Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL From: SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (Murph Sewall) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: a Question & a Vision Message-ID: <8901160432.aa13054@SMOKE.BRL.MIL> Date: 15 Jan 89 19:12:56 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 41 >Add to that the fact that Pinpoint and AST have dropped ALL support and >production of Apple products, leads to my vision of the future.. > >The Apple II series are we now know it will die a quiet death, and within >a year or two after that, Apple will change it's corporate name to >better identify itself with what it makes (Macintosh?????) and the >market it serves. > >Lest we forget, Apple has not uttered the phrase "Apple II Forever" since >last spring.. Nowhere did it appear at the last Applefest, nor in any >promotion or advertising.. There's an interesting article in the 23 Jan '89 BUSINESS WEEK (pp. 90 & 92) titled "Apple Turns From Revolution to Evolution." The gist of the article is that Apple is embarking on a strategy of product line extension (as opposed to innovation). Apple president John Sculley also is reported to have decided to concentrate on maintaining high profit margins (practically speaking that's premium prices) rather than aggressively pursuing market share. The article comments specifically on the absence of any indications of a product beyond elaboration of the Macintosh (faster, larger capacity, etc.). The TOTAL focus is the business market. There is NO mention of education, hobbiest, or home markets. The Apple II line (past, present, or future?) isn't mentioned at all; the article leaves the STRONG impression that the Apple II line doesn't figure in management's strategic thinking for even the early 1990's. Anybody out there want to tell me I read that wrong? Murph Sewall Vaporware? ---> [Gary Larson returns 1/1/90] Prof. of Marketing Sewall@UConnVM.BITNET Business School sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu [INTERNET] U of Connecticut {psuvax1 or mcvax }!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL [UUCP] -+- I don't speak for my employer, though I frequently wish that I could (subject to change without notice; void where prohibited) According to the American Facsimile Association, more than half the calls from Japan to the U.S. are fax calls. FAX it to me at: 1-203-486-5246