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From: info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac)
Newsgroups: fa.info-mac
Subject: Re: Open system, documentation, et al.
Message-ID: <1158@uw-beaver>
Date: Mon, 9-Jul-84 11:38:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: uw-beaver>.1158
Posted: Mon Jul  9 11:38:23 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Jul-84 02:49:52 EDT
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From: David H M Spector <SPECTOR@NYU-CMCL1.ARPA>


In reference to the number of letters regarding the open-ness or closed-ness
of the Macintosh, I might add the following:

It seems that not very many people have read the Ads.  Apple has dubbed the
Mac "the computer for the REST of us...".  In other words, the Macintosh is
meant to be just like any other APPLIANCE; i.e., a toaster, or TV set; NOT
a programmer's machine.  And as an appliance it, so far, does a pretty good
job.  There are some bugs in documentation, software, et al, but for the
average person off the street, who has never seen a computer before, it
does the things that have to be done.   All the gripes about the lack of 
memory, second drive, no assemblers, no batch, etc,etc are valid, but only from
a programmer's standpoint.  Our average (new) computer user will never know the
difference, they are interested in doing their little MacWrite and MacPaint
things and could probably care less about programming languages.

Of course, since there is such a great demand for the Macintosh to BECOME a
programmable/programmer's machine it will (has) become one.  I am not even 
TRYING to imply that it shouldn't, as I desparately want to be able to program
 my mac (in something other than BASIC).  I too would like to have seen the
Macintosh come with 512Kb ( or more ) and a second drive, etc.  But it didn't,
and if you look at the logic behind it, it makes sense.  

On the documentation issue, I agree that $150 is a lot to pay for Inside
Macintosh, but then I remember what the folks at Apple told me back in
February when I inquired about Inside Mac, they said that they would
rather that everyone wait until it was ""published"", but would be
happy to sell it to you for the cost of Xeroxing it ( +/- 3000pp for $150,
a good deal in paper alone...).  But the again, even in its preliminary
state, Inside Mac has everything you would ever need, spelled out very clearly.

Finally, I'd like to say that although it may look like at am trying to
defend Apple to the limit, I'm really not...  Its just that if you look at 
the market Apple seems to have targeted for the Mac, it is a very different
one than some of us are supposing. 


			David HM Spector
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