Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!cmcl2!esquire!sbb
From: sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Mac pricing and the future of the Mac
Message-ID: <1093@esquire.UUCP>
Date: 27 Mar 89 23:34:01 GMT
References: <12101@reed.UUCP> <1082@lts.UUCP> <11317@ut-emx.UUCP> <1084@lts.UUCP> <11346@ut-emx.UUCP> <95131@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <11374@ut-emx.UUCP>
Reply-To: sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten)
Distribution: usa
Organization: DP&W, New York, NY
Lines: 35

In article <11374@ut-emx.UUCP> mentat@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Robert Dorsett) writes:
>The point here that strikes me is that at the time, an IBM user could toss 40 
>megs into HIS computer for less than I built *mine*.  Inability to compete on 
>the basis of storage has always struck me as a weak point on the Mac.

It's the PC world's inability to compete on the basis of *software*
that's always struck *me* as more of a problem.  I don't care that my
PC buddies have cheap 80 meg hard disks -- they still can't effectively
use a PostScript printer for the majority of their software, or do even
rudimentary cut and pasting between applications.

And once said IBM user tossed the 40meg disk into his system, he could
run Illustrator, just like you, right?  Or PageMaker?  Or Excel?

Plus, no one forces you to buy peripherals from Apple.  Buy them from
Jasmine and save some bucks.

Apple hardware is definitely overpriced when compared to similar
hardware from other vendors (although it's not *that* much more
expensive than offerings from IBM or Compaq).  But their (system)
software is truly a bargain.

It's good to have a little perspective on the state of computing
before you gripe, gripe, gripe....

(P.S.  I hear DOS 4.0 just broke the 32meg disk size "barrier" and also
lets you run a visual shell.  Wow!  What an advance!  Lots of R&D going
on in the Microsoft labs these days, huh?  I sure am glad I saved all
this money by buying a PC...  :-)

--
   Steve Baumgarten             | "New York... when civilization falls apart,
   Davis Polk & Wardwell        |  remember, we were way ahead of you."
   cmcl2!esquire!sbb            | 
   esquire!sbb@cmcl2.nyu.edu    |                           - David Letterman