Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!pro-pac.cts.COM!tsouth From: tsouth@pro-pac.cts.COM (Todd South) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Thoughts on //gs Sales Message-ID: <8807081916.AA13489@crash.cts.com> Date: 8 Jul 88 13:43:49 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Reply-To: pnet01!pro-simasd!pro-pac!tsouth@nosc.mil Organization: The Internet Lines: 64 Has anyone wondered at the market strategy of Apple lately? I think (flame shields on) that even though Claris made an outrageously great aquisition that things are not yet tamed in the long run! I was flipping through some magazine last month and read that even though total Apple sales are *no longer* decidedly supported by the Apple ][ family that LAST YEAR alone there were over 1 BILLION dollars in gross Apple ][ products sales. Hmm... Isn;t this interesting? A 2.5 Mhz computer that you can actually watch draw lines on the screen sold 10 figures worth of products last year. Now, Claris is rumored to be renaming GSWorks to Appleworks GS. IMHO, this is really a stupid maneuver. Why don't they take the sales money *from* the *second largest selling progam EVER* and invest in some research for the computer software which is making them the most money? Please, let's not see some piece of slime Apple calls a telecommunications program! I too was one of the witless saps that was suckered into purchasing Apple Access II from my friendly dealer (only to find out it didn;t transfer anything but text files!). Let's see some of that hard spent money go towards the people that are actually putting it into the company(ies). I know, Claris people are saying, "Does't this guy know that we are an independent company now?". But, actually, Claris, you are not. No matter what you do or say you are still connected as a part of Apple and are a direct reflection of their thinking. Until you show the market that you will support the software which sales the most then you will always and forever be a part of the "Jobs" way of thinking. What do *I* want? I want Unix on my Apple //gs. I know, I'm not gonna get that for under a few tens of thousands. I want a networking system that runs OFF OF AN APPLE ][ FAMILY COMPUTER! I know, I'm not gonna get that because Apple refuses to either make a card system that will allow such a thing and/or give the //gs the necessary speed an MMU resources to handle such a venture. I want the damn QuickDraw II to refresh a screen faster than my eyes can. I know, I'm not going to get that because to do so might make someone out there realize that this is a general purpose computer which not only is good in the educational market, but has serious potential in the business and design based markets (a good QuickDraw II system would compete with you-know-what). I want some of the 250,000 users of the Apple //gs to bitch at you guys so that eventually you open up your Mac invested souls and see the potential loss of profits and future support that you are throwing away because of (what I still like to call) the "Jobs" mentality. Why don;t people write serious applications for the //gs in the business market? My guess? Speed. Support of Apple. Support of Claris. Half ass implementations on the current //gs motherboard. Numerous other reason. /: I dunno folks. Maybe, just maybe, things will change. The problem, as I see it, is that the changes are like third generation children on my AT&T 7300 -- They get around to it when all of the other work is finished . . . Todd South P.S. I sincerely would like to hear some comments on this from the rest of you out in USENET and other nets. We know :-) that I probably won;t get any feedback from you-know-who. P.S.S. Flames are welcome! And this is not a citation for riot :-) :-) -- UUCP: {nosc, cacilj, sdcsvax, hplabs!hp-sdd} ...!crash!pnet01!pro-simasd!pro-pac!tsouth ARPA: crash!pnet01!pro-simasd!pro-pac!tsouth@nosc.MIL INET: tsouth@pro-pac.CTS.COM - BITNET: pro-pac.UUCP!tsouth@PSUVAX1