Re: Is there a version of Lynx for the Apple II/IIGS?

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

In article <3e8b6d63_4@corp-news.newsgroups.com>, Joe
<joko@NoMoreSpam.net.invalid> writes:

>Michael J. Mahon <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Indeed.  So now we would expect that any new software or
>> hardware developed for the Apple II line is motivated more by
>> love of the platform or the challenge of doing it, rather than
>> by the profit motive.
>
>I don't think it's an either/or situation, but I'll have to defer to a
>software programmer and/or hardware engineer to speak about their
>motivations.
>
>That said, having published commercial software for the Apple II for the
>past 10 years, all the programmers I've dealt with love the Apple II and
>they also like to eat. Hmmm...just like me ;-)

Amen to that--but I expect that they have "day jobs" for that
purpose.  Certainly, any career counselor would advise them
that they could make more per hour working at a fast food
restaurant than they could make programming for the Apple II.

This situation inevitably arrives for any platform, when it has
been long passed by the market and has become a thrift store
item.

Notice that I didn't say I don't love my Apple II's--just that the
objective evidence is that it is no longer a mainstream platform
in which people will invest, except out of nostalgia.

As I'm sure you can attest, nostalgia is not particularly loose
with the purse strings.  And in any event, the number of potential
buyers for even a _great_ product for the Apple II is closer to a
hundred than a thousand--and for a specialized or "OK" product,
closer to ten than a hundred.

Further, the amount which a rare potential buyer will consider
reasonable must be in proportion to the current value of the
platform, which, for non-"collectible" Apple II's is in the $10-$25
range.  So a product which doubles its "utility" should not be
more than that, and certainly few products could claim to double
the utility of a system for more than a few users.

If it gets to be like classic cars, with systems going for, say,
hundreds of dollars, then I suppose a new chrome-plated spreadsheet
could bring $50.  But then, a collector would rather get the original
VisiCalc for that price, and have authenticity in the bargain.

-michael

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