Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wasatch!t-jacobs
From: t-jacobs@wasatch.UUCP (Tony Jacobs)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Another Insane Idea for ya Apple
Keywords: entry level Mac?
Message-ID: <1254@wasatch.UUCP>
Date: 8 Mar 89 01:26:58 GMT
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept
Lines: 21


I understand Apple recently scraped work on a low cost Mac in order to start
from scratch and do it right. Mr. Skully made mention (in IIcx announcement)
that it should be available in '90 (or was it early '91?).

Idea - Make a very cheap motherboard that fits the IIcx box. Using the new
1-bit video board and the 12" monichrome monitor (perhaps you could make a
really cheap non-greyscale 12") then the price could be reasonable.
Then when some one wants to upgrade to a more powerful machine they don't have
to scrap what they have, they simply do a motherboard upgrade ( and maybe a
power supply upgrade too, that iffy). One big problem that I see with the
Mac product line is that there is NO UPGRADE PATH from the low cost machine to
the expandable one.  I believe the size and footprint of the IIcx to be ideal
and that a very big reason people buy Plus's & SE's is the foot print. Now with
almost the same size footprint and many options for monitors etc, it would
provide LOTS OF UPGRADE PATHS. (I hope these BOLD subliminal hints work!)

If you say "but then it's not transportal", then make the non-greyscale 12"
monitor that I just mentioned so it has a handle on the top and so it attaches
to the IIcx box! Or (heavens forbid) make a smaller monichrome monitor (please,
at the very least 10"!!!).-- 
Tony Jacobs * Center for Engineering Design * U of U * t-jacobs@ced.utah.edu