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From: declan@portia.Stanford.EDU (Declan McCullagh)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Byte Article
Keywords: byte article
Message-ID: <1990Jul17.080219.28572@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 17 Jul 90 08:02:19 GMT
Sender: declan@portia.Stanford.EDU (Declan McCullagh)
Organization: AIR, Stanford University
Lines: 50

Lynda Botez writes in an earlier article...

>Well, perhaps I didn't say it clear enough.  The article in Byte I was
>referring to said the program was too slow, and the resolution was coarse.
>I would imagine they were using it on a regular Apple IIGS (the 2.8 mhz
>kind...  who knows, it could have even been set to 1 mhz...).

Hey, take a look around you.  Look at the rest of the computer world.  VGA
is commonplace, and Mac II's are ubiquitous at colleges.  There just aren't too
many IIgs' lurking around schools or businesses - the two most lucrative
markets.

>The resolution is acceptable, but with the rest of 'em capable of 640 x 400
>and better, our machine is getting way behind.

I'd say it *is* way behind.

Is it so hard to realize that Apple has relegated the IIgs to the educational
world?  So far, their policy and product introductions (IIc+, Video Overlay
Card) have been consistent with that intent.

I expect that we'll just have to accept it.  On the other hand, there will
be some interesting news from KansasFest later this week, so perhaps a policy
shift is in the works, one consistent with Apple's new found religion of the
low-end?

>I dunno.  I look at my Apple and say, why can't Apple make my 9 mhz Apple IIGS
>standard?  A redesign of the motherboard would give the speed I have to
>everyone.

Lynda makes some excellent points here.  Since Apple has such a monopoly on
its hardware, people tend to look at what systems _they_ release, not what
is available from third parties.  In addition to proving users with that 
comfortable "Apple feel" (not to mention multicolored logo), it demonstrates
the company's commitment to its product line.

At the risk of tormenting a fossilized horse, think back to the fall of 1986,
when Apple introduced the IIgs.  At that time, it seemed wonderful; the speed,
graphics, and sound were far beyond the expectations of the average Apple II
owner.  Now, it's close to four years later (almost half a decade - an infinity
in the computer world), and the Apple II community has seen no substantial
changes in the IIgs.

In the same time period, six new Macintosh models were introduced.

-Declan

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