gwyn@BRL.ARPA (Doug Gwyn, VLD/VMB) (05/29/88)
From "Federal Computer Week", May 23, 1988: Apple Computer Inc. is narrowing its marketing strategy to include only two major segments -- education and business/government, said the company's president and chief executive officer John Sculley at the Government Technology Conference in Sacramento, Calif., last week. "The reason we walked away from the consumer market is that people didn't appreciate that a computer like Macintosh should cost 10 times the price of a TV with stereophonic sound," said Sculley. Although the company has stopped selling to consumers, he said, "we have not stopped selling to individuals." What does this mean??
SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (Murph Sewall) (05/30/88)
>From "Federal Computer Week", May 23, 1988: > "The reason we walked away from the consumer market is > that people didn't appreciate that a computer like > Macintosh should cost 10 times the price of a TV with > stereophonic sound," said Sculley. > > Although the company has stopped selling to consumers, > he said, "we have not stopped selling to individuals." Some possibilities: 1) Sculley defines "consumers" as people who shop for computers at Toys R Us. 2) Like most senior executives at Apple he's forgotten that Macintosh isn't the only line they sell. 3) He's never seen an Amiga (possibly because his staff is hiding it from him). 4) He doesn't think consumers (or any other potential customers besides bureaucrats) read Federal Computer Week and he KNOWS the Pentagon wouldn't ever buy anything available to "consumers," because the DOD doesn't trust anything that doesn't cost at least 10 times as much as a stereo color TV. 5) Nasty old consumers have a tendency to shop for value, creating competitive pressure to drop prices (capitalism is a Communist plot incidiously designed to undermine profits). --------------------- Disclaimer: The "look and feel" of this message is exclusively MINE! (subject to change without notice; void where prohibited) ARPA: sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu Murphy A. Sewall BITNET: SEWALL@UCONNVM School of Business Admin. UUCP: ...ihnp4!psuvax1!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL University of Connecticut
lwv@n8emr.UUCP (Larry W. Virden) (05/30/88)
While this statement doesnt surprise me, what DOES surprise me is that Apple would bother bringing Macs to Applefest if they were going to dump the consumer - applefest is primarily consumer based. The remarks by Apple at Applefest, as partially reported to me, indicate that they feel that the II line has petered out and that only the Mac has the capabilities to meet modern consumer needs. What I dont understand is that remark comparing the price of a Mac to a stereo TV. Because as a programmer for 10 years, _I_ dont understand why a Mac has to cost 10 times the stereo TV. If Apple is unable to convey to technical crowds why this is necessary , then how do they expect non-technical consumers to understand it? -- Larry W. Virden 75046,606 (CIS) 674 Falls Place, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 (614) 864-8817 osu-cis!n8emr!lwv (UUCP) osu-cis!n8emr!lwv@TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU (INTERNET) We haven't inherited the world from our parents, but borrowed it from our children.
lwv@n8emr.UUCP (Larry W. Virden) (06/03/88)
Yet another possibility is that Scully was misquoted - this is the claim by Shawn Goodin, a sysop on Maug(tm). Shawn is often around reading this group from a pro-line system - if you are there shawn - can you upload the text of Scully's speech? -- Larry W. Virden 75046,606 (CIS) 674 Falls Place, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 (614) 864-8817 osu-cis!n8emr!lwv (UUCP) osu-cis!n8emr!lwv@TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU (INTERNET) We haven't inherited the world from our parents, but borrowed it from our children.