Re: What happened to the Zip chip?!?!

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

wsmith@NOSPAM.ctron.com (Will Smith) wrote:

>supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) wrote:
>
>|>I wonder if Apple saw things differently what would have happened.
>|>We could use a 90s version of the Commodore 64.  How much
>|>do you think it costs to build an Apple IIGS?  I bet Apple can turn
>|>in a profit even at $80 a unit.  This will make $150 for an Apple
>|>IIGS system.  If Apple bundles software and enough memory,
>|>we could have a winner...
>
>the beauty of this is that Apple could corner the "low-end" market,
>especially at home.  at prices like this (and when comparing the
>capabilities of the respective machines), there's no way that Apple
>could consider the GS to be "competing" against the Mac!
>
>even for $200 per unit, it's a good price for an introduction, and if
>there's any truth to that GUS thingy, then it would virtually ASSURE
>that people "introduced" to computers with a GS would upgrade to a Mac
>when the user felt the need.
>
>it's kinda like when i was in high school, Apple's strategy behind
>getting the educational market was so that the kids would pester their
>parents to get an Apple for the home.  i learned on an Apple ][, ][+,
>and //e, and when i got the money, i got a //gs.  makes sense, eh?

Indeed it does make sense...

There has been a recent trend toward "retro" Commodore 64 like
computers...or rather computer substitutes.  Have you seen the
GeoBook thingy?  It is a little laptop...except that it is based on
some kind of CPU with the speed of an IBM XT.  It runs GeoWorks
and has a small RAM disk inside, a ROM disk, and a floppy drive.
Even though there is what appears to be an MS-DOS shell outside
GeoWorks, it can't run XT software...I tried copying a small 8086
DOS program to the ROM disk.  Walked right into Office Depot
and loaded the thing.  It didn't work.

The kicker is that this thing sells for something like $300. They've
been selling quite well too.  Same with the wordprocessor thingies
(basically computers with software like GeoWorks).

What niche do these things fill?  They fill the Commodore 64 nice.
The GS could do better...I mean, even an unaccelerated GS is
faster and...the word processor in GeoWorks DOES NOT HAVE
A FIND FUNCTION!!!  NO FIND AND NO SEARCH AND REPLACE
and YET it SELLS WELL!!!  AppleWorks and AWGS has more
features!

A GS system at $150...it'll kill the GeoBook market!