Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!jarthur!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!henry!hairston From: hairston@henry.ece.cmu.edu (David Hairston) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Death by Windows Message-ID: Date: 9 Jul 90 17:36:29 GMT Organization: Gaia II Lines: 43 [pfr654@csc.anu.oz writes:] [] Lots of posters to this and other Mac newsgroups are Mac evangelists [] (including me). [] [] I think that unless Apple does something drastic, that the Mac will die [] (death by Windows). Mac sales are probably going through the floor right [] this minute! [] [] People with limited $$ (isn't everyone in this boat, from home users to [] corporations) will be buying a 'nice' interface for less money if they get [] a PC. These people are NEW COMPUTER USERS and don't know/understand or [] care about the finer details of lots of the discussion going on about [] win 3 vs Mac. I'm a macophile, doing my duty by convincing a few friends to go mac. Only one has regretted it so far, he's a wanna-be programmer and finds the mac OS very strange. I believe in time he'll come around. These people had a common denominator: they could get macs at discount prices on an expense account! The people I can't convince (like my neighbors) have figured out that the IBM PC is the most popular computer, the industry leader in such things, has the most software available and now it's developed a new interface (Windows) which probably works better than a mac (in their opinion). Besides, it's cheaper. I'm frustated, it's hard to argue "you get what you pay for" when to them it seems like they'll be getting a lot more for less bucks. Funny thing is anyone who's tried a mac (and doesn't have to buy it) loves the way it works. I think Apple has made a grave mistake in not making the low-cost mac line available awhile back. This would serve one very good purpose: get people hooked on the mac interface at affordable prices. Color is also important (unfortunately, a market reality). Apple needs to have the low-cost mac line compete head-to-head with the PC clones running windows. They'll win such a war. I also believe that most people understand that more bucks usually means enhanced performance, so people using a low-cost mac could be expected to get higher priced macs as circumstances warrant. For now, Windows is a serious threat simply because it appeals to the pocketbook ("the price is right"). To do the macs justice they need a fighting chance. A 68000, color IIcx-style package would be just the ticket (in my opinion) ... -dave- hairston@henry.ece.cmu.edu