Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!tmyers
From: tmyers@athena.mit.edu (Tracy S Myers)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Comments from Michael Spindler (Apple COO)
Message-ID: <1990Mar22.150748.14500@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 22 Mar 90 15:07:48 GMT
References: <17918.apple.net@pro-sol>
Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system)
Reply-To: tmyers@athena.mit.edu (Tracy S Myers)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 36

I promised myself I would stay out of this mess from now on but....

In article <17918.apple.net@pro-sol> lbotez@pro-sol.cts.com (Lynda Botez) writes:
>I honestly think these guys are thinking of 8-bit machines; and probably never
>even came close to (or have been in contact with) and Apple IIGS.
>
>I don't hear them commenting about the "ancient" MS-DOS machines.  Schools
>that buy IBMs or compatibles aren't buying $4000 machines; they're buying the
>old stuff.  Why?  Because it's cheap.
 ^^^^^^^^^
FYI a 16 Mhz 386SX, 32MB hard disk, 512k RAM, Hercules graphics,and a 
one year on-site service contract can be had from a very reputable
company for $1395.  A 1MB, VGA system can be had for $1995. This may
not be the leading edge but it is certainly not ancient either.  I
am quoting this from memory, so it may not be exactly correct.  It should
be accurate + or - minus a feature or two.  I am not advocating this
machine or any other.  I just wanted to clarify what I consider misleading.

>
>I still can't see how Apple thinks schools are going to go "Mac" in a big way.
>First of all, programming on a Mac is a nightmare.  One reason high schools
>have computers in the first place is to teach students *HOW* to program.  With
>Macs, you teach 'em how to be a user, not how to program.  Macs could be great
>file servers, but Apple II's or IBMs are better for learning programming.

The major mac compilers (eg,LSC,MPW) include a provision to run programs in
a tty window.  They may not support all of the features found in 
curses, but they tend to support a useful sub-set.  I have taken many 
unix C programs of mine, and run them without major hassles on a
Mac in a tty window.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this is
the preferred solution. I only wish to point out that this capability
exists on the Mac.
>
>Lynda

Tracy Myers