Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!mailrus!ncar!bierstadt!hpoppe
From: hpoppe@bierstadt.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Apple Associate or Partner?
Message-ID: <4432@ncar.ucar.edu>
Date: 22 Sep 89 15:05:18 GMT
References: <89264.143608DN5@PSUVM.BITNET> <34927@apple.Apple.COM>
Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu
Reply-To: hpoppe@bierstadt.UCAR.EDU (Herb Poppe)
Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR, Boulder CO
Lines: 43

>In article <89264.143608DN5@PSUVM.BITNET> DN5@PSUVM.BITNET writes:
>> ...
>>I am a programmer for the Computer Based Education Laboratory at Penn State,
>>and we develope courseware for the students to use.  Much of our development
>>is for the Mac.  We have an application for developer status, and I am a bit
>>puzzled by the difference between Associate and Partners.  The biggest
>>difference (to me) is that Associates do not seem to be able to get
>>technical help over AppleLink.
>
In article <34927@apple.Apple.COM> mjohnson@Apple.COM (Mark B. Johnson) responds:
>The differences are Technical Support via AppleLink, Conference invitations,
>and hardware discounts.
>Associates still get support in the form of Technical Notes, Sample Code, etc.,
>but they cannot send questions to MacDTS via AppleLink.

Another BIG difference is that Partners get advance specifications of
System 7.0 and pre-release software so that they can get a head-start
on developing new applications based on the new features or verifying
that their existing applications will (or won't!) work with the new
system.

We would like to develop a System 7.0 printer driver to support our
color DICOMED film recorder (accessed via Ethernet). Unless we can
get special dispensation to be a Partner, we'll have to wait to get
started until System 7.0 hits the streets and Inside Mac V6(?)
is available.

We are a university consortium with something like 50 member university
atmospheric science departments. That translates into a lot of Macs.

Apple's Federal System Group (we're funded by the National Science
Foundation) is aware of our concern and has heard the same gripes from
other consortia and federal agencies. They hope to be able to do
something about it. Now that they have brought in some lucrative
contracts from the federal sector perhaps they'll have the clout
to pull it off. Obviously, DTS (or whoever) can't absorb a big
increase in demand for their services without an increase in
resources. I expect it will take time (like APDA :-(). But the sooner the
better.

Herb Poppe      NCAR                         INTERNET: hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu
(303) 497-1296  P.O. Box 3000                   CSNET: hpoppe@ncar.CSNET
		Boulder, CO  80307               UUCP: hpoppe@ncar.UUCP