[comp.sys.apple] //c+; networking, etc....

bchurch@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU (Bob Church) (02/24/90)

In article <1990Feb20.012055.8326@spectre.ccsf.caltech.edu>, toddpw@tybalt.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel) writes:
> bchurch@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU (Bob Church) writes:
> 
> >I would like to see Apple ship the //c+ with at least 256k of memory but
> >other than that I have a hard time thinking of any way of improving on it.
> >Even with 128k it's a great Appleworks machine due to the built in 800k 
> >drive.
> 
> Well, if you have a lab of 30 of 'em, say, it'd be really nice if you could
> boot them diskless from an AppleShare server and then run the eduware from
> there as well, and the student's files could all stay on the server.
> 
	[ other very good points on modifying the //c+]
> 
> Todd Whitesel

Those are all good suggestions but I think it might be better if Apple
were to use them to create a different low cost //. Perhaps a "sister"
computer to the //c+. It's a matter of where I'm coming from. (literally :-)).
Here in Southeastern Ohio there are schools with no computers at all. A 
friend of mine teaches at Vinton County (the poorest county in Ohio) and 
they have five computers in the entire school. Four Commodore 64s and one
Apple //E. The Apple //E is in the principles office and used for
administration purposes only. Networking is not a major concern here. $600
computers which could run Appleworks or Fredwriter are a real option. I 
think that this wide range of school budgets is a good reason for the 
diversity of the Apple // line. I'd like to see Apple develop a machine
like you described, publicize the //c+ more (although I don't see that
so much as an Apple problem but a dealer problem) and of course keep
working on the GS. The development of a Minix-like Multitasking OS for
the // might also be an important step in keeping Apples in the schools.
While such a system may not be all that useful on an everyday basis it
could serve as a teaching tool for advanced programing. Despite whatever
else happens, if we don't keep Apples in the schools we can kiss them
goodbye (IMHO).


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*                                                                  *
*   bob church  bchurch@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu                       *
*                                                                  *
*  If economics isn't an "exact" science why do computers crash    *
*  so much more often than the stock market?                       *
*                                          bc                      *
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