han@Apple.COM (Byron Han, Architect) (09/24/88)
In article <6295@ut-emx.UUCP> osmigo@emx.UUCP (Ron Morgan) writes: >[mucho discussion about Apple leaving behind "the rest of us."] > >Meanwhile, I meet people putting together umpteen-MHz PC clones with >40meg hard disks for a thousand dollars or so, and I wonder who the REAL >suckers are in this business. When I think of the PC setup I could have >put together for the cost of this SE/hard disk outfit...gawd, it takes my >breath away..... > A more appropriate question here would be: what can you do with a PC clone and what can you do with a Mac; and what are the relative degrees of flexibility and ease of use and power? There are many within Apple that lament the price increases. The topic of price increases has been beaten to death on the net. There are many reasons that Apple has raised prices. The decline of the dollar, expiration of long term contracts for components have all contributed. Prices will fall when global market conditions allow them to. Market forces will see to that. There are many dedicated people at Apple committed to making the best darn personal computers in the world. I think that Apple does a pretty good job. People are willing to pay a premium for the best. If you want a Hyuandai Excel over a BMW, go ahead. But BMW's still sell very very well. And for very distinct reasons. Both will get you from point A to point B. One just does it in a more comfortable, more stylish, more whatever manner. Among the people I have the honor to work with at Apple, we are still totally dedicated to changing the world - one person at a time. There may be times when Apple may seem drift from the ideals of putting personal computers infused with the Apple philosophy into the hands of ordinary and extraordinary people - for the "rest" of us. But these ideals form a basic core of the Apple corporate culture. If Apple were to turn into yet another boring business-only computer company, there would be a lot of people looking for a place to work that captures the original Apple ideals. There are a lot of people within and without Apple working very hard to make sure that these ideals are not compromised. Sometimes I wish I could only show you what we are working towards, what our dreams are. If you would like to comment on this, please respond via e-mail so that this newsgroup can resume its regularly scheduled programming.... :-) Of course, I speak for myself and not for Apple Computer, Inc. I have no connections with Hyuandai or BMW. This is not a product endorsement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Byron Han, Communications Architect "Just say NO to MS-DOS." Apple Computer, Inc. ------------------------------------- 20525 Mariani Ave, MS27Y domain: han@apple.COM Cupertino, CA 95014 UUCP:{sun,voder,nsc,decwrl}!apple!han -------------------------------------- GENIE: BYRONHAN ATTnet: 408-973-6450 Applelink: HAN1 CompuServe: 72167,1664 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu (David Palmer) (09/25/88)
From what I hear of the NeXT machine (the wild rumors posted here from the Sept 19th issue of ?InfoWorld? and more reasonable rumors posted on a local bulletin board) I would pay ~$1000 for ROMs which would make Steve Job's hardware run like a Macintosh. Alternatively, I would buy the Mac III, hardware equivalent to the NeXT, for $1000 more than I would pay for the NeXT. How about it, Apple? If low production capability is the reason you are raising prices, you can just buy up NeXT's entire output, plug in new ROMS (production facilities for ROMs are very cheap and require little lead time) and make a killing (~$950 a machine, plus the additional market share you cannot currently fill, plus being on the cutting edge again.) David Palmer palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu ...rutgers!cit-vax!tybalt.caltech.edu!palmer "Flowers -- Just say NO!!" - Mighty Mouse
sho@pur-phy (Sho Kuwamoto) (09/26/88)
In article <8079@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> palmer@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (David Palmer) writes:
<From what I hear of the NeXT machine (the wild rumors posted here from the
<Sept 19th issue of ?InfoWorld? and more reasonable rumors posted on
<a local bulletin board) I would pay ~$1000 for ROMs which would make
<Steve Job's hardware run like a Macintosh. Alternatively, I would buy
<the Mac III, hardware equivalent to the NeXT, for $1000 more than I would
<pay for the NeXT.
<
<How about it, Apple? If low production capability is the reason you are
<raising prices, you can just buy up NeXT's entire output, plug in new
<ROMS (production facilities for ROMs are very cheap and require little
<lead time) and make a killing (~$950 a machine, plus the additional
<market share you cannot currently fill, plus being on the cutting
<edge again.)
<
Oh, but the NeXT ROMs sound incredible. If they're half as good as they
are rumored to be, they would still be an interesting alternative to the
Mac OS. Now if you could open up a Mac process on the NeXT machine in
its own window, I'd sell my Mac II and buy it in an instant. But these
are just pipe dreams, no? I'm getting pretty worried on this side, despite
my posting of a few days ago saying I'm glad I bought a Mac. Maybe in
a year.... The programmer's interface is the thing that's making me drool.
If I could only be guaranteed that good software would be available within
months, and that the company would do well in the marketplace, so I don't
get stuck with a nice machine that isn't worth much (like the Lisa)....
*sigh*
-Shombkennel@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Matthew B. Kennel) (09/28/88)
>my posting of a few days ago saying I'm glad I bought a Mac. Maybe in >a year.... The programmer's interface is the thing that's making me drool. >If I could only be guaranteed that good software would be available within >months, and that the company would do well in the marketplace, so I don't >get stuck with a nice machine that isn't worth much (like the Lisa).... >-Sho Good software for the NeXT machine is available in _seconds_, is pretty much free and comes with source code: How about ftp uunet.uu.net ftp>cd comp.sources.unix I'd guess that, if they did things right, most software should compile as is. (well, maybe). Oh, so you wanted _windows_? I'm not sure, but I thought the NeXT user interface was based on X windows. (Note that X does NOT specify a user interface; many have been developed that use X as the underlying protocol). Then, by presumption, NeXT has X, and so alot of basic X software will run. (No, so far I haven't seen any X programs that are as nice or friendly as the Macs', but my I think my customized twm is pretty nice). Presumably, the FSF will include the NeXT machine in their emacs and C compilers configuration file: Then, you can get the world's best text editor, and a C(and C++) compiler that's far better than anything on a micro (and on most larger computers, too!), for free. Matt Kennel mbkennel@phoenix.princeton.edu (Pray that NeXT/IBM give the NeXT interface to the OSF and that the OSF uses it)