[comp.sys.apple] Claris

SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (01/06/88)

As a marketing professional, Apple (and by extension Claris) reminds me
of Henry Ford's famous remark "You can have any color you want as long
as it's black."  The point is, Ford (and Apple) was a sometimes (ONLY
SOMETIMES) marketing genius who piddled away a humongous natural
advantage by thinking he was smarter than his customers (and when Ford
started, GM was neither big nor blue).

There's no evidence to support the notion that anyone at Claris knows
anything about Open-Apple (published by Tom Weishaar) either.  More's
the pity.  I haven't the time to summarize the discussions about Apple-
Works in the last two issues, but if the folks at Claris don't have it
memorized by now, they are kissing revenue opportunities in the 7 to
8 figure range goodbye.

I don't use AppleWorks.  I've seen it, and for my purposes it's an
elephant gun when all I have to hunt is rabbits.  In that sense, I'm
a disinterested third party.  Frankly, Apple is NUTS not to get a
12MHz expansion board for the IIgs, a 16-bit version of AppleWorks, and a
Mac with 68030 on the market pronto.  The enemy is PS/2 and the Amiga 3000
(Apple's darn lucky Commodore hasn't the resources to beat their
brains out with that little beauty that's better hardware for fewer
bucks than the Mac II); there's nothing that the IIgs can do to hurt
the Mac that IBM won't do (gladly) first, BUT the IIgs has a potential
market niche that's a potential bonannza (and will do more to clobber
the PS/2 models 25 and 30 than the Mac can).

I'm not sure which trade pub I read it in (I really should attribute,
but alas I've lost the source), but I subscribe to the notion that
Apple's primary problem is hubris.

---------------------
ARPA:   sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu       Murphy A. Sewall
BITNET: SEWALL@UCONNVM                          School of Business Admin.
UUCP:   ...ihnp4!psuvax1!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL  University of Connecticut

halp@TCGOULD.TN.CORNELL.EDU ("Bruce P. Halpern") (01/07/88)

RE: 16 Bit AppleWorks

I don't have it in front of me, but the current Open Apple (came in our 
mail, perhaps by dog-sled, yesterday) has a letter (?Randy Brandt) stating 
that AppleWorks 2.0 is already 16 bit. Specificall, the SEG.XXX file used 
by the ][gs is 16 bit. The letter  also indicated which SEG.XXX was used 
for what purpose, allowing one to delete (from a copy, of course) those 
that are not needed on a particular system disk.

****DISCLAMER: My comments, etc., are my own shakey opinions ********



  |  Bruce P. Halpern  Psychology & Neurobiology & Behavior Cornell Ithaca |
  |  ARPA: halp@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu                                     |
  |  BITNET: HALP@CRNLTHRY      D57J@CORNELLA      D57J@CRNLVAX5           |
  |  PHONE: 607-255-6433    Uris Hall, Cornell U., Ithaca, NY 14853-7601   | 

LLi.ESCP8@XEROX.COM (01/07/88)

Re: "Apple's darn lucky Commodore hasn't the resources to beat their
brains out with that little beauty that's better hardware for fewer
bucks than the Mac II"

I'm not that familiar with Amiga, but in the area of graphics the Mac II has
640x480 noninterlaced, while Amiga has only 640x400 interlaced.  I'd buy an
Amiga here and now if only they would upgrade their graphics capability to that
of MAC II and PS/2.

Leonard Li.

CS656@OUACCVMB.BITNET (01/07/88)

If APPLE really wanted to develop and improve their Apple // software they'd
hire the OPEN-APPLE people.
Their newsletter is indispensible.

gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (01/07/88)

In article <8801060128.aa02493@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA> SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET writes:
>Frankly, Apple is NUTS not to get a 12MHz expansion board for the IIgs, a
>16-bit version of AppleWorks, and a Mac with 68030 on the market pronto.

I've heard rumors that they're working on all the above.
It's also been rumored that they're porting HyperCard to the IIGS;
this would be an outstanding move (so long as it doesn't cost too
much).  I'm not so enthusiastic about AppleWorks as is Weishaar,
but then I thought Lotus 1-2-3 was pretty poor software too.

It's quite true that the Apple II (now IIGS) competition is not the Mac,
although people looking for a nice home system may be better able to
afford a IIGS than a Mac II.  The real Mac competition in business is
IBM, fer sure.

mdavis@pro-sol.cts.COM (Morgan Davis) (01/08/88)

Doug Gwin writes:
> It's also rumored that [Apple's] porting HyperCard to the IIGS;
> this would be an outstanding move (so long as it doesn't cost too
> much).

I agree completely.  HyperCard is a wonderful idea.  But, I don't it will cost
very much -- not when the Macintosh version retails for less than $50, and is
readily available at Apple dealers for around $39.  Apple is going to be (or
already is) bundling HyperCard with the new Macintoshes being sold.  I would
assume they would do the same for new IIGS's when then IIGS version is
completed. (when and *if*, of course).

CS656@OUACCVMB.BITNET (09/22/88)

>Claris took a lot of heat on the Apple II neglect issue, and I can tell
>you from the people that I know at Claris that the Styleware move
>was partially intended to rectify that problem.  So give these guys a
>break while they come up to speed.
I've just noticed another angle to the Claris setup. Apple promised it's
dealers that they would only sell their products through dealers. Since Claris
took Appleworks it's showing up in more and more mail order adds, most noticabl
y (by me, that is) Programs Plus and Silicon Express.

wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) (02/07/90)

In article <1990Feb6.035151.19342@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> cs122aw@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Scott Alfter) writes:

>In article <WOMBAT.90Feb5134454@claris.com> wombat@claris.com (Scott Lindsey) writes:
> > GSWorks cum AppleWorks GS (AWGS).)  Claris and Apple are not one and the
> > same; Apple owns Claris, but it is a separate legal entity.  For example:

> I thought Claris was completely spun off of Apple into its own company.
> Shortly after that happened, Claris ran ads saying that such was true.  I could
> be wrong, though--after all, you work for Claris!

I'm not sure what your point of confusion is... the completeness of the spin-
off?  Claris is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, but it is a subsidiary,
not a division of Apple.  At some time in the future, Claris will probably
have a public stock offering, at which point Apple will probably remain a
substantial stockholder.  I could type in Claris's charter, but that would
only succeed in boring hundreds of news readers (and myself while
transcribing).  In short, yes, Claris was spun off into its own company, but
it is answerable to Apple's board of directors.  On a daily working basis,
Apple is a totally separate beast from Claris.


Scott Lindsey     | I dig iguana in their outer space duds
Claris Corp.      |    saying, "Aren't you glad we only eat bugs?"
ames!claris!wombat| DISCLAIMER: These are not the opinions of Claris, Apple,
wombat@claris.com |    StyleWare, the author, or anyone else living or Dead.