Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ukma!rutgers!att!alberta!ubc-cs!fornax!mcdonald
From: mcdonald@fornax.UUCP (Ken Mcdonald)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Apple's Pricing, IIx question
Message-ID: <919@fornax.UUCP>
Date: 14 Mar 89 03:38:17 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: School of Computing Science, SFU, Burnaby, B.C. Canada
Lines: 61

Sigh.  I just don't understand why Apple does this. . .

I was in comparing prices at the university store today, and found
out some interesting stuff...Apple has finally lowered the price on
the Mac IIx to a reasonable level--about $400 Cdn. above a Mac II--
but the logic board upgrade alone from a Mac II to a Mac IIx is more
than $2,000!  Come on now, Apple, what's going on!?  You made your profit
off of me when I bought the II, and I wouldn't mind paying you a reasonable
profit on the board either, but $2000+ isn't just profit, it is an
indication to customers that Apple doesn't care a sou for its customers
after the sale is made.  I mean, what am I supposed to think about buying
Apple machines in the future when I say to myself, "If I buy this machine right
now, I can have full confidence that Apple will try to price any future
upgrades completely out of my price range."  Not very confidence-inspiring.

For those who are wondering, this all started when I went in to look
up the price of a Mac IIcx (I need the portability, I do a lot of traveling.)
This would seem to indicate that I am not even in a position to worry about
the logic board upgrade price, but look closer--when I try to sell my Mac II,
how's it going to look if I say, "Well, an upgrade to a MacIIx will cost over
$2000, but you can buy a brand-new MacII right now for only $1500 more than
what I'm asking"--and to say even that, I'd have to take a loss of over $1000
on my machine! (Which I am willing to take--but more would hurt.)

Well, all that ranting and raving felt good.  Now for my one real question...
I understand that a Mac IIx is slightly faster than a Mac II--however, is this
only valid when comparing a IIx to a II with a 68-whatever PMMU, or does
the nonfunctional "PMMU" that every II comes standard with slow it down
also?  Are then any other factors causing the IIx to be faster than the II?
(I know about the FPU, but that is such a specialized chip that I don't
really regard it as having a general speedup effect.)

Ken McDonald
{...!ubc-cs!mcdonald@fornax.uucp}

P.S.  To those on the net who seem to feel an obligation to flame any posting
complaining about Apple pricing policies, as if they, the respondents, were
the last defenders of capitalism, please note:  I have not said Apple is
WRONG to adhere to the pricing policies that they do, I have merely implied
(and at this point I will state it point-blank) that they are STUPID to do
so.  You may also say, with a sniggering tone in your voice no doubt, "If
you don't like it, buy something else"--which is precisely the point; even
though I think the Macintosh is by far the best computer around, Apple's
pricing policies, and more particularly its INSANE attitude towards helping
owners of old machines upgrade to a more modern unit, have me thinking very
seriously about changing allegiance.  If I have to take a real loss on the
sale of my Mac II, to the point where I cannot justify buying a IIcx, that
is exactly what I will do, at which point both Apple and I will have lost--I
will be using a machine other than the one I would really like to use, and
Apple will have lost a certain amount of profit from me.  Even if that profit
would have been less that Apple's ideal, it would still have been profit.

Apple recently found out that price raises do not necessarily mean increased
profits.  Too bad it can't take that lesson to its logical extension, and at
least admit the possiblity that price decreases may result in increased profits.
Even more sadly, it is unfortunate that Apple can't learn one of the basic
lessons in the marketplace--in the long wrong, no company that plays fair with
its customers is going to regret it.

Of course, if a Mac IIx logic board really does cost in the neighbourhood of
$2000 Cdn, then flame on!...I deserve to eat my words.