ABN.COSCOM-CE%usc-isid@sri-unix.UUCP (01/25/84)
According to my latest copy of MIS Week, I can add a few items of interest concerning the Mac. First of all there are actually other announcements being made at the Jan 24 Apple meeting besides the Mac announcement. According to MIS Week, Apple will soon have available the Apple Bus. This bus will connect up to 32 pieces of equipment to include: Apple IIs, Lisas, Macs and an Apple Laser Printer and Hard Disk soon to be available (the reported price for the hard disk is $495.00!!!). The connect cost for the Apple Bus was reported to be $25.00!!! I sure hope that this isn't a misprint, but they did say $25.00 There is also supposed to be a new line of Lisas announced. The Lisa 2, Lisa 25, and Lisa 210. The Lisa 2 has 512K am (expandable to 1 M) and costs $3,495.00! The Lisa 25 has a floppy drive and an external 5Mbyte drive (presumably the old Lisa 5Mh drive) and costs $4,495.00! The Lisa 210 has a floppy drive and an internal 10 Mbyte hard disk with a cost of $5,495.0! The cheap Lisas are here apparently. The original Lisa will be discontinued but a $595.00 upgrade kit will be available to bring the Lisa 1 (?) up to Lisa 2 capabilities. There isn't much to add to what has already been said about the Mac already. Apple will have an introductory package for the 90 days following the announcement will will bundle the Mac with the Apple Imagewriter printer, Macwrit, and Macpaint for $2,995.00. After that the Imagewriter will cost $595.00 list. Apple has also developed an attachment called Apple Line which connect Apple Systems to a 3274 controlller allowing Apples access to 3278 terminal ports. Finally, Mac will not run MS-DOS but will adopt Unix in the future. According to MIS Week, 9 companies have already authored software packages for the imminent Mac Unix operating system. That's it folks. I just thought you ought to know that Apple has more than the Mac up its sleeve. Remember, this gospel come from the 25 Jan MIS Week so don't flame me if it is in error. Kevin Rappold