The Lesson of Adam
Sure, there are many at Apple who could tell you exactly what the new product plans are. They won't, because it's bad for the company and particulary bad for their long-term employment prospects.
Why? Settle back, young 'uns. Let me tell you a story of a man named Adam.
Adam was a very bright guy. He wrote the book on microcomputers (seriously). He saw all these poor slobs with burned fingers from trying to build their own computers and said to himself, People don't need the best / fastest / biggest computer around. They need something that's good enough. They need a Volkswagen.
So he hired the legendary Lee Felsenstein to design one. The result was the first computer I seriously lusted after. It came with a full suite of software, was portable, could fit under an airline seat, and cost only $1,795. The Osborne 1.
Sure, it had a 5" screen and dual single-sided, single-density (90K!) floppy drives. But it was good enough. It sold like hotcakes. "You ain't seen nuthin' yet!" boasted Adam Osborne. "Wait'll you see the next version!"
"Next version? I'll wait for that one!" said the computer buying public, and sat on their wallets. Manufacturing glitches stalled the release of the Osborne Executive, but the idea that the Next Big Thing was imminent made the Osborne 1 unmarketable. It piled up in warehouses. By the time the Executive shipped, the cash-flow crunch had sent the company into bankruptcy.
Osborne Computer restructured and emerged from bankruptcy with The Ultimate Portable, called the Vixen. It was truly an incredibly well-thought-out machine. Unfortunately, it was also 1985 by this time, and no one was interested in CP/M boxes anymore. Osborne Computer sank without a trace.
Adam Osborne passed away last April. Sic transit gloria mundi.
To use a quote from "Bored of the Rings,"
Against the True King Sorhed's workin',
So play your cards close to your jerkin.
'Cause fortune strums a mournful tune,
For those whose campaigns peak too soon.
SwitchHitter said:
I'm patiently waiting for the release of an updated Powerbook before I purchase - but I have a question for those that read/post here.
Why aren't the insiders at Apple that share release dates (actual/expected, etc.) - or share what's going to be updated.
Logically, there would be a lot of people that would have the information, from the developers, to secretaries, to marketing/pr and advertising to people that are involved in the supply chain, etc.
Just curious.. it seems that anon. postings from apple employees would be rampant. For example - I would think THERE ARE A FEW APPLE EMPLOYEES that could share when the next Powerbook update would be.
