edber@pro-generic.UUCP (Ed Berlot) (01/24/89)
What seems to be the big fuss about the death of the Apple // line? Its simply a sign of the times. I'm not talking as a Mac owner, but as an active Apple //e user, and I also own a Lisa, that has been modified to run most of the current Mac software. I've been seriously considering an MS DOS based machine, since thats what I make a living selling. Don't get me wrong, I use my //e regularly and just recently purchased a Transwarp, that made the machine much more useful from a productive standpoint(though fast games are nice). As someone has said, either here on Info-Apple or one of the Proline boards, Apple is the only computer company today selling two disticnt(sp) product lines. Tandy used to be one, but in Canada, Intertan Canada has dropped the COCO 3 computer due to popular demand on the part of store staff. Consider the efforts that Apple has gone through to make the entire line of accessories identical to both the Apple // and the Mac line of computers. One hard drive will work on the other and somehow I wouldn't be suprised if one day Apple comes out with some sort of Apple // compatibilty for the Mac. This will allow them to drop the Apple // and at the same time give those die hard users some sort of upgrade path. In Canada there is no such thing as Apple Canada, but rather Mac Canada. When asked about the Apple // they simply reply with a WHAT? WHICH? OH THAT.... we can't even get Applelink PE untill the Mac version comes out. We got some wishy washy excuse that there were distribution problems, or that it wasn't doing very well and Apple wanted to review the situation. Quantam says its Apple Canada refusing to pick it up. //c+? Ha don't make me laugh. There will be no //c+ in Canada. Apple Canada again states that there is no market for the computer. Sure there isn't. When you sell the //c to a major department store, and it sells it at a price that most dealers pay for it , you effectively destroy the market. GSOS? OH you mean ProDOS 8 v1.7 and ProDOS 16 v2.0 don't you? GS owners had to obtain GS OS through illict means since there was no Canadian release, until just before Christmas. What does it boil down to? Apple US is seriously weighing te market, seeing what would happen if the Apple // was dropped? Notice that there has been little action on the // line since the GS was introduced? We've had a flurry of ProDOS releases, a new ROM, GS OS, a sped up //c(maybe a sped up //e?), but think that we've had 3 new Macs, a flurry of periphials, and promises of bigger and better Macs. Think about it folks. After what 11-12 years? the Apple // is still around in some form or another, and if it goes the way of the DODO bird, we'll all be sorry, no doubt about it, but its served long and hard, and deserves a proper burial before it becomes a 64. I had finished this letter, but figured I would releate the feelings you all have to to the local COCO user group. They howled, protested, even went through the effort to wipe out hard disks at your local RS store to show they were upset about the dropping of the machine. I say TOUGH. The market dictates what sells and what doesn't. A batch of die hards will not change corporate policy. If Apple means for the // line to die I can assure you, it will no matter what kind of howling, and protesting you can create. Granted the Apple // has a much bigger based installed than the COCO but in many ways its just as big a group. ___________________________________________________________________________ | | | Edber@Pro-Generic BIX: Edber Genie :Edber | | | | I used to love her but I had to kill her... | |__________________________________________________________________________|