Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!husc6!maymudes@husc4.UUCP From: maymudes@husc4.UUCP (David Maymudes,,,4982298) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Mac pricing and the future of the Mac Message-ID: <1438@husc6.harvard.edu> Date: 18 Mar 89 19:40:59 GMT References: <12101@reed.UUCP> Sender: news@husc6.harvard.edu Reply-To: maymudes@husc4.UUCP Lines: 84 I think some people are being a little too hard on Apple. From article <12101@reed.UUCP>, by wab@reed.UUCP (Bill Baker): > > In article <919@fornax.UUCP> mcdonald@fornax.UUCP (Ken Mcdonald) writes: >>Sigh. I just don't understand why Apple does this. . . > > Why? Scully's profit sharing and stock option package, that's why. > > [stuff about $2000 Mac II --> Mac IIx upgrade deleted] > > Most Macs are obscenely overpriced. I recall the cover article > (MacWorld, Macuser?) on the real price of a Mac, where they showed > that the wholesale price of parts accounted for 1/4 of the list price > of an SE. The ratio for the Plus must be even lower. A ratio of 4:1 between the cost of parts for a piece of electronics and the list price appears to be standard in the whole computer industry. > of an SE. The ratio for the Plus must be even lower. Actually, the parts probably cost relatively _more_ for a Mac Plus, because it costs Apple slightly more to make, and sells for much less. Not to mention the trouble Apple goes to to make two kinds of mice and keyboards... > Apple's policy on upgrades is also obscene, especially with regard to > the II line. An upgrade board shoudln't cost $2000, so why does it? The upgrade board for the II --> IIx costs $2000 because the motherboard represents about half the cost of the Mac II that lists for $4000. Apple can't really do anything with the old Mac II motherboards, so you pay the same amount that a IIx would cost, minus a new keyboard, power supply, and case. > Because Apple wants to sell lots of IIx's. If they charge a lot for a > new machine then they have to charge a lot for the upgrade or else > people will just buy the old machine and upgrade it. And all you > folks who bought II's are screwed. [...] > > The most disturbing trend I've seen in the Mac line is planned > obselesence. Why no PMMU in the MacII? Why code a 4meg memory > limitation in the SE ROM's? Apple must have been working on the IIx > at the same time as the II and seen the value of virtual memory. For > that matter, why limit the II to 8 meg? The memory fiasco with the > IBM PC line should have shown to everybody the stupidity of memory > limitations. How much memory can a 68000 address? A 68020? A 68030? > Why design in limitations...unless you want to later remove those > limitations for a hefty price. A 68000 can address 16 megabytes of memory, the 68020 and 68030 4 gigabytes each. The SE is limited to 4 megabytes because only 1/4 of the address space is reserved for RAM. Similarly, the Mac II and IIx are limited to (I believe) 512 megabytes, because the remaining space is reserved for ROM, I/O, and such. Why no PMMU in the Mac II, you ask? Because it would have added at least $300 to the price of the machine, and only people who wanted to run A/UX would have needed it. If you have a Mac II and are depressed you don't have a IIx, buy a PMMU. Get a superdrive, too, if you really want one. The 16MHz 68030 isn't that much faster than the '020 in the II. Apple has done a good job of _not_ designing in limitations. In short, it does not cost $2000 to redeem a Mac II from obsolescence. I would probably buy a IIx or a IIcx if I were buying my computer today, but that doesn't mean my II is ready for the dustbin. When System 8 comes out, I will go out and get a PMMU if I need one, for probably around $200, by that time. Of course, this doesn't mean that I don't think Apple shouldn't scrap the Mac Plus, put the list price of an SE down to $1500, the SEx to $2200, and complete IIcx systems at around $3000, but I think they're making progress. --David Maymudes maymudes%husc4@harvard.ARPA maymudes@husc4.harvard.edu maymudes@husc4.UUCP maymudes@HARVUNXU.BITNET ...{seismo, harpo, ihnp4, linus, allegra, ut-sally}!harvard!husc4!maymudes davidm@harvarda.BITNET --David Maymudes maymudes%husc4@harvard.ARPA maymudes@husc4.harvard.edu maymudes@husc4.UUCP maymudes@HARVUNXU.BITNET ..{seismo, harpo, ihnp4, linus, allegra, ut-sally}!harvard!husc4!maymudes davidm@harvarda.BITNET