Re: About Mark Twain (was Re: August 1988 Issue of inCider magazine....)

[rubywand@swbell.net]

Joe Kohn writes ...
> 
> Richard Bennett warned me about getting into an argument with you,
> Rubywand, about the Mark Twain, and I should listen to him as you are
> refuting facts with fantasy.
>

     Not exactly the most flattering of introductions. Moving right along ...

 
> How can you explain that the Mark Twain prototype computer that I have
> includes a High Speed SCSI card built right into the motherboard, or the
> fact that it has the equivalent of a SuperDrive Disk Controller, right on
> the motherboard, and that the date of the Mark Twain precedes the release
> of the SuperDrive Controller card by a full six months?
>

     Good point. In one way or another both Mitch and Paul have also pointed 
to the sophistication of the boards as evidence that they were not produced by 
any club. Though a club might have produced sophisticated modifications, it 
seems unlikely that they would go beyond small add-on boards or that the 
resulting machines would differ in so many ways. Mainly, there is a better 
explanation for the "Mark Twain" machines.

     Two of the most troublesome aspects of the MT machines have always been 
that  1. they are not prototypes characteristic of the beginning of a design 
cycle  and  2. vis-a-vis the ROM-03, they represent minimal "upgrades" which 
could not possibly be expected to succeed in the market of the early 90's.

     Suppose, however, that an MT had been introduced in 1988 or 1989 
instead of the ROM 03. Suddenly, MT is not such a turkey; the upgrades are 
significant and make sense. In fact, the best explanation for the "Mark Twain 
prototypes" is that they are, in reality, ROM-03 prototypes!

     Putting together bits and pieces of information, the scenario would go 
something like this ...

     Following introduction of the ROM-01 GS, there was a decision to have ][ 
project teams prepare designs for an upgraded GS to be released some time 
before 1990. Possibly, this 'next GS' even acquired the code name "Mark Twain" 
at this time, after the famous quote "... rumors of my death have been greatly 
exaggerated".

     The ][ project teams came up with several prototypes. Designs included 
machines with a variety of feature mixes, including a SCSI interface, midi, 
stereo sound, support for 1.44MB, built-in hard disk, 1MB RAM, expanded ROM, 
etc..

     No doubt, Apple leadership weighed the market value of each feature in 
terms of both up-front machine sales _and_ sales of separate plug-ins (such as 
a SCSI card). In the end Apple chose to go with the least costly upgrade 
incorporating the smallest possible changes-- i.e. the "ROM-03" GS.

     Evidently, there were something like twenty rejected ROM-03 prototypes-- 
this, at least, is the story. According to MT lore, most of the machines ended 
up in Apple's dumpster and were crushed. A few were rescued, probably by 
project participants and, perhaps, one or two beta testers. Via a few odd 
twists of fate, some of the machines passed from possession of Apple employees 
to interested ][ users.

     So far, there is no clear evidence of a hoax. Indeed, it is entirely 
plausible that the whole business of the machines coming from a secret 90's 
project to upgrade the GS could be the result of a series of misunderstandings 
and assumptions.

     Evidently, some time in 1991, there was a convention of users' groups. I 
do not know the details-- which, by the way, is why I asked for them-- 
however, according to Joe, someone claiming to represent Apple Computer 
announced a GS upgrade project named "Mark Twain".

     As expected, inCider/A+ did contact Apple and, yet, did not run any cover 
stories. Thanks to details supplied by Don, it seems that the current belief 
is that inCider/A+ was told that the project had been cancelled.

     Here the waters become muddied. Perhaps there was a post-ROM-03 project 
named "Mark Twain". However, it is very odd that inCider/A+ or an industry 
publication or _someone_ would not report the story. Even a cancelled Apple 
Computer New GS Project would have been hot news in the ][ world of 1991. Just 
look at the interest generated when "Mark Twain" stories appeared in 1995.

     It is much more likely that whoever announced "Mark Twain" at the users' 
groups convention simply did not know what he/she was talking about. When 
inCider/A+ called Apple they were informed that "Mark Twain" was a ROM-03 
project ended years ago (i.e. "cancelled") and that the "spokesman" was 
mistaken. That is the kind of story a magazine would, likely, not bother to 
print.


     In summary, the "Mark Twain" machines would seem to be genuine Apple 
Computer ROM-03 prototypes rather than prototypes resulting from any 1990's GS 
upgrade project. it appears that the lore surrounding the prototypes can, 
reasonably, be accounted for as resulting from assumptions, misunderstandings, 
and wishes. There is no need to infer any intention by anyone to hoax ][ 
users.

 
> As I said before, there is a videotape available from the GravenStein
> Apple User Group (http://www.crl.com/~mpearce) that provides a guided
> tour of the innards of the Mark Twain.
> ....

     Sounds like an interesting video. How much does it cost and where can it 
be ordered?


Rubywand