Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!apple!uokmax!d.cs.okstate.edu!minich
From: minich@d.cs.okstate.edu (Robert Minich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Loss of Mac's 20% over Windows 3.0 : The TRUTH
Message-ID: <1990Jul3.113921.1299@d.cs.okstate.edu>
Date: 3 Jul 90 11:39:21 GMT
Organization: Oklahoma State University
Lines: 28


  It has been largely ignored in the on going MCIBTYC junk flying
around, but Win 3 _is_ in fact a great threat to the Mac, but not at all
necessarily based on its merits. If we learn nothing else about
technology and the bleeding edge, it is that perception is much much
more important to success than technical merits. (Aside: this also
applies to a GUI's "feel".) Because there will most certainly be many
more PC bigots saying Windows is >= the Mac than the other way around,
it is very likely that Windows will be bought up more readily. No matter
which is better, Win 3 is definitely (IMHO) affecting Apple, mainly to
start eating margins since PC's are now _perceived_ [whether or not this
is true] as being a reasonable equivalent to the Mac for less $$$. 
  I personally think it is in Apple's best interests to come as close to
giving away Macs as is possible to increase the installed base. In the
long run, this would be very beneficial. (Look what it did for something
as icky as DOS and the 8086! [or is it 8088?])  I also don't think
Windows is at all any sort of successor to the Mac. It is at best on
a parallel. Now OS/2 is more interesting, yet still infintile. The
biggest threat I see to OS/2 is Windows, which will only serve to hamper
efforts to make the switch. But then people perceive certain things
there that i won't even start to get into.


-- 
| _    /| | Robert Minich             |Q: Why is the food so lousy, and 
| \'o.O'  | Oklahoma State University |the service so bad? Time traveler:
| =(___)= | minich@d.cs.okstate.edu   |A:The waiters know in advance what 
|    U    | - Bill sez "Ackphtth"     |kind of tip they'll be getting.