patten@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Brian Patten) (03/14/90)
Could it be that the poor reviews I have heard about the test version of the lost cost Mac are causing Apple to rethink their strategy? (The "reviews" I heard were strictly rumor-mill reviews.) If Apple went ahead and tried to market a Cripple Mac (i.e. 68008 CPU (8 bit bus is dead guys), three SIMM slots, ...) would they be making the same mistake that IBM made with the PC Jr.? I don't think that marketing a low cost Mac with the same power and speed as the existing low end machines would be particularly wise (my opinion). Apple *needs* a low cost Mac. The need a machine the average user can afford They need to build product loyalty. But it's tough to build product loyality when the average user CAN'T AFFORD APPLE PRODUCTS! Come on Apple! Big Blue made a mistake with the PC Jr., don't repeat it. They tried to market a machine that anyone could afford, but they didn't give it any power. I think it was one of the biggest flops in recent computer history. There is a *huge* market out here for a low cost Mac, you'll still make a decent profit from the thing. You just need to make it worth our while. And perhaps in a few years I'll decide to buy one of your $10-20000 machines, but not right now. When I have a real job, or when I can get someone else to pay for it, perhaps then. Brian M. Patten University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- My opinion is strictly my own. It does not represent the opinion of my present employeer, past employeers, or future employeers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
mfi@serc.cis.ufl.edu (Mark Interrante) (03/14/90)
From March 13 MacWeek: Top 10 personal computers sold by US specialty stores in Dec 89: IBM 55sx 386sx IBM 30 286 286 Compaq 386s 386sx? IBM 55z 386sx IBM 70 386 Compaq 286e 286 Mac SE 68000 Mac Plus 68000 Apple IIgs 65816 Epson Equity ? The way I read this graph is that the IBM market is heading headlong into the 386 world and selling alot of them. No MacII class machine made the list !?! If apple wants the low end they have to sell machines that compete with the 386sx machines from IBM and Compaq. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Interrante Software Engineering Research Center mfi@beach.cis.ufl.edu CIS Department, University of Florida 32611 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Imagine what it would be like if TV actually were good. It would be the end of everything we know." Marvin Minsky
tmyers@athena.mit.edu (Tracy S Myers) (03/14/90)
In article <22666@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> mfi@serc.cis.ufl.edu (Mark Interrante) writes: >Top 10 personal computers sold by US specialty stores in Dec 89: [ stuff deleted] > >IBM 55sx 386sx >IBM 30 286 286 >Compaq 386s 386sx? >IBM 55z 386sx ^^^^^ I believe that the model 55z is a 10Mhz 286 machine, and the 'z' stands for zero wait states. >IBM 70 386 >Compaq 286e 286 >Mac SE 68000 >Mac Plus 68000 >Apple IIgs 65816 >Epson Equity ? >