Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-sde!hpcea!twakeman
From: twakeman@hpcea.CE.HP.COM (Teriann Wakeman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Modest proposal
Message-ID: <430049@hpcea.CE.HP.COM>
Date: 3 Oct 88 23:27:31 GMT
Organization: HP Corporate Engineering - Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 55

WHAT IF??

While reading postings relating to university discounts, and the gap between
the information age haves and have-nots I started wondering...

What if Apple were to start a new program - a Mac-head-start program.

What I am envisioning would be a program that would offer low end 
Macintoshes at or below university consortum prices to primary and
secondary school students {yes I know this means to parents of school 
childern and this discriminates against people who do not have children in 
school}. And what if these low end Macs were offered with a low interest 
time payment plan. Suppose the payments were low enough that low income 
families could afford an entry level Mac. What would happen??

Business sales should be unaffected. University consortum sales would
probably decrease since incoming students would be more likely to have
a Mac before they get into college. Adults who want the latest Mac 
technology will still buy what they can afford from wherever they can get 
it cheapest.  Revineue would be lost from families with children who would
normally purchase a low end Mac. There of course would be more overhead 
within Apple to administer the program.

but what would be gained??

Families that otherwise could not afford a Mac would have them. Both children
 and adults would be exposed to an easy to learn and use computer. Children
could learn how to use a computer rather then becoming computer phobic as 
they grow up. Adults would have an edge to get over any phobia they might
have about computers. This could be a tool to help break the proverty
cycle in many families. It has been said that the "computer for the rest of
us" slogan never ment computer for the economic disadvantaged. It ment that
the Mac was a computer that could be easily learned and used by the casual
user. It has also been said that the casual user can not afford a Mac.
What if "the computer for the rest of us" was streached to include low
end Macs for families with children who might not otherwise be able to 
afford a Mac?

What could Apple gain from such a program? How about being able to keep
production lines for the oldest least expensive Mac runing at full capacity?
How about the Mac system, by being the first system a child & many adults 
are exposed to, setting the future expectations for these users? How about 
creating increased product loyalty and increased feelings of good will.
How about a Mac lead information revolution among the rest of the 
population. How about a step twords the dreams of many 60's and 70's computer
pioneers. What about a big step of making Macintosh not only a household 
name but also a household product?


What if Apple dares to be great, instead if trying to become another IBM?

TeriAnn

Disclamer: I would not be able to benifit directly from the inactment of
my proposal. but I sure would like to see the effect on society.