User`s guide

After four years of minimal 'gs support, Apple's Consummate Enlightened One
has issued an inCider encyclical assuring II users of the company's continued
commitment. The letter mentioned such worthwhile achievements as an improved
operating system and the imminent II Hypercard (but neglected to specify where
the company had been committed or how long the treatment is expected to last).
Fine; but, why now?
If letters, BB postings, etc. are any indication, many II partisans believe
the explanation is to be found in continued 'unstoppable' PC market share
advances. Supposedly, The Computer Company MUST play its 'II card' yet one more
time or face extermination.
In the best of all possible worlds, Big Green's new Macs would sell like
hotcakes; AND a portion of the capital generated would go into a serious II-
based assault on the home/school market. (As even PC devotees will admit, the
smugly confident PC universe could stand a good scare.) In the Real World, our
experience has been that the level of attention to II user concerns is inversely
related to Mac success. Small wonder, then, that The C.E.O.'s latest
proclamation resembles less an assurance of suppo
rt than a trial balloon. (Basically: "Just in case things really get bad; what
will it take to jump-start your interest in Apple products?") Fair enough; and,
it goes without saying, any trial balloon from the First Apple Lord merits a
response.
Dear C.E.O.:
First comes THE upgrade; then, we can talk about hypercards, frame
grabbers, CD interfaces, Mac links, and other such embellishments. Our needs are
modest enough; say an 8 MHz '816 motherboard with 2 megs of main RAM, 256K or so
of sound RAM, and capabilities for 640 x 400 256-color graphics. By way of
compensation, you are encouraged to rip out the network of expensive, glitch-
prone kluges designed to promote IIe compatibility. (This should help with
costs; and, you can always market a IIe plug-in fo
r old-II diehards.) An in-ROM '816 BASIC would be nice; but, for now, an empty
socket and a promise will suffice.
Price is very important. Not only must the individual IIgs owner be
convinced that the upgrade represents a good buy; he/she must also believe that
other IIgs owners will feel the same. So far, my polling indicates a number
somewhere around $300. Naturally, when we bring in our machines to buy the new
board, we shall wish to keep our old boards. They're no good to you anyway, and
will supply many experimenters with endless hours of fun (to say nothing of
generating countless interesting articles for Ap
ple user publications).
A tad costly? No doubt. Stll, a few hundred mil to reinvigorate your IIgs
base and attract new buyers is a bargain. (Like, it sure beats losing the whole
ball of wax!) In return, we'll buy your products, enlist recruits, kick stock
prices up ten or twenty points, and save dear old Apple-- one more time.
Your pal, Jeff
ISSUE 79/ Home Again