From: bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: Macintosh advocacy (really!) 
Date: 12 Nov 92 18:22:09 EDT
Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA

In article <1992Nov07.205458.25144@rmece49.upr.clu.edu>, raist@rmece02.upr.clu.edu (Ricardo Hernandez | 802-36-4453) writes:
> In article <6284.2af68ce9@hayes.com>, bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman) writes:
> |> 
> |> You state these things as if you anticipate them happening tommorrow. The
> |> market doesn't transition that quickly. Take a look at the "low cost Mac"
> |> issue. Apple has dumped their prices for the last 3 years, yet people still
> |> complain Macs are too expensive. Such a complaint has no basis in reality.
> |> It is an image problem. And it is just such a problem that is nearly 
> |> impossible to shake. 
> 
>    I think that the Mac being expensive is not an image problem... it is 
> a REAL problem.  How can a MAC LC-II with a 68030 @ 16Mhz with a 16-bit crippled
> bus, 2 megs of ram, 40 (or 50) meg hardisk, can compete in terms of hardware
> with a 486sx @ 20Mhz with SVGA monitor, 80+ megs of hardisk, 4 megs ram for the
> same price?  Or with an Amiga 3000 for that matter?

Easy. Superior software. That includes system software and applications.

No matter how fast your PC hardware is, or how inexpensive, there are lots
of things you can do on a Mac (even a lowly LC!) that you can't do on a PC.
Period. (Or on an Amiga for that matter. Period.)

Software is the enabler -- not hardware speed!

> |> As a Mac user, I see Apple making some pretty savvy moves where it comes
> |> to improving their image and increasing their market share. Still, there are
> |> setbacks. (Like the charges for System 7.1)
> 
> I think there are less expensive Macs, but then, they cut a lot of features.

None of these things are steady-state. Apple doesn't sell any more 68K Macs.
Everything has at least a '030. As the price crunch comes down, Apple
has moved toward more performance hardware at about the same price.

As for features, can you elaborate as to exactly which features Apple has
cut? I seem to be able to do the same kinds of things on my SE, IIsi, PB 100
or IIx at work. I don't notice that a "lot of features" have been cut out
of any of these machines. and three of the four are "obsolete"!

> |> I don't follow Commodore, but nothing appears to have happened to bring
> |> any of their actions to my attention. If they can't get the attention of the
> |> Mac users, they have no hope of gaining attention in the PC market. Without
> |> attention, Commodore will accomplish neither improving their image or 
> |> increasing market share.
> 
>    The fact that they don't bring their actions to your attention doesn't mean
> that there are not other Mac users who haven't been brought to their attention.
> I guess that one examples is the Toaster... it even won a MAC Expo best booth 
> award.

The Toaster is a single Jewel in Commodore's treasure. That's it. The Toaster
isn't going to remain a Amiga only product forever. Commodore has to come up
with MORE. That's no happening. Or at least, nothing has happened to bring
it to my attention.

> |> Question: How has Commodore's market share fared in the last 2 years? Apple's
> |> has increased greatly. Anyone have the facts?
> 
> Answer:  The Amiga has been gaining market share steadily, although not at a
> fast pace.  Sales haven't been wonderfull, but they haven't been slow either.
> Last year the Amiga reached the 3 million mark, and in the summer they reached
> the 4 million machines sold mark.  

I take it that's the total installed base. 

Consider this. Apple sells almost twice this many machines in a single year.
The PC Clone market is around 10 times that volume. 

Commodore has to increase its sales rate by 100's of percent if it wants to
create a significant market share. That isn't happening.

-- 
Bill Coleman, AA4LR                ! CIS: 76067,2327    AppleLink: D1958
Principal Software Engineer        ! Packet Radio: AA4LR @ W4QO
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. ! UUCP: uunet!hayes!bcoleman
POB 105203 Atlanta, GA 30348 USA   ! Internet: bcoleman%hayes@uunet.uu.net
Disclaimer: "My employer doesn't pay me to have opinions."
Quote: "The same light shines on vineyards that makes deserts." -Steve Hackett.