Future //

[Applemac_G4 <applemac_g4@hotmail.com>]

I must say, I'm glad to see the enthusiasm that people still have for the //
series of computers.  I'm currently restoring a ROM 3 //gs to working status
with a Transwarp and a Vulcan hard disk.  The discussion regarding a future
// is especially interesting; I'd like to throw my own $0.02 out there on
the topic.

First, a few observations:

<1> The text based line of // computers, the //+, //c, //e are permanently
and irrevocably relegated to the world of the hobbyist.  Mainstream computer
work today demands a GUI for everything - even basics like word processing
and email.  So any future // would be a reincarnation of the //gs running a
variant of GS/OS.

<2> The overall demand for such a machine, even if it was very capable,
would be quite low - low enough to prevent it from being a financially sound
undertaking.  Even if you start counting schools, there simply aren't enough
people out there who count on the Apple // to accomplish their primary
computing tasks these days.

One possibility left:

While it's come as a surprise to me, the world of computing is getting
fragmented.  The Macintosh and PC game worlds are in retreat given the
onslaught of very capable consoles.  Internet appliances are the thing of
the present, or of the future.  My vision of a home where one supercharged
computer handled all the techie tasks has come, and gone, apparently.

So, what about the possibility of creating a internet appliance based on an
Apple //gs?

Something that runs GS/OS, has a keybord, and small black and white (or
color for that matter) LCD screen.  Maybe a //gs type laptop that you can
plunk down on your kitchen counter, use for email, web browsing, with the
added bonus of running // and //gs legacy software on an internal floppy
drive.

If it was possible to produce a bundle like this and sell it for around $250
or so, it might just work.

I suspect this is the only form that GS/OS and its associated hardware could
make a comeback.  The regular computing platforms are just too entrenched,
and too powerful.