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From: mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu.BERKELEY.EDU (Lawrence J. &)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Mac: The Past, The Present, and the Future
Message-ID: <11810@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Tue, 11-Feb-86 16:47:30 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.11810
Posted: Tue Feb 11 16:47:30 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Feb-86 00:59:56 EST
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Reply-To: mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Lawrence J. Mazlack)
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>	The LISA was Apple's big shot at the business end of the market. If
>it had been successful, they wouldn't have withdrawn the LISAs. It is obvious
>that people are looking for bold imagination, new ideas and exciting products

Probably the Lisa WAS a better business product than the Mac or Mac+.  Among
other things, it can be networked (Apple Talk is a rather pitful excuse for
a network.)

But, irregardless of the technology, Apple has serious problems as a business
a point where knowledgeable support overwhelms any technical advantage.
with them.  Almost anyone who has dealt directly with Apple as either a
large buyer (University or corporation) or a developer can probably recite
a whole list of problems - mostly of a non-response nature.

Apple's current sales solution of making the local vendor responsible for
both sales and support is woefully inadequate.  Just try getting any
sort of technical support and knowledgable support from them.  [Maybe
it is because many of the local dealers are staffed by ex stereo and
aluminum siding salesmen :-) ]  These people just do not know how to do
the job.  And they are competing with IBM who does.  There does come
a point where service and knowledge overwhelms any technical advantage.
And as the technical advantage shrinks, as it is with Apple, so does
their chances in the business market.

I don't think that color is going to make the difference. I do think that
they need:
(a) A multiprogramming capability (available on the Lisa),
(b) A good networking capability - including the capabilty to use a file
    server,
(c) A larger screen,
(d) The often promised card to access other networks (currently, SNA is
    being promised).  Ethernet would be nice.  Such a solution should not
    be expensive.
(e) High quality technical support.
(f) Corporate accountability.  I.e., someone who will make sure that your
    concerns are met.  Right now, dealing with Apple is dealing difficult
    because it is almost impossible to find the responsible party.

....Larry Mazlack  mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu