From: ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright)
Subject: Re: MACS COST TOO MUCH (NOT!)
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 16:11:23 GMT
Organization: Engineering, CONVEX Computer Corp., Richardson, Tx., USA
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by a user at CONVEX Computer
              Corp. The opinions expressed are those of the user and
              not necessarily those of CONVEX.

In <92239.140813ASI509@DJUKFA11.BITNET> ASI509@DJUKFA11.BITNET writes:

>>>such an outstanding replacement as TrueType ?
>                    Perhaps there is a :-) missing here.

>No! Actually I don`t want it since I have ATM for OS/2 and Windows. It came
>for free with OS/2. 

Well, you were the one who said that PC users didn't need to pay $49 
for ATM because they had Truetype with Windows 3.1.  Perhaps you should
affix smiley faces to *all* your arguments.  And I'm still waiting for
you to tell me where you got ATM and OS/2 for free.

>And since Apple will include ATM with 7.01 (as I heard) TrueType is 
>obviously a dead end.

Wrong.  Apple has said over and over and over again that a future
release of the operating system (not System 7.01) will include a
rasterizer that supports *both* ATM and TrueType fonts.  In fact,
there are even plans to enhance TrueType to provide a capability
similar to Adobe's "multiple masters" with Quickdraw GX.


>Either my english is too bad or you don`t want to understand. If you had ever
>bought a computer you would have probably noticed companies selling computers
>w/o OS, OSes w/o computers, and computers with OSes. 

I have bought (or leased) four computers in my life: a Radio Shack TRS-80,
an Osborne 1, an Atari ST, and a Macintosh IIsi.  All came with operating
systems.  I'll repeat, no real computer company sells a machine without an
operating system, anymore than a reliable car dealer sells a car without an
engine.


>Even Apple will be glad to sell you a copy of System 7 w/o computer. 

No, what Apple is really charging you for is (overpriced) documentation
and technical support.  If all you want is System 7, you can get that
free.

>And they will charge you considerably if you want AU/X. 

Of course, why anyone would want AU/X is an interesting question.


>If you buy one of the mid-class or bigger PS/2 you get OS/2.

You get more than that.  You get OS/2 and the right to pay through
the nose when IBM upgrades to OS/2 v3 or OS/3 or whatever may come
next.

>I see you are a frequent reader of my postings. So you sure remember the one
>with the pricing table for a IIsi in _this country_. I don`t have the US PC
>clone prices so I compare the prices for PC and Mac in _this country_. 


So, I assume that either

a) the prices you quote for PC clones include a German-language operating
system, German keyboard, and German scripts that support all word-processing,
page-layout, spreadsheet, and other software, or

b) you are once again up to your old trick of taking two machines with
vastly different features and capabilities, claiming that they are
"equivalent machines," and comparing prices to make your point.

How many people out there are betting on b? :-)

Not all computers are created equal.  If a Macintosh (or any other
machine) is more powerful than a cheap fly-by-night PC clone, there
is no reason why it *should* cost the same.  If all you want is a
stripped-down CPU, yes, you can pay less by getting a PC clone. But
if you start to add in the cost of the hardware and software features
that come standard with the Macintosh, you will soon find that you
paid more for your PC clone than you would have for a Mac.  You can't
deny that.  Your only response is, "Well, I don't reall need a fast
SCSI drive, sound input, sound output, support for multiple monitors
at different resolutions and color depths on a common desktop, foreign-
language script support, decent graphics software, a good color monitor,
the ability to use megabytes, even gigabytes of RAM without limitation....)
If you want a stripped-down, crippled machine with limited capabilities, 
by all means, buy a cheap PC clone.  Hell, buy a Commodore 64. I understand
they're very popular in Germany.  But if you a versatile machine capable
of supporting a full range of productive and creative tasks, buy a Macintosh.

Of course, if a Mac IIsi really does sell for $3200 more in Germany than
it does in the United States, there's an obvious solution.  Fly to the US
and buy one here.  You should be able to pay the import duty, replace the
US power supply with a foreign one, and still have enough money left over
for a very nice vacation.
  
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc