Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!eru!luth!sunic!mcsun!unido!tub!fauern!fauern!csbrod
From: csbrod@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Claus Brod )
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: OK, so they sell the STe
Message-ID: <2517@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
Date: 22 Feb 90 11:51:35 GMT
References: <90021712385251@masnet.uucp> <30029@brunix.UUCP>
Organization: CSD, University of Erlangen, W-Germany
Lines: 37

rjd@cs.brown.edu (Rob Demillo) writes:

>The explanation I have heard from people who study the
>personal computer market (and this is the one that makes the most
>sense to me) is pretty simple: Europeans have less disposable income 
>than Americans. Period. If the European user wants to buy a PC, he
>cannot afford the cost of an IBM or Mac. (And if you think they are
>ridiculously priced *here*...try going to Europe sometime and
>pricing a Mac...if you can find one.) So they buy the lesser priced
>Atari's and Amigas.

Another part of the answer may be: We had an enourmous 64 underground
scene here in Germany. When the ST came out, most cracking groups
and most hackers readily accepted it. They bought it because they
knew at once that this might be THEIR computer. It was and is cheap,
it is fast and relatively easy to program. They crawled deeply into
the machine and wrote the first programs before ATARI came out
with anything decent. This in turn triggered the user market to
grow and set the pace for the rest of Europe. For some reason,
this didn't happen in the U.S. Maybe all the 64 hackers had already
bought PCs before the ST came out.

Claus Brod
-----------------------------------------------------------
I don't know what I mean and I hate standard disclaimers.
 

>Now, if that is the reason, we may see all of this change as Europe
>becomes an even larger financial center in the 90's. (Reunification
>of Germany, Europe common market, etc.) There may be more
>disposable income to go around...


> - Rob DeMillo			| Internet: rjd@brown.cs.edu     
>   Brown University 		| BITnet: DEMILLO%BRNPSG.SPAN@STAR.STANFORD.EDU
>   Planetary Science Group	| Reality: 401-273-0804 (home)
>"I say you *are* the Messiah, Lord! And I ought to know, I've followed a few!"