Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!necntc!ames!sdcsvax!nosc!cod!rupp From: rupp@cod.UUCP (William L. Rupp) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: Scully at The Boston Computer Society Message-ID: <861@cod.UUCP> Date: Thu, 15-Oct-87 15:29:25 EDT Article-I.D.: cod.861 Posted: Thu Oct 15 15:29:25 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 17-Oct-87 09:19:29 EDT References: <1644@dasys1.UUCP> Reply-To: rupp@cod.nosc.mil.UUCP (William L. Rupp) Organization: Computer Sciences Corp, San Diego Lines: 150 Keywords: Pertinent Questions Here are some of my reactions the questions Patt Haring would like to ask John Sculley..... In article <1644@dasys1.UUCP> patth@dasys1.UUCP (Patt Haring) writes: > - Why has Apple consistently put most of its resources into > MacIntosh development, marketing and support, and so little > into the Apple II? Because the Macintosh is Apple's hope for the future. The Apple II series, although it made great contributions to microcomputing, is sadly out of date. Even the IIGS is not generally up to the level of first rate micro's (i.e., Compaq DESKPRO 386, PS/2 Model 80, Macintosh II). It would make no sense to pour large resources into a machine that is not greatly improved over 1977 technology. Especially when said machine continues to sell well. The same can be said of the Commodore-64, the computer that refuses to die. > - Why has Apple been so slow to update Apple's products > (especially Appleworks) with the advanced features so > prevalent on IBM word processors, data bases and > spreadsheets? What? Say that again? I'd say that the advanced features are found on Apple Macintosh software. If there is imitation to be done, it's in the reverse direction to the one you imply. > - Will Apple continue to artificially overprice products by: > - dropping dealers who sell at a discount, > - opposing mail orders, > - and fighting Apple-clones? Apple made a smart business move when it vowed to fight clones. Look what happened to the IBM-PC when the clones got going? Big Blue's market share plummeted. This is not popular with buyers, but it makes investors happy. I still can't understand why IBM allowed their micro to be so easily cloned. > Why are new products for the Apple II usually introduced > well after similar Mac products are introduced? Well, you hit the hottest markets first, the warm markets next, and the cold markets last of all. The Mac is hot. The Apple II is cooling. Cheer up! At least the Apple II line will receive updates and advanced features sooner than the Timex-Sinclair will. > When can we expect the following types of products for the > Apple II: > - good CD ROM drives with massive storage (e.g. 600+ > megabytes)? > - high resolution digital monitors? > - Hypercard? Hypercard? Takes a lot of memory and a hard disk. This is really only practical with the GS, I'd say, and eventually it will probably appear for the GS. > - 32-bit CPU? Are you serious? The Macintosh is Apple's high end series, not the Apple II. There is no reason in favor of, and lots of reasons opposed to such a development. Why was the IBM PC-JR such a dog? IBM did not want it to compete with the PC. Same with the Apple II/Macintosh. John Sculley would be insane to sanction any move towards making the IIGS an alternative Mac. The GS is close enough to a Mac in user interface as it is. 32-bit computing is in the Mac's ballpark. Look at the success General Motors had for years; each product line had a place which did not interfere with the others. Chevy -> Pontiac -> Oldsmobile -> Buick -> Cadillac. Ever here of the DeSoto? A car which made money for Chrysler Corp. for decades. But when, around 1960, DeSoto got squeezed between Dodge from below and Chrysler from above, the DeSoto was dropped in a hurry. > - 25 hertz speed? > - Multiprocessing? > - Mac-like graphic interface faster than the ProDos 16 > snail? > - local area networks? > - IBM compatibility/transportability? > - Mac compatibility/transportabilty? Don't hold your breath. Some of these things may come for the Apple II GS, but I doubt many. Again, no one is going to invest big bucks in a product if there is not a reasonable expectation of a payoff in the marketplace. If you want these things, you would do better to buy a different brand of computer which has already attracted that kind of support. You might just as easily ask "When is someone going to develop state-of-the-art goodies for my 1956 DeSoto?" Ain't gonna happen!! > - Is the rumor true that Apple is actively preventing > improvements to the IIGS that would make it more competitive > in the business world? Specifically, is it true that Apple > tried to kill Applied Engineering 6 hz. accelerator chip? > Is it true that Apple has discouraged developers from > developing business software that could compete with the > Mac? I haven't heard this myself. Depends on what you mean by "actively preventing." Do you think Apple has a goon squad that goes around blowing up developers labs at 2 in the morning? Apple may or may not be happy about what developers do, but I don't think they can prevent it. Anyway, I can't image that they would care. If somebody wants to develop a version of EXCEL for the GS, I'm sure Apple would be delighted because that might sell a few more GS's. The GS is simply not going to make inroads into the Mac's territory. They are pretty much aimed at different markets. > I am sure other readers have similar questions. When we've > tried to address these concerns in the past, Apple referred > inquiries to local dealers. The dealers, of course, knew > nothing! > Something is severely screwed up with Apple when one can buy > an IBM clone that is 8 times as fast and has a 40 megabyte > hard disk, floppy, and monitor for less than the cost of an > Apple 20 megabyte hard by itself! Only when users unite, > and register their complaints with APPLE CUPERTINO > directly, can we expect to get answers! > >-- >Patt Haring UUCP: ..cmcl2!phri!dasys1!patth >Big Electric Cat Compu$erve: 76566,2510 >New York, NY, USA MCI Mail: 306-1255; GEnie: PHaring Come on, give me a break. The reason you can get such a good deal on a clone these days is competition. Apple has exlcuded competition. In summary, here is how I see it. The Apple II line has had its day. It will live on, just as the venerable DC-3 has lived on. But the action has moved to newer architectures. You cannot continually update a 10 year old microcomputer and expect it to be taken seriously. The GS is not bad, it's just three or four years too late to really catch on. That is a compliment to the original desgin of the Apple II. As for Apple's policies, if you do not like a company that has been able to exclude competiton via proprietary technology, then you are free to buy from another company that has a different policy. The point is, this argument is a bit irrelevant in late 1987. The Apple II has served long and well, but it is unreasonable to expect Apple to pour the kind of money necessary to make the improvements you desire. I have owned an Apple ][+ since Oct. of '81, so I am not an IBM fan. I just see reality as it is. My ][+ is used virtually never, while my Mac is used all the time. That's just the way it is. ====================================================================== I speak for myself, and not on behalf of any other person or organization .........................How's that, Gary? ======================================================================