as Rosemary, has no devices nor applications as yet.

Again, the company wouldn't divulge details.

"As we pursue this new strategy, we are fundamentally changing our business model," said CEO, chairman and president Steve Markman. "We are moving away from complete reliance on licensing fees and royalties and moving toward direct revenue from products and services."

The announcement comes two months after General Magic held a Rosemary developer conference but similarly refused to discuss hardware and software partners.