Re: The Apple ][ was cool!

["Jon-paul" <pockets@cix.co.uk>]

"william strutts" <wrstrutts1@nospam.home.com> wrote in message
news:g0_47.21703$JN6.4270507@news1.rdc1.mi.home.com...
>
>
> "Rubywand" <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote in message
> 3B5469A6.959A272F@swbell.net">news:3B5469A6.959A272F@swbell.net...
> >

> Even Radio Shack, with the direct competition of the Color Computer
> series, picked a REAL controller for its machines instead of that
> clunky slow drive that Commodore had.  Its machine was closer
> in price to the C64 but had I/O as fast as Apple II's.  However, RS
> didn't market the machine as well as Commodore.  It made the
> same mistake Apple did with the IIgs.  It ignored the machine
> in favor of its higher profit margin computers.  Hence, it did not
> fight the image that the Coco was a toy when it could have been
> a C64 fighter if they put the effort into it.
>

Their marketing in the Uk was ultra bad. The TSR-80/CoCo always seemed one
step behind the rivals, and more expensive. Proberlbly supply priority was
to the US market and we got the hand me downs. When Dragon licenced the kit
they competed quiet well. But Dragon was only one small part of a larger
company that was struggling and then went under in 82, a management buy out
reserected it for a year then one of its investors pulled out. Tandy (as
they are over here) failed completley to capitalise on that good start.

But it was a bit of a gold rush in those days, dozens and dozens of
companies all trying to cash in on the boom of people wanting computers. A
look through a computer magazine from 1980-84 you could see dozens of
machines getting marketed, built and plugged. Flawed hopefuls like the Oric,
apparent cash ins like the Aquarius , hype like the konix system or the
Enterprise that if they ever arrived at all arrived too late. I find it
interesting that Of the post 1983 developments only the Amstrad/schnider
systems broke into the market in any meaningful way. By that time the
inertia of the market had created a select group of big boys.



JP

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