Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!leah!bingvaxu!sunybcs!boulder!fozzard From: fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Official Legal Announcement regarding Apple's Source Code Message-ID: <9606@boulder.Colorado.EDU> Date: 21 Jun 89 19:18:22 GMT References: <736@rwing.UUCP> Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU Reply-To: fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder Lines: 34 In article aa0s+@andrew.cmu.edu (Adel Talaat Assaad) writes: >macintosh IS its software, its user interface guidelines, its graphics >orientation and its desktop metaphore. The hardware itself is pretty >doggone bland, and serves only as a vehicle for the OS Apple makes! > >I have a feeling that if Apple lets go of their look and feel bit, >they will become a software company. Their hardware is just NOT going >to compete with the clonemakers' cheapies, and they could end up >selling just the OS! > Now wouldnt this be wonderful? Microsoft does this successfully, you know. > I do agree, obviously, that Apple's hardware is underpowered and >overpriced. They should have had some custom I/O circuits and >coprocessors, etc... I personally think it would be wonderful to go to Compaq or AST or whomever to buy a cheap powerful and flexible piece of hardware (maybe even laptop :-)), then pay Apple $500 (*) or so for the OS+ROMs. This would be the real victory for the consumer. (Ralph Nader, where are you?) Apple _should_ become a software company and stop gouging the user for "doggone bland" hardware! rich (*) $500 seems a reasonable ballpark figure for tho OS, since a Mac Plus at a street price of $1100 could probably be cloned w/o ROMs and sold for $600-800 (this is the street price of XT clones that have comparable technology) ======================================================================== Richard Fozzard "Serendipity empowers" University of Colorado fozzard@boulder.colorado.edu (303)492-8136 or 444-3168