SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (Murph Sewall) (03/16/89)
>don't listen to you then we won't be here for long. As a consumer, you have >to let people know that given the choice, you'll buy a PC before you'll buy >a Macintosh. There are many here who can't understand why you would want a >II or a PC when the Mac exists, and if YOU don't let them know then they will >never understand. Alas, it may be worse than we think. Sounds like too many MBA's thinking everyone must be like themselves (or the person in the cubicle down the hall). Disaffected potential Apple // customers don't want a PC!! They'll be much more likely to buy an Amiga (and if Apple's 3rd party developers ever figure that out along with all it implies, look out!). Odd that all the marketing types who don't know octal from hex worry so much that if the // was a better machine it might cannabilize sales from the Mac. Mac's are really nice if one needs to do a major financial plan or crunch some serious numbers, but to much (if not most) of the Apple // crowd Macs are BORING!! (or too expensive). Sure Visicalc sold an awful lot of II+'s to accountants, but that isn't (and never really was) the //'s natural market. Apple has "user evangalists" that either don't understand what the user groups (clubs) and users are all about or are unable to communicate what they know to the managers that count. User groups are where you find people who want to EXPLORE computing (a truly heterogeneous mix of folks with the guts to take a soldering iron to their still in warranty Apple, expert and novice programmers with no interest in monkeying with the hardware - except to make more room or more speed for programs, kids <and not a few adults> who want to be entertained, and even some who bought a computer but really haven't much idea what to do next). There are a fair number of "serious" (i.e. business) users (who'll admit, under pressure, to using a PC or maybe even a Mac at the office), but they rarely seem interested in mixing their business computing interest with their interest in Apple 2's. There REALLY are two DISTINCT natural markets and Apple is blowing what in the long run will be REALLY big bucks from a one of them. When the Amiga first came out the "smart money" thought it was nifty hardware but believed Commodore's financial situation was such a mess that it couldn't survive. Lo and behold, Ami now has a large enough installed base to be taken seriously and it has staying power! Apple has done a really nice job of positioning the Mac for a run at serious sales to the Fortune 1000+. However, it's senseless to abdicate the market that provided the $$$ to make the Mac strategy possible. Apple's attitude is in the spirit of Henry Ford's "you can have any color you want as long as it's black." Ford did very well, but General Motors did even better. Murph Sewall Vaporware? ---> [Gary Larson returns 1/1/90] Prof. of Marketing Sewall@UConnVM.BITNET Business School sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu [INTERNET] U of Connecticut {psuvax1 or mcvax }!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL [UUCP] -+- I don't speak for my employer, though I frequently wish that I could (subject to change without notice; void where prohibited) According to the American Facsimile Association, more than half the calls from Japan to the U.S. are fax calls. FAX it to me at: 1-203-486-5246
RXBROWN@UALR.BITNET ("MR.FANTASTIC") (03/17/89)
TO Murpy Sewall.... Very nice Murph. And very well stated...... Robert Brown You know where I am at....
jm7e+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU ("Jeremy G. Mereness") (03/17/89)
> *Excerpts from ext.in.info-apple: 16-Mar-89 RE: If not Apple 2, then AM..* > *"MR.FANTASTIC"@cunyvm.cu (106)* > TO Murpy Sewall.... > Very nice Murph. And very well stated...... > Robert Brown Ditto. 'Wish you could teach a remedial-business course in Cupertino. As far as Apple is concerned, the Amiga doesn't exist. I think it's because they don't ship their machines in columes over 200000 units or something. jeremy mereness ============= jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Arpanet) r746jm7e@CMCCVB (vax.... Bitnet)
tsouth@pro-pac.cts.com (System Administrator) (03/25/89)
Re: > Date: Thu, 16 Mar 89 01:32:21 EST > From: Murph Sewall <pnet01!crash!mitvma.mit.edu!SEWALL%UCONNVM.BITNET> > Subject: If not Apple 2, then AMIGA (not PC > Sounds like too many MBA's thinking everyone must be like themselves > (or the person in the cubicle down the hall). This is sometimes a problem in the Navy, too. :) > Disaffected potential Apple // customers don't want a PC!! They'll be > much more likely to buy an Amiga (and if Apple's 3rd party developers > ever figure that out along with all it implies, look out!). You got that right! I've had my wallet looking at an Amiga 2500UX for a while now. Too bad Apple marketting contends I'll buy some shoddy old reject like the Mac SE when I could have a full-blown Unix system with a FREE news mailer for about $4000 even. Amiga people could really use some of the Apple programmers, though. I have yet to see one decent comms program on any Amiga, besides one running ProComm+ on the IBM card. > Odd that all the marketing types who don't know octal from hex worry so > much that if the // was a better machine it might cannabilize sales from > the Mac. Truely, but I have heard as much from persons like Roger Wagner and Bill Mensch _in person_ and I truly don;t think that they would be the type to spread rumors without any foundation... I'll not even mention the employees at Apple who have told me just as much. > Mac's are really nice if one needs to do a major financial > plan or crunch some serious numbers, but to much (if not most) of the > Apple // crowd Macs are BORING!! (or too expensive). Couldn't have said it better, Murph. Sorry to repost filler, but I hope that someone gets the point. > When the Amiga first came out the "smart money" thought it was nifty > hardware but believed Commodore's financial situation was such a mess > that it couldn't survive. Lo and behold, Ami now has a large enough > installed base to be taken seriously and it has staying power! Without dedicated people like Fish, Da Silva, Dillon, and others, the Amiga would have gone down the tubes. "Driving away people AND software developers (especially educational types) from the Apple market due to lack of support/speed/resources in the ][ family has got to change from the status quo", to quote an educational developer friend... Hiring people like Dave Lyons is one of the smartest things that Apple has done with manning. I may not see the rest of the hiring agenda, but I pray that the people are as gifted. Services from folks like Beagle Brothers have given the Apple a booster time after time. Let us hope they continue. > Murph Sewall > Prof. of Marketing Sewall@UConnVM.BITNET Todd South Interested Consumer (for now)... -- UUCP: {nosc, uunet!cacilj, sdcsvax, hplabs!hp-sdd, sun.COM} ...!crash!pnet01!pro-nsfmat!pro-pac!tsouth ARPA: crash!pnet01!pro-nsfmat!pro-pac!tsouth@nosc.MIL INET: tsouth@pro-pac.CTS.COM - BITNET: pro-pac.UUCP!tsouth@PSUVAX1