NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #20/NN_1992_20.iso/spool/comp/sys/mac/hardware/16764

Internet Message Format | 1992-09-09 | 5.6 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Travis Grundke)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: HEY! READ ME! I'VE GOT MO' RUMOURS, MO' RUMOURS!
Date: 9 Sep 1992 20:29:21 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Lines: 95
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Travis Grundke)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc10.ins.cwru.edu


 In more information to back the "Performa" rumours, according to NewsBytes
"Apple has said it will announce a new line of Macintosh products for
distribution in mass market channels...the line is to be called the
Performa and is a stripped down version of the current Macintosh...Three
new models in the Performa series are predicted by the S.F. Chronical. Two
of the three are simply the Macintosh Classic II and the Macintosh LCII,
but the third is reported to be a version of a new Macintosh expected for
business customers...It won't have any expansion slots for the adition of
chip boards to add functions and the high end Performa will be minus the
math coprocessor which will be available on the new business MAcintoshes to
be released....exact pricing figures weren't available, the report said the
Performa line will cost between $700-$1800 and Sears has already agreed to
cary them...Apple is expected to introduce a new business line of computers
with CD-ROM drives and math coprocessor chips to be called the Macintosh
IIvx and IIvi. Apple also plans to capitalize on the succes of the
Powerbook notebook computer by introducing three new PowerBook systems as
well..."
 Apple refused positive comment.

Although this isn't anything phenominally new to us, its more credence to
the claims made. Here's some more information:

APPLE PULP H.U.G.E. Apple Club (E. Hartford)
News letter $24/year
P.O. Box 18027 East Hartford, CT 06118
"We reserve the right  to be dead wrong!"

 "...September 14 is the expected date for Apple's new line of consumer
computers...under the brand name Performa. The Performa 200 and 400 are the
Mac Classic II and LCII by other names. The Performa 600 (and 600CD) is a
new three-slot model wthat also will be added to the Macintosh line IN
OCTOBER. The three NuBus slot Performa 600 will have a 32mhz 68030 CPU
without math coprocessor or CPU cache. The 600CD will have an internal
CDROM drive along with a 3.5 inch floppy drive, 4Mbytes of RAM, and an
80MByte hard disk. The Performa models will ship with Apple's new,
simplified At Ease user interface (previously known as Tiny Toons) on top
of System 7 and other bundled software. While some speculate that the
Performas will ship with ClarisWorks, Apple has cut deals with Beagle
Softwareto to bundle BeagleWorks with the Classic II and LCII models.
Pricing has not been set, but insiders say that the Performa 400 will be
such a bargain that prototypes of the Color Classic have been withdrawn
from developers (there's simply not enough profit potential for it).

OTHER RUMOURS:

 "Claris has complted a study indicating that a mail order line of Macintosh
models built by oversears contractors with a Claris brand name can be
successfully marketed without undue negative impact on the Macintosh brand
name. Apple hasn't decided whether to endorse this proposal...."

"...The PC clone price wars have not gone unnoticed at Apple which plans to
remain competitive as an upgrade path for 286 and 386sx owners. Apple will
soon announce price cuts of 15%-20% on most models with reductions upto 30%
for some Quadra configuataions."

"October 19 is the date for the announcement of two new desktop Macintoshes
and four new PowerBooks. The desktop units currently referred to as the
IIxi and IIxv (I think they mistyped those names) (Codename "Brazil"),
share their form factor and motherboard with the Performa 600. The low end
IIxi will have a 16mhz 68030 without math coprocessor or CPU cache, but it
will be upgradeable to the IIxv which will have a 32mhz 68030 with
coprocessor and 32k CPU cache. Some have noted that "IIxi" and "IIxv" lack
pizazz, and those names may change before October. The new PowerBook 160
and 180 are upgrades of the current 145 and 170 models with no change in
price. THe big difference will be the 16 grayscale displays and integrated
video out. The PowerBook 180 will also clock at 33mhz and be approximately
50% faster than the 170. The two new lightweight PowerBook Duo's (The 25mhz
210 and 33mhz 230) will be dockable designs with 16 grayscale supertwist
displays. Both will have math coprocessors and support upto 24mbtes of RAM.
The Duo DOck contains the floppy drive, two NuBus slots, video out, and a
second hard drive. The MiniDock has no floppy or extra hard drive..."

October 19 may also see the release of..."Apple also plans to introduce a
24-bit 300dpi color scanner bundled with a color version of Light Source's
Ofoto, a new 13" display priced around $600 that also will be VGA
compatible, and Apple's first COLOR PRINTER based on Canon's BJC-820
Bubble Jet engine."

 "Apple is negotiating to license the PowerPC processor, System 7
microkernel, and the Mac compatibility model to third party developers to
make RISC boards for NuBus slots on existing Macintoshes. The upgrade
products, expected to sell for half the price of a new PowerPC, will
deliver 50 to 100 MIPS depending on which CPU model is installed."



Thats all for now folks!


--
         Travis Grundke- Contributing Editor, MacGames Digest
                      [e-mail]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    MacGames Digest: The first magazine dedicated to Macintosh Gaming.