User`s guide

computing, go for the best, most II-like machine you can afford. As of Spring
'91, this probably means either 1. take a ri
sk on the IIgs OR 2. grab a PC-owner friend and shop the local grud
establishments for a '386 PC/AT.
"Here" may be the joyful realm of PC-ville. Your 'big problems' are deciding
whether to
1. add another 2MB of RAM (to handle "Windows 3.0" stuff), and/or
2. fill that little vertical panel slot with a 1.44MB 3.5" drive, and/or
3. swap out your old 40MB drive for a 120MB unit, and/or
4. dump your old VGA card plus the non-multi-sync monitor and replace
with extended VGA equipment.
Recommendations: Yes, Yes, Maybe, Not yet. It may also be a good idea to keep
your weekends open and your car gassed-up, just in case someone calls about
doing some shopping.
If "here" is IIgs-ville then you already know the 'old place' isn't what it
used to be. I've lost track of the number of IIgs projects "cancelled for lack
of market interest", deceased hardware suppliers, and major vendor PR persons
who (politely) barely refrain from laughing when I ask about "availability in
IIgs format". As to national/international publications which actually devote
hundreds of column inches to II coverage on a monthly basis...; suffice it to
say you won't need base ten numerals to
count them.
A sampling of local bulletin board listings pretty well sums up what has
happened. In a printout from 1986, of 70 boards, 17 (24.3%) are listed as
"Apple" BB systems, which ties with PC for the lead. By December 1990, of 298
boards, 8 (2.7%) are "Apple" BB's. Amiga and Atari shares are even smaller; C-
64/128 (4.4%) and Mac (3%) come in a bit higher. PC's share is 81.5%.
You (we) were entirely justified in expecting Apple to make a major II
series effort long before now-- if only to prevent nearly complete dominance of
unit sales, peripherals development, and software releases by a platform with
which no Apple product is compatible. Think back to the late '80's and you can
see that the threat of a strong, improving IIgs was the last barrier to a no-
name PC/AT sweep. When, by mid-'89, the "threat" evaporated, Amiga, Atari, Mac,
and even IBM each had good reason to be v
ery very concerned. If they weren't then, you can bet they are now. Mac's big
watchword used to be "Friendliness"; today it's "Connectivity". IBM, who used to
believe IT decided PC standards, dares not market the PS/1 without offering an
optional expansion box to hold AT-compatible cards!
So much for spilt milk. As they say in the beer commercials: "Well, Pard,
(slurp) it don't get no worsen this!" 'It' could; but, evidently, it won't.
Several bright spots on the horizon point to, if anything, the beginnings of a
IIgs upturn. First, there's the Mac LC. Last Fall, according to "industry
watchers", 'LC was destined to displace IIgs and, thus, signal the inevitable
demise of the II series. Instead, as we now know, 'LC positions color Macs, more
or less permanently, OUT of IIgs territory.
Big Green's Mac cards are on the table. When Apple makes a serious low-end
market play, it will be the 'IIgs card'.