Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!cambridge.apple.com!spt!mdc From: mdc@spt.entity.com (Marty Connor) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Affordable Macs? Keywords: mac affordable (cheap) education low-end thanks Message-ID: <254@spt.entity.com> Date: 15 Nov 89 19:27:21 GMT Lines: 89 I hope this message is premature and that even as I speak somewhere in the bowels of Apple Cupertino someone is working on an affordable Macintosh. But, just in case... I hope we can get some discussion going on what is essential to people in a CheapMac, and how it could be positioned for maximum effect. Background: I run a small Desktop Publishing/Word Processing shop in the Boston area, and currently have 4 Mac Pluses for people to come in and use. I teach beginners how to use all kinds of Mac Software. I like the Plus. My customers like the idea that the machines only cost 2K loaded. Six months ago I spent a lot of money upgrading all my machines (Pluses) to at least 2.5 megs, so I could offer my customers PageMaker under Multifinder, MacDrawII, Illustrator '88 and other software. Worries: I am getting very nervous about the fact that Apple keeps releasing these expensive machines. I fear that any day now major software vendors may stop caring about the Plus, and that I would have to spend a lot of money to upgrade to more expensive machines. Money I don't have. Was I Dreaming? I thought I heard someone at Apple say that they were going to address BOTH ends of the product line. Gassee's jokes at press conferences aside, it's not funny Jean. It hurts to drool at high-end machines, knowing they're just out of reach and moving away. I have heard rumors of something called the "headless SE" for under $1000. That would be nice. Blue Sky: Personally I think a lot of people would buy an IchabodMac [sp?] (headless horseman). 3rd party vendors could do displays for it, and of course external SCSI folks could build drives for it. I would be a way to get into the educational market and encourage people to write educational software. Kids could use Mom and Dad's Mac to do homework, and mom and dad could help the kids without buying a Mac and a ][c and learning both. Maybe buy the kids their own for home and use PublicFolder to transfer files using PhoneNet over the extra phone wires in the house (but I digress...). Deep Blue Sky: The more I think about it the better I like the idea of having machine in this class. In some ways it would be nice if it used 128k ROMS, to keep software houses from jumping ship on the Plus, though I imagine someone at Apple just screamed when I said that. Alright, I know my plus has to die someday; I could live with 256k ROMS, but of course should use a 68000. Perhaps the 800k floppy? (saves money, lets people by Rapports), no ADB so as not to compete with the SE20? Well, there are some rough ideas. anybody else got an opinion? I think we really should get Macs into schools soon, and for use people who can't see spending more than 2K for a machine (CPU, SCREEN, HARD DRIVE), this would be nice. Questions: 1. Does anyone have confidence that Apple is going to address the low-end market anytime soon (< 6 months)? 2. Does anyone care that Mac prices are going to the moon? 3. How many people are excited about the idea of a "headless SE" that can take a 3rd party monitor and disk, and can sell for <$1000 retail? 4. Since Apple is clearly listening, how about we talk about some of the things we'd like to see? To give some ideas more than anything, but also to make sure Macs get into schools where kids can do neat things with them. (You can't have a top without a bottom.) Feel free to send mail to me if you don't like to post news. But posting would be nice too. Let's get busy. May someone will forward this to people at Apple who think about these thing? Merci. -- Marty Connor, Marty's Computer Workshop, "Specializing in Macintosh Training" 126 Inman Street, Cambridge, MA 02139; (617) 491-6935 mdc@entity.com, or ...{harvard|uunet}!mit-eddie!spt!mdc