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From: bass@dmsd.UUCP (John Bass)
Newsgroups: net.micro,net.micro.apple,net.flame
Subject: Re: Apple Shafts America; or, The Computer For the Rich of Us
Message-ID: <145@dmsd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Sep-84 07:53:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: dmsd.145
Posted: Fri Sep 28 07:53:13 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Sep-84 03:26:35 EDT
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OK ... OK ... so I forgot the Mac didn't have parity ... but it doesn't
change the numbers much ... since I omited the tally of costs associated
with taking in the return, issuing credits, testing, stocking, repair ...
which certainly over $60.

For those who think that Apple can just name a price they want to pay for rams
 ... think again ... the semi producers will sell them for the highest bid.
The fact is that the semi producers are coming online faster than the customers
RIGHT NOW (and just like 1981 and 64k parts) ... but who has been shipping
256k parts in real volume (not just ramp up volumes) ... NOBODY!

Who wants to be shipping product with 256k parts ... ALMOST EVERYONE.

Anyone who can predict short run prices for 256k parts is a very valuable
person ... their are both those betting on fast fall and those betting on
a rise followed by a 12-18 month slow fall. Given pricing on other hot
semi products released in the last 4-6 years I lean toward shortages 3-6 months
out on 256k parts ... and the resulting flatness or rise in prices as
most major system houses  come on line using the parts.

Sure the price will drop to around $3.50 a part within a few years ... but
that is not today.

Apple is in this market to make money ... for them to decide on shipping
product at zero markup (net loss) is VERY KIND ... for those who continue
to fume at this assertion please go back and look at Apples quarterly earnings
for the last year ... they have missed taking big losses by a hair or less.
Last Oct-Dec ... the big christmas sales ... they cleared a profit by
accident ... many of us expected them to follow the rest of the market and
declare sizable losses ... not yet but turning down profits on 100,000 mac
upgrades could do it.

As for the fella's from Fortune and Tektronics ... it's nice of you to collect
pay checks from companys that still price their 64k drams with the 1981 market,
and always ship product above a 2.5x multiplier ... it's truly nice to
throw rocks at apples profits when your own pay check comes from someone
taking what the market will bare ... 

STOP BAD MOUTHING APPLE ... atleast it is still giving people jobs in
AMERICA ... and not over seas like Atari and a growing number of other
small computer makers.

If you want to set an example for charity ... start with your own pay check ...
give 75% of it to a good cause ... sell your home, computer, car, stero,
and color tv and donate the procedes to charity. Then you might have a cause
for asserting that others (like APPLE and its employees) should also be
revenue source for charity.

John Bass

The fair price for the upgrade today is $1500-$2000 ... enjoy the kindness
of Apple in pricing that IBM, DEC, Tandy, TEKTRONICS, and everyone else
aren't likely to give.