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From: asd@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Kareth)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: MAC PEOPLE TAKE OVER
Message-ID: <4985@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 27 Jun 90 19:48:28 GMT
References: <3306@crash.cts.com> <1990Jun27.041352.12067@utstat.uucp>
Organization: Purdue University
Lines: 58
Cc:

In article <1990Jun27.041352.12067@utstat.uucp> philip@utstat.uucp (Philip McDunnough) writes:

>Noone is perfect. Apple has a job on its hands dealing with the competition. 
>The 6502 based computers are hardly a base to build a computer company on.

Interesting!  Exceedingly so, considering a quite large and influential
(at least to the history of personal computing) was built entirely on
the 6502 and that ALL of their current product lines could NEVER have
come about without that lowly 6502.  This is not to mention any other
companies that built themselves using 6502 based computers.  I seem to
recall that first company's name being Apple too, and that Apple doesn't
have to build itself, it already has.

>Apple has supported them on a technical basis. I see no reason why Apple should
>continue to make them.

Maybe cuz folks still want em?  Because they are affordable
(comparitively to the Mac)?  Hacker (in the good sense of the word)
friendly?  Have a large installed base of users, software and hardware?

>... No amount of work will
>convince new users to opt for a 6502 based computer when there are others
>available for the same price with better graphics, better programs,...As I see

Well, that sure ain't anything in the Mac "If ya have to ask how much
it costs, ya can't afford it" dept.  And if that statement IS true, then
it seems like, logically, the only people buying Apple II's are people
who already have Apple II's, which I can't quite believe.

>it the GS needs a speedup to around 7MHz, better graphics, easier integration

Nah, go for 20MHz!  I mean, at least while we are dreaming let's dream
big! :-)

>could provide a list pages long. However, cost is important. People will not
>buy expensive educational/home computers.

Nor will they buy $5,000+ for a bare-bones box & motherboard ither.

>      I'm sorry to sound so negative about
>8 bit AppleII's, but it's time to move on(that doesn't mean throwing them
>away!).

Nope, it means pack up thy bags and move to Amiga!  If Apple does dump
the II's, I do believe they will find themselve quite pinched into a
small hole by Sun/NeXT/etc workstations at the top, and increasingly
dominant Amiga's for low-cost power as well as getting completely forced
out of the K-12 educational market by cheap PC clones.  Course only time
will tell.  BTW, if one moves on but doesn't throw em away, what IS one
supposed to do with a unsupported (software wise at least) II?

Time to get back to work.  Gotta save up some pennies for a color '040
NeXT (fogware :-) box.  My GS is gonna be the console or an extra
terminal for it (should be possible) as well as faithfully speeding
along doing whatever else I ask of it.  I wonder what Jobs would think
of that....

-k