Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!pyrdc!pyrnj!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!osmigo
From: osmigo@ut-emx.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Computer for the rest of us?
Message-ID: <6295@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 24 Sep 88 02:30:43 GMT
References: <430043@hpcea.CE.HP.COM> <3600031@iuvax> <69545@sun.uucp> <1282@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: osmigo@emx.UUCP (Ron Morgan)
Organization: Speech Communication UT Austin
Lines: 41

[mucho discussion about Apple leaving behind "the rest of us."]

I too am a Change Agent, having bought one of the first 128's made, later
upgrading to a (gasp!) "Fat Mac" and eventually moving to a dual-floppy SE
with an external 40meg hard disk. This will be the LAST Macintosh I will
ever buy. Like many others here, there's no way someone like me (teacher and
graduate student) is going to shell out $6000+ for a Mac II or its ilk. 

What I wanted to say, though, was in reference to a quote by, I *think*, 
Sculley, a few years ago, inreference to Apple's behavior. He said "The
future of Apple Corporation depends entirely on the success of the Mac in
the business world." That statement seems to clarify Apple's marketing policies.
It's not just no longer a "computer for the rest of us," it's no longer
a *company* for the rest of us.

I do feel somewhat "used" at this time. One of the main purposes of Apple's
University Consortium setup was to "get lots of Macs out on the market," via
college people. Once that was done, however, said benefactors were left
behind, and still are. I resent being used as a marketing springboard. Sure,
it was a good deal at the time: a 128 with a printer for about $1800. Never
mind the fact that the thing was practically unusable (obsolete) before I
had the loan paid off. 

Sometimes it looks like Apple's doing the same thing with the Mac II. An
overpriced box with a single floppy drive and a single megabyte of RAM. A
setup that takes full advantage of the II's capabilities costs a bloody fortune.
Meanwhile, I meet people putting together umpteen-MHz PC clones with 
40meg hard disks for a thousand dollars or so, and I wonder who the REAL
suckers are in this business. When I think of the PC setup I could have 
put together for the cost of this SE/hard disk outfit...gawd, it takes my
breath away.....

At any rate, unless something *incredibly* drastic happens, my next computer
will *not* be an Apple. Not unless they change their tune considerably. 
Of course, it would be an undescribably sweet feeling for Job's NeXT machine
to thunder onto the market for some $2500 or so with a big RAM, hard disk,
68030/68881, etc. I'd buy one for the sheer pleasure of it. 

Oh well, back to work. Just a couple more years and it'll be paid for...(-8>

Ron Morgan