FLAME Concerning Apple's pricing of A/UX 2.0.

[FALCO,VINNIE]

FLAME ON

I cannot agree more with the sentiments expressed over A/UX 2.0 and
Apple's pseudo-pricing policy.

There should definitely be some competitive pricing for the Macintosh,
but it seems that with an interface as sophisticated and ROM supported
as the one found on the Mac, a clone would be impossible since third
parties would be pirating Apple's proprietary source code (the sources in
ROM of course, i.e. Quickdraw)

Any attempt to make a clone of the Macintosh that has any hope of working
is doomed to failure, because I will bet that a major portion of the software
(ESPECIALLY Microsoft-ware, that seems to crash everytime I try and run it
with my INIT arsenal turned on) will refuse to work due to the sensitive
interdependence of applications and the Macintosh ToolBox.

I also do not rule out the possibility that people at Apple (not necessarily
programmers and technicians who do real work and get their hands dirty in
source code, as opposed to 'suits') have just said outright "Let's bilk
the public, and take advantage of the blind devoted fools who LOVE the
reputation Apple has set up (like me)".

Why are so many new computers coming out? When I got the IIx, it was fresh
off the assembly lines, and I figured that I would not have the same problem
that ousted me from the Apple II line (first the Apple IIe, then the IIc,
then all sorts of new ROMs and upgrades and extended cards and such) and
the Apple IIGS line (a really dumb idea if you ask me -- all the price of
the mac with none of the software or power. What a waste of time, the IIGS
is clearly trying to be the 'poor mans Macintosh' only no poor man could
afford it).

I firmly believe that the only real way to buy a computer is to take whatever
amount of cash you are ready to spend on it, and buy the most advanced
computer from your company of choice that you can afford. So I got the IIx
figuring that it would not be obsolete (in terms of power AND price) TOO soon,
but barely a while goes by, and then BAM! IIcx...BAM! IIci...BAM! IIfx!
by the time the year is over, there will be 8 or 9 new computers out above
the IIx! Considering what the IIx cost me, it is definitely the LAST computer
I will ever buy for a LONG time (I will have to flip perhaps 50,000 more
burgers to get another one).

Anyway, in summary, I agree with those two dudes above, and I think that
as the smoke clears and a clear view is afforded, the buzz will wear off
as the devotees and fans of the Mac get done wrong left and right.

FLAME OFF