rob wrote:
On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:24:46 -0700, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote:Given the atmosphere at Apple in the late 1980s, I find it very believable that there was a real desire to keep the IIgs out of the Mac's competitive neighborhood.Well if that was the case then why did Apple release its first color GUI on the IIgs as well as ADB ?
The IIgs was already color-capable hardware, and they had much earlier decided to release a "desktop" interface to prepare the way for the Mac in schools. Perhaps they thought that the color Mac would ship sooner. ;-) Of course, "release" of GSOS was not exactly done with fanfare befitting the first color GUI, either--more like it "shipped". WRT the use of ADB, that was simply a cost-saving and product line rationalization measure--one less keyboard to outsource. No ballyhooing of customer value accompanied its release with the IIgs. There were clearly opposing forces operating within Apple. The Apple II group wanted to push the platform as far and as fast as possible, while the rest of Apple regarded the continuing success of the Apple II as a windfall that could end at any moment. They were hell-bent to focus on the Mac and were uninterested in spending money on the terminal Apple II line (whose remaining strategic role was to hold the education market until the Mac took its place). In almost every case, corporate Apple got its way; but a few nice things were slipped out the door by the ingenious Apple II group--often in the guise of leveraging Mac developments (like the SuperDrive controller ;-). -michael NadaPong: Network game demo for Apple II computers! Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/ "The wastebasket is our most important design tool--and it's seriously underused."