Re: Modern A2 successor

[Phoenyx <quazar@dcnet2000.com>]

> I got your point. You see this as being purely a hobyist machine. I
> see it as being a hobyist machine w/ potential practical
> applications and uses. It may even have the possibility of
> reclaimimg the old A2 market... but that's probably just wishful
> thinking.

Well, it may not reclaim the old a2 market, but there are certainly
a lot of folks who would love to get away from the Intel/MS systems
without going to the high dollar Mac. These Wintel systems have
already been hacked and patched to bypass many of their design
limitations, but sooner or later, this will fail to work. Heck, they
are already straining now.

Your machine may never be a market wonder like the Apple II or PC
was, but if it can offer data compatibility with various systems, it
certainly has the potential to be one. With such compatibility the
rest is easy. Add to this an OS like Linux or a port of Linux and
you would have an unbeatable system.

Since you can never tell what the consumer will decide upon as the
newest technological sensation, why design a system with limitations.
Look at all the vendors who offered limited designs. Practically
every one of them failed. The only real exception was the Mac and it
would have failed too if Apple hadn't had the cash income from the
lowly II series. Then there was the C64 which sold primarily on price
point and was more of a gamer's system than anything else.

I must also point out that many current users and possibly many
upcoming computer users are tired of the hardware wars. There are
many, myself included who would like a robust system which doesn't
need constant upgrades so we can put that other cost into software
or other things. Some of us have found that raw speed isn't the
solution to all computing needs. A mid-range system with extra
support designed for other computational and hardware needs would
fit in well with the middle class users who don't have the desire for
a super computing desktop machine.

The only other thing I can add, make sure it is easily affordable to
the masses. Considering the low cost PC boxes around, this may be the
biggest obstacle to overcome. However, matching these low end PC
prices, or reasonably close depending on options, should work since
your machine would offer more power than many of them. This would
also avoid trying to challenge the high end PC platform which is
still useful for larger businesses and scientific applications, at
least until those killer apps and peripherals come along.

If you tackle this project without the mindset of getting rich off
it, you stand a better chance of succeeding. All that is required
market wise it to break even on expenses. This includes external
expenses like rent, utilities, payroll (if necessary later or as
compensation for the developers) etc...

Of course, much of this assumes the designer wants to market the
system to any degree. Woz didn't start out with the intent of mass
marketing the Apple. He just wanted to design his own computer to
show off to friends.

Too bad there is so little continuity among the II community. This
could be an excellent opportunity to set up a shares oriented
business which could even out the cost and possibly make some people
wealthy further down the line.

-- 

Thank you for your time and interest. I hope it was helpful
or at least interesting.

Phoenyx,

Apple2 user since March 1984

Links to Phoenyx's pages:
preferred..... http://zip.to/Phoenyx_A2
alternate..... http://www.tinyangeldesigns.com/Apple2