JOHN DVORAK laments that Apple is "moving away from inexpensive computing toward high-priced workstations" and that "Power Macs are nifty, but they're not for everyone" ("Looking for a Miracle," January '96, page 210). Yet he and others seem to be ignoring the amazing price/performance value of Apple's latest PowerPC-based Performas. Those Performas are possibly the miracle that Dvorak seeks, if only he would stop and look.
Bryan L. Allen
via the Internet
I REALIZE THAT the Mac, and Apple, are not perfect, but to claim that Apple has lost its way is a little confusing. The company has transitioned to the next generation of computing nearly flawlessly, something that Microsoft, still trying to get the last generation of its OS to work, cannot claim. Apple recognized the shift to a consumer-driven market, a traditional stronghold, and has positioned the Performas to beautifully meet this demand.
As for Mr. Dvorak's desire to see a $500 consumer device, I have one word: Pippin.
Brian Roessler
via the Internet
DVORAK GOES TOO FAR when he says that the Apple III "was a joke." I used Apple IIIs in my home and business from 1983 until I only recently retired the last one. They were durable, reliable machines with a superior operating system. The accounting package I was using was better than any we could find for the Mac or the PC and was the reason we continued to use the Apple III for so long. The biggest problems of the Apple III were bad press and having been introduced at the same time as the first IBM PC.
This gets down to Dvorak's old problem of Apple-bashing. Apple invented the personal computer and has been the leader ever since. Most of the new ideas in the PC industry still come from Apple. All the competition has to do is watch Apple and copy what it does. Apple is a $10-billion company with consistently increasing sales. Without Apple Computer, progress in the PC industry would grind to a halt. Stop trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
