From: rittle@supra.comm.mot.com (Loren James Rittle)
Subject: 21 Rules for Apple Consumer Electronics
Organization: Land Mobile Products Sector, Motorola Inc.
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 20:36:35 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Summary: What has C= done wrong wrt to CDTV

[Thanks to Mike S. for getting me to post to this newsgroup again.  Mike
 enjoy, this post is for you... :-]

In Dr. Dobb's Journal this month (8/92), Michael Swaine reproduces a
list contained in a letter sent from Stan Cornyn, president of Warner
New Media, to Apple.  Stan was quite excited that Apple was getting into
the Consumer Electronics business and wanted to share some ideas with
Apple that might help them avoid being Betamaxed (tm) out of the
market.  Michael states that Stan allowed him to reproduce the list
because, ``Cornyn doesn't mind the world seeing, in full.'' [this is my
license to reproduce... :-]

My comments are indented one tab after each entry.

21 Rules for Apple Consumer Electronics [that C= should have applied to
CDTV, but didn't]

1. Once you make a box, don't change the way it works for at least ten
years.

	Good to base a `new' box on 7 year old hardware... real smart...

2. Start from the cheap boxes and progress to expensive ones, as the
Japanese automoblie industry has done.

	No upgrades or higher base systems released yet!  I
	wouldn't call the first base box a good buy at its price
	either.

3. Find an exposure method as powerful as top 40 radio and video
arcades to show what your box can do.

	C= do this?  You must be joking.  If what you have to sell
	(CDTV) isn't all that great (see HW comment above), this sort
	of thing doesn't buy you much.

4. Hire a vice-president of CD-ROM sales.  Fund the position.  Insist
that the VP sell 500,000 CD-ROM drives in 1992, no matter what it takes.

	If CDTV sells more than 1% of this figure this year, I'd
	be *real* surprised.

5. Lowering the price of your box is not enough.  You must also increase
its value for all to see.

	Where is the value enhancement?

6. Once your CR-ROM drives have been sold, help publishers learn the
addresses of buyers.  Otherwise publishers can't target their marketing
efforts and will begin to sleep around.

	CD-I around... :-)

7. Real consumers do not want tools.  They want the product of tools.

	At least C= didn't get SAS to do a special version of
	SAS/C (R) for CDTV... :-)

8. Forego early profits for long-term market share, and don't bitch
about it.

	C= : ``what is long-term planning''? :-/

9. Court mass publishers.  If they can sell a million copies, you have
sold a million boxes.

	C= didn't get this right with the Amiga, so CDTV - ha!
	C= : ``what is courting''? :-/

10. Stop selling to school administrators.  Sell to students.

	When did C= start selling to school administrators? :-(

11. Make your box part of the home-information system.  Make portable
boxes that can connect with telephones, stereos, and cable.

	Where is the phone connection on CDTV?  Where is the cable
	connection on CDTV?

12. Present your CD-ROM players to the public as Ultra CD audio players
that can do extra things.  That way people will catch on faster.

	C= sorta got this right.

13.  Fifty titles is not enough.  Two thousand is more like it.  Devise
a plan to obtain 2,000 titles fast.

	C= seems to think that about 50-100 is enough.

14. Color pictures look better than black and white.

15. Having better-looking pictures isn't enough.  Remember Betamax?
More titles is the answer.

	I guess C= could win over CD-I here.  CDTV doesn't have the better
	picture, so maybe more titles can help it...

16. Can you sell this box at Wal-Mart?  If not, rethink it.  Maybe paint
it pink.

	C= made it black.  Morbid.

17. Whoever makes a box that easily converts to digital video is the
winner.  Whoever doesn't is planning obsolescence.

	7 year old HW?

18. CD systems using TV screens will always be cheaper.  Emphasize the
advantage of monitor display.

19. Don't call it a computer.  Call it, for instance, a Time Machine.
Not P3-TV.  4D-TV is a better choice.

	C= was right on here, and then a while ago they let up and
	admitted that it was a computer! :-)

20. Start product development with a breakthrough marketing campaign.
Force your engineers to catch up with you.

	C=!?  It seems marketing/management is years behind engineering
	at C=.

21. Careful market research results in one sure thing: You will be late
to market.

	Good thing C= doesn't do market research... :-)

Rumor is that Apple is so gun ho about this list that it can be seen
posted through out Apple.   Maybe someone will get it right...
Too bad it isn't C=/Amiga and the CDTV.

Best Regards,
Loren J. Rittle
rittle@comm.mot.com