Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!genrad!twm
From: twm@genrad.UUCP (Tim W. Mattox)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple Gets Greedier (Read it and Weep!)
Message-ID: <11131@genrad.UUCP>
Date: 20 Sep 88 17:36:29 GMT
References: <10093@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> <1258@aucs.UUCP>
Reply-To: twm@genrad.UUCP (Tim W. Mattox)
Distribution: na
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 44

In article <1258@aucs.UUCP> peter@aucs.UUCP (Peter Steele) writes:
>> Hm.  I find that the difference between our Macintosh and PC users is,
>> primarily, how much support they need after the initial contact....
>I find the number of questions I am asked generally has nothing to do with
>whether the machine is a Mac or a PC. It depends on the user.

I agree.  However, to imply that it is easier for a new user to learn
a command-line driven environment opposed to an icon based environment
seems a bit ridiculous.  When I upgraded to an SE, I let my parents
use my Mac Plus.  With only minimal instruction, both were producing
documents(MacWrite) and spreadsheets(Excel).  We also have an old
Apple II+.  Neither parent got into it at all.  Granted the software
base is not as big for the II+ as for a PC but that was about the only
difference and no the real problem.  The command-line driven II+ made
just getting started a fairly big effort.  Additionally, my dad has
some PC's at work which he was shown how to use.  Needless to say, it
took the Mac to really get a non-user into the computer world.

>> Second, I find that, now that I have fonts and graphics, I can't
>> live without them.
>> I've found that if you give people features and the features are easy to
>> access, they'll use them.
>Again, I agree...

I think about everyone would agree to this.

> ...but if the users are new to computers they don't really
>appreciate what one system will give you that another one won't. If they've
>never had a computer before, a PC will be like gold to them. Granted, if
>they got as Mac, they could certainly make use of all the nice graphics
>and fonts (and would never go back to a PC once they had a Mac)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sure so get an IBM and then kick yourself a year or two later when you
do get exposed to other systems.  A person does not know sh*t so
why not sell him sh*t.  Sounds good to me.

>Its even harder when their boss tells them "it's got to be IBM compatible"
>because all his friends, colleagues, neighbours, first cousins, etc. have
>IBM compatibles...

Now that the Macs are becoming IBM compatible a lot of people are
wondering what the compatibility is good for.  Gee, I wish that I
could run Lotus instead of Excel, it's soooooo powerful 8-).
Seriously, if it just gets more people to try a Mac, then I think it
is a positive move.