Re: OMG!

[wbdesnoy@acs5.acs.ucalgary.ca (Byron Desnoyers Winmill)]

J.Q.P. (jqp@hotmail.com) wrote:
: Recently I bought an old Apple II program off eBay.  Cost me $31, which
: is probably pretty close to what it was new.    If there was some way
: I could have paid that money to the original authors and gotten a
: "fresh" copy of the program+manuals, I would have.   (the software
: itself is fairly useless w/o the manual)

Amazing, $31 (presumably American) for a piece of software.  The
Apple II sound pretty uneconomical when you compare it to 68k
Macintosh computers.  Recent examples (in *Canadian* funds)

 - CodeWarrior 9 Gold, $75
   ANSI C, ANSI C++, Pascal, Java; Mac II or better (fairly
   cheap machines).  ByteWorks offers a not-quite-ANSI C
   and Pascal developent kit for the IIgs for $150, don't
   they?
 - ClarisWorks 1, $20
   Something along the lines of AppleWorks, but with more
   functionality (graphics, and telecommunications).  Works
   on the Macintosh Plus (about as cheap as an Apple II).
   Wasn't Bev offering AppleWorks floppies (no manuals) for
   as much in US funds, at one point?
 - FileMaker Pro 2.1, $14
   A decent database, which is not fraught with the limitations
   found in ClarisWorks', or worse yet, AppleWorks' database.
   Again, works on the Macintosh Plus.
 - Microsoft Word and Excel (versions 5.1 and 4.0), $40
   More full featured than the ClarisWorks WP/SS, and it has an
   officially sanctioned (ie. coming from Microsoft) file
   format.  Again, works on the Macintosh Plus.

Just think, that entire list of goodies for the same price as ByteWorks
offering.  There is more functionality, and the computer (say an SE/30,
for the speed buffs) uses less space than a IIc+ with a full complement
of 3.5" and 5.25" floppies.  It's a lot easier to print too.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Apple II.  I like the fact that I can
pick up a BASIC manual, and start programming it.  I like the fact
that I can pickup an assembly language reference, and the Apple II
reference manual, and attempt to program it.  I like the machine
because of the hours (upon hours, upon hours) I spent programming it
in my junior high days.  I like the machine because I can put down my
thoughts in FrEd writer, with out the distractions offered by modern
machines.

But, when I want software, I have to face it being expensive *and*
hard to find.  My zeal (let alone ability) to program is not what it
once was, so creating my own software is not really an option
either.

And let's face it, an old computer is an old computer.  I can have fun
with it any way you look at it.  So while you are building the Apple II
of your dreams, I am building the SE/30 of my *wildest* dreams.  While
my Apple II sits collecting dust for a lack of software, my SE/30 is
fully equipped with productivity tools (Claris, LaTeX), software to
support my other hobbies (FileMaker, HyperCard), and stuff which I want
to learn about in the future (CodeWarrior for Macintosh programming).
It does not look good for the II.

Byron.