Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!ucsd!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!rsfinn
From: rsfinn@athena.mit.edu (Russell S. Finn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: New Macintosh Strategy
Keywords: Macintosh
Message-ID: <1990Oct29.191639.7536@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 29 Oct 90 19:16:39 GMT
References: <306@cti1.UUCP>
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Distribution: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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In article <306@cti1.UUCP> greg@cti1.UUCP (Greg Fabian) writes:
>[can buy Plus 1/40 for $998, Classic 2/40 for $1399]
>
>     Granted, the Classic has an Apple hard disk and the Plus a
>Sony, but is there any real advantage to one over the other?? 

The Classic contains a SuperDrive, which lets it read 1.4 MB high
density disks (like the ones System 6.0.7 come on).

>Isn't the new Classic supposed to be more affordable than the
>Plus??

Well, it depends on your point of view.  The list price of the Plus,
at $1799, was $800 more than the list price of the Classic is.  On the
other hand, Apple isn't making any more Pluses.  For a while,
therefore, you may be able to get them cheaper than Classics; but I
expect the eventual street price of the Classic will be much less than
the street price of the Plus was, say, at the beginning of the year.

>     Take the Mac II lc.  This looks like a potentially crippled
>machine.  There is no memory/paging chip in it, so when the new
>System 7.0 comes out, this machine won't be able to use virtual
>memory management.  

Actually, this model is called simply "Macintosh LC"; it's not
considered a II because it doesn't have NuBus [note correct spelling].
Apple probably figures that the lower cost is more important than the
ability to run virtual memory, for the markets the LC is intended
(K-12 education and inexpensive home color, primarily).  

No doubt some may consider this an inexact analogy, but would you
consider a Ford Escort "crippled" because you can't put a V8 engine in
one?

>And the new Mac II si.  If I want to use a
>Newbus expansion board, I have to buy a board that plugs into the 
>processor slot for about $250 so I can then plug a Newbus board into
>the machine.  

Again, this machine seems to be positioned for people who don't intend
to use expansion cards.  It is true that there is no longer a machine
at this price point that is easily expandible (now that the IIcx is
defunct), but according to Apple, most users only have a video card
installed, anyway; you don't need one with the IIsi.  Nevertheless,
you can still install one card, if you want to.

>I can stroll
>down to the local computer store and buy a store brand 386/25 with
>4 MB RAM, 80 MB hard disk and a 14" VGA plus monitor for $2500 and
>it will blow the doors of the Mac II lc/si and come in at a cheaper
>price.

Yes, but will it run Macintosh software?  (Only half joking there.)
If you can make that purchase, and get a system that will serve you
well, then by all means do so.  (Don't forget to add Windows 3.0 and
Toolbox, to make the comparison more even; that'll bump the price up
another $400 or so.  Not to mention 8-bit sound input and output; of
course, not everybody uses them.)  I've acquired a lot of both
software and programming expertise for the Macintosh; I'm not in a
position to change horses now.  Now that that IIsi is available, I
finally have a reasonably affordable upgrade point (from my Plus).

Let's look at it another way -- how much do you think a IIci 4/80 with
keyboard and monitor (which, for sake of argument, we'll call an
"equivalent" system) should cost?  Surely, the Macintosh environment
is worth *some* premium -- how much?  $500?  $1000?  I'd like to hear
what people think on this one.

>     Don't get me wrong.  I like the Mac.  

Don't get me wrong, either; I don't consider myself an apologist for
Apple.  It just seems to me that Apple is a favorite target for
criticism, and I'm not sure *all* of it is deserved (although I know
*some* is).

>     I've always regarded Apple as a somewhat greedy company.  This
>new marketing tack seems to make Apple more price competitive (if
>you are looking at IBM, Compaq, and other expensive PC
>manufacturers), but I am not convinced.  Is everyone else?

Do you consider IBM and Compaq greedy companies as well?  How about
Mercedes-Benz and BMW?  

I think the new Macintoshes are priced at a point where many people
who would not have considered purchasing them before will consider it
now.  Sure, PC clones remain cheaper, if you just look at "raw
horsepower" (however that's measured), but you get more than that when
you buy a Macintosh.  Isn't that why people buy them?

Responsible opposing points of view are welcomed...

-- Russell S. Finn
rsfinn@{athena,lcs}.mit.edu