What has changed in the Apple world last 6 months?

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

I used to participate daily in this newsgroup but I left it behind
about half a year ago.  What has happened in the Apple II
world since then?  Scanning the ng, I noticed that there are
far less new IIGS "power users" than before and almost no
mention of Alltech Electronics.

Are Alltech Electronics and the Focus and Sirius cards now
history?  This is sad.  Now all I see is 8-bit Apple II talk and
most of the IIGS threads talk about using the IIGS as an
8-bit computer (every IIGS thread I see mentions the use of
ProDOS as the operating system).

It was bound to happen ever since Apple abandoned us.
The Apple II could have evolved beyond the IIGS into a
fantastic computer capable of competing with the best PCs.
Even in the early '90s, a souped up IIGS held its own
against the then state of the art '486 computers.  But a
computer could not live without support from its maker
for long and it tells a lot about how well built the IIGS was
that it survived as long as it did as an orphan.

Since I left this NG, I have used my IIGS less and less.
It still sits on the other desk but I have since truly gone
over to the newer computer and it has been fun.  My
PC was originally a Cyrix computer running at the slow
speed of 150Mhz.  It is now three years old and almost
no one runs my motherboard anymore.  But everytime
I look at my IIGS, I remember how many years it served
me and how much money I saved by upgrading rather
than switching computers.  This is how I ended up with
the system now running a K6-III+ at 500Mhz.  It is an
unsupported configuration but that never stopped me
when I was using the IIGS so I upgraded and I continue
to upgrade my computer until I can take it no further.

And the PC world has been rewarding.  The PC
platform is every bit as flexible as the Apple II was.
Having built a IIGS tower from scratch, I have also built
a second PC.  It was fun and it was a snap.

I have moved beyond the Apple II world and for the first
time, I understand what Apple had done.  When Apple
gave up on the Apple II line and went with the Mac,
it left one concept for another.  I truly do not believe
that any Apple II user who likes to tinker with hardware
and upgrade would ever truly be satisfied with a Mac.
The Mac is a machine that is fantastic for what it does.
But it is a closed box and is becoming more and more
closed with the G4 cube and the iMac.  Actually, I'll
bet if the rivalry between Mac and PC users were gone,
60% of PC users would rather like the iMac or G4.
These PC users buy brand names like Compaq and
never upgrade.  They buy packaged deals.  Oh maybe
they add a card here and there as Mac users do, but
they do not truly tinker.

The Apple II fanatic is different.  We like to push our
hardware to the limits and beat obstacles.  To say that
"it can't be done" is a challenge to us.  Thus, over half
of PC users should really be Mac users while most of
Apple II users, especially IIGS power users, should
really like the PC.  If only we can put the old hatred
aside.

I have moved beyond the Apple IIGS but unlike IIGS
users who have moved on to the Mac and seem to
snicker at the IIGS, I am amazed by how good it was
more than ever.  It is a shame Apple did not see it
the same way.  The Apple IIGS, best computer I ever
owned, I salute you!