ZATEZALO-S@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Shane Z) (10/16/90)
I saw this on a not-so-local bulletin board. Check it out. (Don't start on
about apple-bashing either... I'm just posting it so you have the opportunity
to read it)
Skuttlebutt from Apple Inc.
___________________________________
Ralph Russo was given the assignment: "Evalutate the II family and come
up with a PLAN for it's future!"
Here's what he came up with (in an eggshell)
"Intrduce the new Macs (Classic, LC etc) with the message... 'Here is
Apple's low cost line (PERIOD, end of case)' Now let's wait till about
March or so and see if the Apple II users and the School systems buy
our brainwashing and switch to the new machines... "
"IF they yell too loudly, we'll throw them a bone in the form of a
card that will run IIe software (NOTICE I didn't say IIe and IIGS)
and keep them happy (ha ha)". IF THAT don't keep them happy and
quiet by July 1991, THEN and only then will we try to exhume the IIe
market we've caused to disintegrate and we'll resume development
on the II line."
Talk about communistic priciples.... YOU WILL JUMP THRU OUR HOOP WHEN
WE PUT IT UP FOR YOU TO JUMP THRU !
IF you are an Apple User, IF you are a teacher in a school system with
Apple II computers, IF YOU CARE about having YOU and YOUR WALLET dictated
to. . . . . .
YELL LOUD and LONG that:
1) YOU aren't going to spend $$$ on ANY Apple product since
their support and development is SO UNSTABLE.
2) Urge your school system to stick by their guns and NOT
to SPEND Mega bucks updating their computer labs with
YOUR hard earned tax dollars because Apple Inc. has a
whim!
3) Make it CLEAR to Apple Inc. you've paid Top Dollar for
thier II system when EVERY OTHER computer AND thier
peripherals on the market have sold for MUCH less and
YOU DO NOT intend to get STUCK doing it again on the MAC!
4) Make it CLEAR to Apple Inc. that a card to run IIe software
DOESN"T fill the bill, when you've got a $2500 machine
that become ANTIQUATED before it got STARTED!
5) Make it CLEAR to Apple Inc. that if forced YOU will buy
another computer, BUT IT WILL NOT BE AN APPLE OF ANY KIND!
Who to contact at Apple:
Mr. Sculley - HE won't listen of course but. . . .
Ralph Russo - the One responsible for this GREAT
BALL of WISDOM ? ? ? ??
Micheal Spindler - The Apple II person responsible for
COMPLETELY killing the II Family of
computers in FRANCE and trying hard
to repeat that ACT HERE!
Bernie Gifford - The II Family advocate at Apple Inc.
that still believes we need and
deserve more than just MACS. Give
him fuel to fight the fire with. Give
him enough MAIL to dump on Sculley's
desk that maybe we can BURY him.
Take this bulletin and POST it ANYWHERE there are Apple users...
IN your Schools, in user groups, on BBS systems and Online services...
ANYPLACE it'll reach Apple users.... Let's let Apple Inc. know
that we DO have minds of our own and WE Will control our purse strings
whether THEY like it or NOT.
Also found on another BBS....
I just happened to luck into this article in the Wednesday October 3, 1990,
edition of the Wall Street Journal Page B1:
Apple Peels Prices of Its New Models
by G. Pascal Zachary
Apple Computer Inc. launched a bold plan to win a bigger share of the
personal computer business by offering unexpectedly low prices on new models,
handing out fresh incentives to resellers and unleashing a $40 million global
marketing campaign this fall.
Apple's new offensive is tied to the Oct. 15 debut of three new Macintosh
computers, which are aimed partly at shoring up the battered low end of
Apple's product line. Declaring that the new machines will shatter the belief
that Apple's products are 'too expensive,' John Sculley, the company's chief
executive officer, said, 'This will be the most aggressive pricing Apple's
ever had.'
Mr. Sculley expects the machines -- which include a low-end, midrange, and
high-end offering -- to quickly transform Apple's business. The company will
roll out the products simultaneously in 121 countries.
Mr. Sculley's bid to revive Apple comes not a moment too soon, and almost
seems scripted by some of his harshest critics. Since last fall, many
industry observers have urged Mr. Sculley to do something about the steady
erosion of Apple's share of the total PC market, which fell below 10% this
year. Their prescription: introduce at least one Macintosh model that sells
well below $1,000.
Analysts reacted warmly to the shift in Apple's strategy. 'It's a
go-for-broke strategy at a time that demands it -- but there's just no way
around it,' said Peter Rogers, an analyst at Robertson, Stephens & Co. 'Apple
to date has had the best [PC] technology, but they have a minority of the
market.'
Now even that minority is at risk, however. In May, Microsoft Corp.
released a new version of Windows, a basic program that matches some of the
Macintosh's easy-to-use features but runs on less-expensive compatibles of
International Business Machines Co.'s PCs. 'Apple now has a close competitor
in Windows, 'Mr. Rogers said. 'They once had a lucrative niche market to
themselves, but they don't anymore.'
Wall Street investors showed some concern yesterday about the company's
outlook. Apple's stock fell 87.5 cents yesterday to close at $29.625 in
national over-the-counter trading.
After going through a wrenching year of self-examination -- yesterday Mr.
Sculley called it 'his hardest period at Apple ever' -- he now agrees
wholeheartedly with his critics that vastly increasing the number of Macintosh
customers is critical to Apple's survival.
Macintosh Classic
And he's betting that the company's new Macintosh Classic, an updated
version of the original Macintosh, will drive the company's rejuvenation. The
Classic is expected to sell for $700. The other key machines: the Macintosh
LC, which at a street price of roughly $2,500 will sell for at least 50% less
than Apple's current color models.
Lower prices are expected to sharply reduce Apple's gross-profit margins,
which are among the highest in the computer industry at 50% plus. Michael
Spindler, Apple's chief operating officer, decline to forecast Apple's margins
for its current fiscal year, which began Monday. But he said they will go
'much, much lower.'
Cont'd next message . . . . .
Mr. Sculley conceded there remains a gaping hole in Apple's product line
and strategy -- a line of portable computers. The company introduced a
16-pound portable last year, which is selling poorly and has been ridiculed by
analysts. 'There's nothing we're working on harder' than new portable and
notebook computers, he said.
Mr. Sculley declined to comment on reports that Apple is negotiating to
contract with Sony Corp. to build one or more of its future portables, but
he noted that Apple already is Sony's biggest customer and that 'you'll see us
be more open to relationships and alliances that can help us achieve our
strategies.'
Apple's conversion to what Mr. Sculley called a 'market share' strategy
occurred quickly, with major decisions coming only this spring.
At the end of January, Mr. Sculley, a career marketeer with no engineering
training, became Apple's chief technical officer, taking the company's
research and development organization, with its more than $400 million annual
budget, under his wing. The move was a gamble, if only because responsibility
for any delays in the company's plans to deliver low-priced products would fall
squarely on his shoulders.
While Mr. Sculley concedes, 'I'm not masquerading as an engineer,' he
clearly relishes his new role, noting that he isn't searching for a permanent
technical chief and plans to keep the mantle himself for some time.
And he appears to be getting results. Two months ago, for instance, the
Macintosh LC, the centerpiece of the Oct. 15 introduction, looked to be
unavailable for customers until next January. But Mr. Sculley said yesterday
that the LC would ship immediately, along with the other two models -- and
ahead of schedule.
While Mr. Sculley has been absorbed with products, Mr. Spindler, a German
native who cut his teeth running Apple's European business, has been revamping
Apple's global marketing. Yesterday, he confirmed that the Cupertino, Calif.,
company is ceasing efforts to sell its products directly to nearly 60 large
corporate accounts, opening up an estimated $100 million in annual business to
its authorized dealers.
The move is being warmly received by dealers, who fear that Apple's lower
margins could pinch their own profits. 'It removes a source of conflict and
opens up some nice business,' said William Y. Tauschler, chief executive
officer at Computerland Corp.
-------------------------------------------
Macs will SAVE the company? I thought Mac FEVER was killing the company.
Sheesh! At least we know now why Apple pulled its advertising campaign.
And our local dealer actually bought STOCK on these new Macs - and they don't
hardly EVER want to do that. I hope these new machines are worth the $400
million that Apple's going to spend advertising them.
--- TMail v1.17
# Origin: CMOS - Tulsa's Home of the Apple 918 747-0250 (8:7104/9600)
* Origin: NETWORK Echogate (1:129/34)gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn) (10/16/90)
In article <12630076332007@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu> ZATEZALO-S@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Shane Z) writes:
- At the end of January, Mr. Sculley, a career marketeer with no engineering
-training, became Apple's chief technical officer, taking the company's
-research and development organization, with its more than $400 million annual
-budget, under his wing.
And there you have, in a nutshell, what is killing American industry.jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jeremy G. Mereness) (10/17/90)
Excerpts from netnews.comp.sys.apple2: 16-Oct-90 Re: More about Apple Inc. Doug Gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (437) > In article <12630076332007@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu> > ZATEZALO-S@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Shane Z) writes: > - At the end of January, Mr. Sculley, a career marketeer with no engineering > -training, became Apple's chief technical officer, taking the company's > -research and development organization, with its more than $400 million annual > -budget, under his wing. > And there you have, in a nutshell, what is killing American industry. Agreed. Sculley is attempting to sell Macintoshes like he sold Pepsi and Potato Chips while he worked at PespsiCo (read Sculley's book, Odyssey... very enlightening)... and here is the magic formula.... Keep the public coming back for more by packaging essentially the same product in ever-new ways. What is new about the 3 new macs? Nothing but packaging!!! The guts are the same, if not actually less than the original!! The Mac LC is a Mac // in a new package minus the math co-processor and a compatible slot. And I don't know what is special about the Mac //si at all... at 20 MHz, it is not a performer like the //ci, and doesn't compare to the screaming //f. But the latter is $10,000... more a token product than something to be sold. This all but reminds me of American car companies during the 70's, where the body style might change some, but the engine and works would stay the same as they were in the 60's. Even after the Japanese had introduced so many excellent new, small, economical cars in the late 70's, the Big Three kept putting out gas-guzzlers with the same engines as before (I remember Chrysler hawking huge Cordobas during the worst of the Gas Crunch)... partly because it was cheaper to use the same old engine design, like the venerable GM 350 V8, than to design and build a new one. But the American consumer is smarter than that, and the Computer Customer is even smarter. We know to look under the hood and ask for specs. Further, Computer Customers are not "consumers" in the traditional sense. They do not buy a product, use it, discard it and buy another one. Soft drinks are consumer items. Computers are not. They are too expensive and too important to be so trivially acquired and discarded like Pepsi cans. Unfortunately, the Automobile industry thrives on the soft-drink principle, trusting that cars will have a lifetime of about 5 years before "consumers" get rid of them and buy another one. But it is not a fruitful marketing principle, certainly not in the long run, and the Japanese and the Germans have proved this by working reeeel hard to capture and KEEP the American market with long-lasting products and commendable service and dealerships. And they didn't do so with protectionism either. What makes a Mac a Mac is its interface, and Apple is suing everyone who threatens that monopoly by using the "look and feel" of a desktop environment. I understand they even claim rights to overlapping windows (making X windows illegal!). To me, this means that Apple doesn't have the creative power and drive they once had, and must rest on previous accomplishments to get them through today. Millions of dollars wasted on legal fees when they could be going toward new ideas. Apple will learn that short-term marketing will kill them. Or they will get killed. I think Sculley is part of the older generation that focuses on sales rather than product. This is why he repackages old technology into a new box and expects Apple stock to go back up. But no matter how you slice it, it's still that same mac, and there isn't anything new inside. Sculley is wasting talent and resources on this fiasco that should go into innovation and new technology. The NeXT is innovative, and less expensive than Apple dares to go. The IBM RS6000 is the fastest floating-point workstation on the market, and all Digital's desktop computers and expansion modules are packaged in the same white box (just a different nameplate). Computer users know the difference between fluff and substance. This is why Apple is doomed to go downhill (watch those stocks, guys). You can't sell computers like soda and snack food. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |Jeremy Mereness | Support | Ye Olde Disclaimer: | |jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (internet) | Free | The above represent my| |a700jm7e@cmccvb (Vax... bitnet) | Software| opinions, alone. | |staff/student@Carnegie Mellon U.| | Ya Gotta Love It. | -----------------------------------------------------------------------
fadden@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Andy McFadden) (10/17/90)
In article <Qb6upMy00VR0M7IVYN@andrew.cmu.edu> jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jeremy G. Mereness) writes: >Agreed. Sculley is attempting to sell Macintoshes like he sold Pepsi and >Potato Chips while he worked at PespsiCo (read Sculley's book, Interesting how a former Pepsi exec is now selling the "Mac Classic". >This all but reminds me of American car companies during the 70's, where That's a really nice analogy. The market just eludes Apple. It's time to give Scully the boot, like Jobs before him. >Apple will learn that short-term marketing will kill them. Or they will >get killed. Y'all remember my prediction last month that the //e would be gone within six months? Anybody care to guess at the life expectancy of Apple? They're in a heap of trouble... if these things don't sell very well, Apple is in for a long-term slump. Supposedly Apple has sold 100,000 units since just yesterday. While that's a very impressive figure, I would imagine that most of those are from people who decided to wait for the last two months or so to buy. >|Jeremy Mereness | Support | Ye Olde Disclaimer: | -- fadden@cory.berkeley.edu (Andy McFadden) ..!ucbvax!cory!fadden fadden@avalanche.berkeley.edu (when cory throws up)
rankins@argentina (raymond r rankins) (10/17/90)
In article <Qb6upMy00VR0M7IVYN@andrew.cmu.edu>, jm7e+@andrew (Jeremy G. Mereness) writes: >...... >But the American consumer is smarter than that, and the Computer >Customer is even smarter. We know to look under the hood and ask for >specs. Further, Computer Customers are not "consumers" in the >traditional sense. They do not buy a product, use it, discard it and buy >another one. Soft drinks are consumer items. Computers are not. They are >too expensive and too important to be so trivially acquired and >discarded like Pepsi cans........ I'm not so sure computer customers are very smart consumers. If they are, then why are they always so ready dump what they've got to buy whatever is being pushed as the latest/greatest/fastest/most powerful. I can't beleive the amount of computer hardware that is just "discarded" here where I work. IBM AT's and Mac Plus's are sitting around gathering dust because everyone had to have 386 PC's and Mac II's when they came out. If we really shopped smart when we bought our Apple IIGS's, how come so many of us (not me!) are ready now to just discard them to buy an Amiga or whatever. Did some of us purchase our IIGS's trivially? (personally, I did a lot of research and thought long and hard before purchasing my IIGS, and I'm still happy with my decision) I know a woman in the local user group I belong to who's selling her IIe to buy a Mac LC with IIe card. Why? Because "that's the way it looks like things are going". This from someone who didn't thing upgrading to a IIGS was worth it. Well, it looks like Apple finally duped this consumer with their marketing strategy. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I don't think that the average computer buyer is any more smarter a consumer than anyone else. I think some of us in the computing business are smarter and able to look beyond the hype, to examine the specs under a microscope, but most computer customers are not. They beleive what they hear, and most of what they hear is marketing hype. I know, I used to work in a computer store. Most of the customers were very ignorant of what they were buying, and would beleive whatever you told them. These were not smart, informed consumers. (for the record, I never misled any customer into buying something that was wrong for them. That's probably why my hardware sales were not very high :^) >Apple will learn that short-term marketing will kill them. Or they will >get killed. I think Sculley is part of the older generation that focuses >on sales rather than product. This is why he repackages old technology >into a new box and expects Apple stock to go back up. But no matter how >you slice it, it's still that same mac, and there isn't anything new >inside. Sculley is wasting talent and resources on this fiasco that >should go into innovation and new technology. I agree with this. What has kept Apple going as well as it has so far has been strong product loyalty to a great product and innovation, not low prices. They were able to sell their product to a customer and keep him coming back because that customer beleived in Apple. Apple would never let him down. Now that they have abandoned this base of consumers, they have set themselves up for a fall. They may sway a number of less informed computer buyers to their "new" Macs, but what's to keep these people from abandoning the Mac for the next latest/greatest/fastest/most powerful computer to come down the line. Ray Ray Rankins |(518) 387-7174 | INTERNET: rankins@argentina.crd.ge.com 2 Moonglow Rd. |(518) 583-3320 | COMPUSERVE: 71131,3236 Gansevoort, NY 12831 | | AmericaOnline: RayRankins <insert standard disclaimer here> | GEnie: R.Rankins
russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) (10/18/90)
In article <Qb6upMy00VR0M7IVYN@andrew.cmu.edu> jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jeremy G. Mereness) writes: > >Agreed. Sculley is attempting to sell Macintoshes like he sold Pepsi and >Potato Chips while he worked at PespsiCo (read Sculley's book, >Odyssey... very enlightening)... and here is the magic formula.... Keep >the public coming back for more by packaging essentially the same >product in ever-new ways. What is new about the 3 new macs? Nothing but >packaging!!! The guts are the same, if not actually less than the >original!! > >The Mac LC is a Mac // in a new package minus the math co-processor and >a compatible slot. And I don't know what is special about the Mac //si >at all... at 20 MHz, it is not a performer like the //ci, and doesn't >compare to the screaming //f. But the latter is $10,000... more a token >product than something to be sold. Actually, the Mac LC is more like an SE with a 68020 accelerator board plus color. It has a 16-bit wide data path, and is the only Mac which will be able to take the $200 Apple //e emulator board. (It's the II-killer. With any luck (HA!), a IIgs board will come out for the si and nubus macs). The //si is basically a Mac IIcx with two fewer slots, and a much lower price, and built in video. The 'screaming IIfx' may be expensive, but it seems to be selling fine.. I know a lot of people who have them, at least at work. >Apple will learn that short-term marketing will kill them. Or they will >get killed. I think Sculley is part of the older generation that focuses >on sales rather than product. This is why he repackages old technology >into a new box and expects Apple stock to go back up. But no matter how >you slice it, it's still that same mac, and there isn't anything new >inside. Sculley is wasting talent and resources on this fiasco that >should go into innovation and new technology. In other words, Apple should ditch the mac entirely, go with an 88000 or something like that? Why? Besides, these new macs weren't MEANT to be innovative, at least in the power department-- just in the price department. For years, people have been crying for a low-end mac. Well, now they have it, and Apple is STILL accused of short-term marketing. -- Matthew T. Russotto russotto@eng.umd.edu russotto@wam.umd.edu .sig under construction, like the rest of this campus.
herwin@pro-novapple.cts.com (Harry Erwin) (10/20/90)
In-Reply-To: message from jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu Now I begin to understand the introduction of the PS/1 by IBM. They got wind of what Apple was planning to do and decided to take advantage of the abandonment of two markets. Harry Erwin -->Remember, no good deed goes unpunished... proline:pro-novapple!herwin uucp: crash!pro-novapple!herwin arpa: crash!pro-novapple!herwin@nosc.mil Telenet: herwin/trw Internet: herwin@pro-novapple.cts.com alternate Internet: /PN=Harry.Erwin/O=TRW/ADMD=Telemail/C=US/@Sprint.com
avery@netcom.UUCP (Avery Colter) (10/26/90)
comp.sys.apple2/6642, gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn):
In article <12630076332007@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu> ZATEZALO-S@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Shane Z) writes:
- At the end of January, Mr. Sculley, a career marketeer with no engineering
-training, became Apple's chief technical officer, taking the company's
-research and development organization, with its more than $400 million annual
-budget, under his wing.
Ahhhhhhhh, NOW it all makes sense!
They put a non-engineer in control!
Yes, the whole state of the universe comes together now!
FELLOW ENGINEERS!
I do believe it to be a sacred duty to our honorable profession,
and to the citizenry of the world whom our technology serves,
to kidnap this... this... FUZZY LIBERAL ART SLIMEBALL, impale
him with compasses, and use his sorry carcass to demonstrate
the Richmond Field Station tensile tester!
Hell, I think I'll submit a proposal to this effect to NSPE, they'll
probably approve!
--
Avery Ray Colter {apple|claris}!netcom!avery {decwrl|mips|sgi}!btr!elfcat
(415) 839-4567 "Fat and steel: two mortal enemies locked in deadly combat."
- "The Bending of the Bars", A. R. Colter