gow@sakari.mrceg (Ed Gow) (10/17/90)
I second the suggestion put forth in the referenced article. I would add that I don't really support pirating of OS software (except where there is no other way - get it Apple swine??) but, on the contrary, I think that it is in the interest of the smaller vendors (including Apple) to license their SW. Let's consider the numbers. The most recent figures I've seen give Apple about 7% of the PC market. IBM and clones outsell Mac by 10 to 1. Because of this, the Mac has only recently got out from under the "But there's no software" cloud. With SW resources being shifted to Windows 3, they are probably headed back into that same bind. IBM has only an 11% share. The clones have most of the market. IBM, though, has been selling high priced PS2 systems to businesses and making money on it. They are guaranteed good software support by the volume of the clones. Atari, Amiga, etc. have a tiny fraction of the market. They have been quite unsuccessful at attracting and keeping the interest of the big software houses. By facilitating emulation they quickly and cheaply increase their installed base. The hardware makers can still differentiate their products and compete. They will still have their current strong points - Atari's MIDI, Amiga's video, and such to go on. They also can generate revenue by selling OS software. How can emulation help Apple? Look at their "new strategy". They spend resources developing and rolling out three new "low cost" products. The market reaction is not so good and their stock drops the day after the announcement. Will these new products give their installed base the boost it needs to compete with the IBM compatibles for SW development dollars? I doubt it. Furthermore, there are market segments that they have failed to address and it is costing them current, and therefor future, customers. The Walkabout by Outbound is a good example. It fills a market need that Apple has still not addressed. Why not get at least the SW dollars from that segment plus the future hardware sales to customers with lots of Mac software? Put simply, they are fighting Windows 3, not Atari, Commodore and Outbound - and they need all the help they can get. Where would the IBM PC be without the clones? Probably in the trash heap with the PC Jr. (where I think it belongs) due to lack of market interest and software. Where will Atari, Amiga, and yes, Apple be without "clones"? Probably in the ditch with their broken-down software, watching the IBM world speeding past. 680X0s unite!! Crush the Intel dogs! Had they done it before the '386 then maybe they could have prevented the loss of the market to feeble Intel chips. -Ed -- ------ Ed Gow ------ uwm!mrsvr!gemed!sakari!gow ----------- My opinions are NOT those of GE. MGB - The most fun you can have in a car without a back seat