Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!apple!phil
From: phil@Apple.COM (Phil Ronzone)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aux
Subject: RE: Re: Future direction of A/UX?
Message-ID: <31123@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 19 May 89 18:12:17 GMT
References: <4036@emory.mathcs.emory.edu> <7304@hoptoad.uucp> <30843@apple.Apple.COM> <7359@hoptoad.uucp>
Organization: Apple Computer A/UX Group
Lines: 47

Well, judging from his signature line, probably the only thing that John
Gilmore and I may agree upon is the second amendment. :-) :-)

>Apple's corporate line is solidly against Grasshopper, since
>Grasshopper sells NeWS, the Sun window system, PostScript on the
>screen, etc, on Apple hardware.  I am one of three partners in Grasshopper.

John, I don't know how to put this, but the Apple "corporate entities" have
never even HEARD of Grasshopper, much less be "against" Grasshopper. If you
think you have reason to believe that some individual at Apple isn't treating
you the way you think, let me know in private and I'll go speak to them.

To be definitive, Apple does NOT have a corporate line against UNIX or
Grasshopper. John Sculley himself was a major voice in saying "let there be
UNIX" at Apple.


>Where are the Apple ads for A/UX?  Where are the promotions?  The computer
>stores with A/UX in the window (or even on the showroom floor!)?
>
>Another area is that Apple will provide mailing lists for developers to
>sell to MacOS users, but not to A/UX users.  The only way we have found
>to locate A/UX users is by watching who posts to the net!  Apple won't
>tell us about the customers, and won't tell the customers about us.
>They won't even tell us what computer stores are authorized to sell A/UX.
>Finding 1,500 needles in a worldwide haystack is more than we can do by
>ourselves.

Well, I sure would like TV commercials for A/UX on prime time. Apple makes
(~) more Macintoshes in a DAY than SUN makes workstations in a MONTH (assuming
SUN runs the their factory 7 days a week).

The big majority of those Macintoshes are not A/UX, so guess where the ad
budgets go? Anyway, we CAN be much better on mailing lists, lists of
dealers, etc. and we in Engineering do speak up about it.

Let's agree to disagree if so, and leave the net bandwidth to the fun
technical issues. Throw darts at pictures of marketing people if it feels
good ...

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|Philip K. Ronzone, Apple Computer, 10440 Bubb Rd, MS 58A, Cupertino, CA 95014|
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