From: werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware,comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: Powerbooks 100 at the Whole Earth Access???
Date: 5 Sep 1992 14:04:40 -0500
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
NNTP-Posting-Host: dimebox.cs.utexas.edu


 luigi@paris.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Luigi Semenzato) writes:

>And by the way, according to reports, Whole Earth Access keeps
>changing the price---which seems to suggest that there is
>room for negotiation.

	the way it was explained to me is that Whole Earth is a place
	nearly Latin-American in nature: if you can convince them that
	you know what you are talking about, quality and price-wise,
	everything is negotiable:  but *I* was told by some other
	customer at Fry's on Monday, that he had bought a PB-2/20
	for $650 (I hate prices that end in "9" ;-) and that the
	2/20 with external floppy was $800.  *I* called W.E. and
	had those prices confirmed on the phone Monday noonish, and
	was told that there were 10 each in stock (but I had to run
	to a meeting and to catch a plane ...:-(

	*I* had a friend walk into a Computer Age store in Maryland
	yesterday and reserve a 2/20 with external for me at $699
	(plus 4% tax); the feedback I got was:  the place looks
	weird, a mostly empty warehouse;  they HAD said over the
	phone that they had received a shipment of 100 (?) and
	that 70 were sold already;  upon arrival, the story changed
	to "we had received 100, but they all went to folks who had
	already deposited money; we expect another shipment on Monday
	(given that's a holiday, I wonder about the truth of that)
	and there are already 70 reserved with deposit;  so a credit
	number was given for me to become #71 on the waiting list.

	the Citibank mail-order is even more hassle ....

	why the hell did Apple have to cause this kind of a mess?
	If they wanted to get rid of them, why didn't they ask
	BMUG and BCS if they wanted to buy/sell them, and we all
	would have gotten a break - and a better one at that.
	Apple sure has become a big business these days "without a
	heart" - well, at least the sales and marketing critters;
	the folks who make the hardware and software are "on our
	side still", but they are getting worn thin (is my impression)
	and the best ones have already jumped ship and gone to
	hacker-heaven in some start-up... (I went to the Apple
	tourist trap store last Friday, and I was appalled that
	I'd have to pay tourist prices to become a walking commercial
	for Apple; instead of selling that stuff at cost - and fill
	the world with Apple-Tshirts, mugs, towels, etc...- they
	nearly have to run a credit-check on you to see if you can
	afford the stuff....    <shushhhh>

	I've also picked up some rumours which I wonder if anyone
	can fill in:  apparently Apple no longer considers Boston's
	BCS Mac users group their favorite for roll-outs (anyone know
	what p*ssed them off?); so for Thursday (oops, that was 2 days
	ago) Apple was scheduled to film the BMUG meeting (how did
	that go?) in a sign of "warming relations" with BMUG (whose
	often critical commentary they seem to have punished by giving
	preference to BCS for many years...   hell, welcome to their
	black-list of rabble-rousers, friends at BCS...  let me assure
	you, it's often more fun here!! :-))

	but I'm babbling ...
-- 
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