oleary@ux.acs.umn.edu (Doc O'Leary) (04/16/91)
Well, I've just taken a peek at Apple's pricing in their upcoming trade-in
offer and must say that I am greatly disappointed. The $800 trade-in for
a FDHD 2/40 SE is *at least* $200 lower than its street price and I have
no doubts I could sell my 4/40 SE for $1250.
What's even worse is that I could upgrade my year-old SE to an SE/30 for
$1250 (a price which has not dropped one cent since I bought my SE!!!!).
However, I were to trade it in and buy an SE/30, I'd get a comparable
machine that has only 3 Meg memory (I'd keep my extra two, since Apple
is only offering $25.00 for 1 Meg SIMMs (ha!)) and it would cost $215
more! The difference is even greater when taxes and such are taken into
account.
OK, quick quiz to see if Apple's marketing department is listening: given
the above, do you think I will
a) Trade my SE in and buy an SE/30?
b) Upgrade my SE to an SE/30?
Answer: Sorry, it was a trick question. I'm not going sink a dime into a
machine that isn't 32-bit clean. It's been asked for before and I shouldn't
have to repeat myself: make the SE->SE/30 upgrade 32-bit clean!!! That's
the direction the Macintosh machines are being pushed, so why not allow
the many, *many* SE owners an upgrade path in that direction? BTW, a
IIsi is out of the question; I couldn't afford even a third party monitor to
put on the box (and I would really be digging in real deep to get just the
box).
I'm not a business student, but it sure looks like, in this respect, Apple is
being a bit negligent in its calculations and practices. Although I am
grateful to Apple for producing such a fine user interface (nicely improved
in System 7), by the time I can afford a decent machine to run it on the
clones will be out and the NeXT will be within reach . . .
Somebody's going to get my money. The way it looks, Apple wants it to
be somebody else.
--------- Doc
********************** Signature Block : Version 2.4 *********************
* | "Please put litter in its place" *
* "Was it love, or was it the idea | ---McDonald's packaging *
* of being in love?" -- PF | Wouldn't that be on the ground? *
* (BTW, which one *is* Pink?) | *
* | --->oleary@ux.acs.umn.edu<--- *
****************** Copyright (c) 1991 by Doc O'Leary ********************