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From: mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu (Lawrence J. Mazlack)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: mathematics of support pricing
Message-ID: <13041@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Tue, 8-Apr-86 16:05:47 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.13041
Posted: Tue Apr  8 16:05:47 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 10-Apr-86 20:53:45 EST
References: <2008@decwrl.DEC.COM> <106@kesmai.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Lawrence J. Mazlack)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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>
>If you think *thats* bad, try the mathematics of buying a Macintosh XL
>for $3999, then trading it for a Mac+ for $1499, not counting the
>$600 512K memory board which doesn't have any trade-in value at all.
>Not that we have that much choice, the XL is too slow and has no sound
>generation. The question for the day is "How much did you pay for your Mac+??"
>   Kelton Flinn

The analogy that several people posted to me is:

How would you like to buy a GM car (a complete Lisa aka XL costed about that
much: Lisa + memory board + software + printer) and then be told six months
later by GM that (a) they have decided that making your car was a mistake,
(b) they will do their best to ignore its existence, and (c) if you want
a new, smaller one you can give them another $1499.

In point of fact auto makers do not do this. When a model is abandoned, they
usually establish a 10-15 year supply of parts for it.  Ditto when an auto
mfg goes out of business.  It is still possible to buy Kaiser and Studebaker
parts.

As it turns out, you can also get service and parts for IBM 1401s, IBM 1620s,
and IBM 704s (!!!) all of which are still in service, 20+ years after last
manufacture and 15+ years after obselence. Why someone would want to do this is
besides the point - but I have seen all of these critters still running in 
the last four years. (Note: being hacker orientated, I do not, myself, run 
on IBM equipment.) I have also seen a bunch of early PDP stuff still running -
however, most of the PDP stuff is get going by university personnel - but,
I guess, that DEC would do it for you as well.

Larry Mazlack
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