About These Files ---------------- This disk contains a transcript of the infamous meeting at Apple Computer Inc (November, 1992) at which time Apple stated publicly for the first time that they were going to discontinue the Apple IIGS. The entire meeting was taped by Ernie Moore of the Bay Area Apple II Users Group. As it turns out, it is illegal in California to tape a meeting unless everyone agrees. That was not the case. But, the damage has already been done, and Ernie Moore's User Group became the first in the history of Apple Computer Inc to have their status revoked. Now, a year later, it's time for the rest of the world to hear what we heard. In reviewing the transcript, I just want to say that it seems to be about 98% accurate. It contains just about every word that was said at the meeting (minus a few jokes) and the quotes are quite accurate. The 2% innaccuracy figure comes from the fact that some of the quotes were attributed to the wrong person. Despite that fact, this transcript is quite accurate and records the event for all posterity. Keep in mind that throughout transcript, Ernie interjected his own remarks and statements and comments. Those are found within the {} brackets. Those remarks within the brackets were added after the meeting, and do not reflect what was said during the meeting. Only one file on this disk contains the transcript of the meeting (The.Meeting). The other files were created by Ernie Moore after the fact. Joe Kohn Shareware Solutions II October, 1993 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT APPLE STORM - Antecedent In the first week of July, 1992, a cartel of Apple ][ users and developers, represented by the Bay Area Apple ][ Users Group, (BAAUG), arranged a meeting with members of the User Group Connection and the Apple ][ Engineering contingent at Apple Computer Inc. The intended purpose of this gathering was singular. "To discuss the merits of the continued operation of BAAUG as an Apple ][ User Group." The initial meeting, set for August, 1992, was postponed by Apple because of unforeseen developments preoccupying those expected to be in attendance. Another scheduled for early September, was also postponed and rescheduled to late September for the same reason. Yet again this meeting was postponed and was rescheduled for November 18th, again for the same reason. On November 16th, the meeting was once more postponed once more, for the same reason, and rescheduled for November 19th @ 10:00AM. Many of the BAAUG/A2 representatives had made prior arrangements and were forced to readjust their schedules to accommodate the original 11/18 meeting. (From as far away as Colorado and San Diego). Others, who were not contacted in time, made the long drive to the Campbell complex for the 11/18/92 meeting, and were at that time informed of the rescheduled gathering. To conclude this poignant diatribe, three BAAUG members were an hour late to this appointment as a result of inaccurate directions volunteered by an Apple employee. Thus this author ends his "Harrumph!" THE PLAYERS: Those in attendance were... From Apple Computer Inc: John Santoro, Apple ][ Engineering Rye Livingston, Community Groups, User Group Connection Ray Kaupp, Manager, User Groups and Associates Representing the Apple ][: Tony Diaz, AllTech Electronics, San Diego Mike Garvey, BAAUG Administrative Leader, GEnie Host Kent Keltner, BAAUG Planning Leader Joe Kohn, Contributing Editor, inCider/A+ Kent Keltner, BAAUG Planning Leader Lunatic, GEnie Ambassador Ernest Moore, BAAUG Leadership Coordinator Joe Yandrofski, Sequential Systems, Lafayette, Colorado Missing in action caused by the continual postponments: Kenrick Mach, Paul Parkhurst, Margot Taylor and Ed Hernandez Prodigiously Missing: Tim Swihart of ACI..!!! This report was assembled from a 90 minute audio tape that recorded the proceedings from the back of the room and the authors recollection of voices, names and faces. Although the wording may not be quotable, it is extremely accurate! When the voice cannot be directly associated with the individual that spoke the words, the speaker will be identified as either "APPLE" or "BAAUG". Commentory notes by the author are indicated with "{ }" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT APPLE STORM - The Beef MEETING BEGINS: {Finally} Santoro: What would you like to walk out of here with? Moore: Basically, straight shoot-from-the-hip answers regarding the status of the Apple ][. We don't want to be subjected to the limitations of nondisclosure statements and the like because we have an obligation to our users. We'd also like to know what the Apple plans are for future and new Apple ][ users. We aren't here to prosecute or to be cross examined, we just want straight and honest answers. Santoro: New Apple ][ Users or new Apple ][ Computers? Moore: New Apple ][ Users! Santoro: We're not coming out with a new Apple ][ cpu. {Being evasive here and dodging the question!} Moore: That doesn't relate to new Apple ][ users, but is there a specific reason that Apple has for not releasing a new ][ cpu? Santoro: We just can't rationalize it. This is a business decision that was reached at a corporate level far above our heads here! It's been termed as a high risk. Another Apple ][ would send a wrong message to consumers. We don't want them to think that we have two platforms and it's obvious that Apple supports the Macintosh. {Another of those critical statements!} Moore: Let me guess. The office of the Apple CEO? Lunatic: Is it true that there was a prototype of a new Apple ][ that was going to be released? Santoro: I won't deny it! {Quickly and nervously shifted, then dodged the original again!} We get tons of letters from people that have had wonderful experiences with their Apple ]['s from a variety of sources. However, last month we sold 7 ][e's and 7 ][gs's nationwide. That's 14 Apple ]['s across the country. {14 Apple ]['s sold without a lick of advertisement.. not bad!} Diaz: We sold 20 used Apple ][ systems last month alone! Santoro: Yea, USED Apple ]['s. You haven't seen an Apple ][e or ][gs in a dealership for a long time. This is a dealership decision. Apple can't dictate to the dealerships what they should keep in stock. People were buying Macs and weren't buying ][gs's. Also, it's expensive for us to make them. We do want to keep the ][gs viable and we want to continue building the bridge between the ][gs and the Mac. {Remember this statement later!} Moore: There's an easy explanation for that. 18 months after the gs was released, dealerships were telling people that Apple wasn't making them anymore and that the Apple ][ had been discontinued. Santoro: We can't tell dealerships what to say either! Kohn: If Apple had a certain criteria that dealerships had to abide by, like requiring them to have all of the Apple cpu line on display, these false rumors wouldn't manifest themselves. Santoro: I'll be the first to admit that the company hasn't done the best job of policing each and every dealership. {Spoken with an air of sarcasm!} Livingston: A lot of things happened back in '86-'87 that may have been debatable, but this is '92 and almost '93 and we have to think of the future of the company. Moore: Yes, and we are obligated to think of the future of this huge number of people that own Apple ]['s, who firmly believe Apple Computer Inc is giving them the proverbial shaft. Kaupp: Are these people going to buy new Apple ]['s? Moore: I won't ask you to validate that question. They already own Apple ]['s. Many of them more than one system. What the existing ][ user base wants is a solid show of support by Apple, be it in the form of a new cpu or a guy on tv with an Apple ][ as his choice for a home computer system. Lunatic: A primary question that I have is, Apple has repeatedly professed support for the Apple ][. If Apple Inc is still supporting it, why can't users get technical support and service from the Apple dealerships? Santoro: What is support? What support are you looking for? Moore: A user takes his ][ into a dealership to have it serviced and the service personel dosen't recognize the machine. They want to know if the ][gs is a 286 or 386 compatible. Santoro: So you're looking for service? Moore: We're looking for support, from Apple, for the Apple ][! Garvey: I'm in a good position to elaborate more on this because I do it for a living. Most people don't care about servicing, maintenance and the like, they depend on me to do it for them. {Mike Garvey perpetually assumes the role of the service department at the dealerships at this point.} I must have a source from which to accomodate these things. {Reference to service and maintenance.} We're currently in what you may refer to as the third generation of computer users. The first consisted of semi-power users. The hackers and the like. The next was the class that used computers as a learning device and now, the average user has their computer as a tool. They use it just as if it were a hammer or a screwdriver. Kohn: What we need is somewhere, or someone, to turn to for sales, service and support. Users need a definative response when repairs to their systems are necessary. User Groups aren't the answer because most aren't qualified to provide service and/or repairs. Diaz: At AllTech we're encountering even more of a problem. We have become one of the places to find Apple ][ stuff, but the dealers don't want to support us. They get paranoid when they look at their invoices and see all of the purchases made by AllTech Electronics. They ask us if we're re-selling things and they're afraid that Apple Inc will cut them off. Garvey: There's a missing link between Apple and the end users that dealerships used to fill that isn't being filled anymore. Santoro: Again you have to put yourselves in the shoes of the other person. Dealerships have to maintain a margin of profit. They want to sell the hottest computer and the Apple ][ isn't it. I've made a proposal that would fall under the PowerBook service type format but it has to be approved at a higher level. Moore: There are two ends of the spectrum here. Over the years, the end user has come to look at the "Authorized Apple Dealership" as the extension of Apple Inc and this was by Apple's own design. When an end user wanted information about his computer, or wanted to buy a machine or parts, or get service and he contacted Apple Inc, he was very gruffly told to go see his local authorized Apple Dealership. Now he takes his system to this dealership and they haven't the slightest idea as to what the machine is. The user is getting aggravated because his system has been in the shop for a week while the highly trained service department tries to determine if the problem with the ][gs is that it dosen't have an RLL/IDE card in it or they can't locate a chip that has a *.86 suffix. Meanwhile the user comes back muttering "What ta hell kind of company is this?" Livinsgton: No, he comes back and thinks that the planet has changed on him. Things aren't the same as they used to be. Moore: Nope! Now he finally gets his system back, fixed or unfixed and he's muttering to himself. He places an ad in the paper to sell his system and when that's done he buys a DOS machine because he can get support, buy software or have that system serviced anywhere. Santoro: He comes back and thinks that this dealer dosen't do what he used to do and that's absolutely true. We want to keep our Apple ][ customers with the hopes that they continue to buy Apple machines. Dealerships don't want to spend $500 a day for Apple ][ technical training for the 2 or 3 Apple ][ calls he's going to get in a month. So what's the most efficient way for Apple to deal with this problem? Moore: That's easy, via the user group. Livingston: We already do that. When someone calls up for service, we give them the name of the nearest dealership and also the name of the nearest user group. Garvey: What Ernie is driving at is an extension of something that I wanted to get into a little bit later, but the reality of this is that the user cannot rely upon service from the dealerships. Apple has always sent their products to dealerships for distribution and now their also being sent to super stores and resellers. I look at the Sears catalog and I don't see any Apple ][ products there. Also, how do I get service for my system? Santoro: We've just produced a new catalog that has all of the Apple products in it, except for the cpu's, and they can be purchased directly from us. Moore: The catalog has Mac cpu's displayed in it and there's one page at the back of it with Apple ][ peripherals only. Garvey: Does this means that I can call up Apple, give them my resellers license number and pick up my purchase? Kohn: Why can't Apple ][ cpu's be distributed by these super stores along with the Powerbooks and etc? Apple: Everyone views the Apple ][ as a single market machine. Dealerships regard it as strictly a K-12 computer. {Sound like brain washing?} Moore: The K-12 crew dosen't even know what to do with their cpu's when they malfunction. They call ComputerLand and get the same story. By the way, how many Apple ]['s does Apple Inc recognize as being the computer of choice in the end users home? APPLE: Actually it's a legal problem regarding contractual agreements with PowerBooks where the stores cannot do mail orders of Apple products. The big legal question was that if we went mail order with our cpu's, would that violate the contractual agreements with these retail outlets? {Evasive...eh!} Kaaup: Wait! I thought we were talking about why the Apple ][ cpu wasn't in the catalog? We don't want to sell people ]['s, we want to take the installed base of ][ users and support them. {Critical statement there!} Garvey: Along these lines of damage control, the dealership channal isn't working. So where do people have to turn? Online services, user groups? What I'd propose is to empower user groups as the go between to resell Apple parts and peripherals! Moore: Here's a case in point example. I received a call from an individual that wanted to upgrade from an Apple ][e to a ][gs. Please bear in mind that he did *NOT* want a Mac. I could not give him an answer! Apple: How would we go about giving user groups authority to resell cpu's and peripherals? Would we give user groups full dealer contracts? We'd have to make certain that everyone was trained and certified. Then we'd have to charge them the $5,000 to $10,000 startup fee required for dealerships. BAAUG: It's hard to envision user groups selling cpu's, not so much peripherals though. Apple could require that dealerships purchase ][ cpu's on order! Livingston: What do you want now, sales or support? Moore: What...??? We want both sales AND support! You mention making certain that if user groups were given resell capability, they would have to be certified and trained. Take me to any ComputerLand and show me a certified and trained Apple ][ individual...! As for startup fees, why? The user group would order cpu's directly from Apple as needed and pay for them in advance. Santoro: The company, for right or for wrong, has made a decision to not pursue a marketing scheme for selling the Apple ][! {There we go again!} Moore: That's what I can't understand. If Apple put the ][gs on tv and showed people it's capabilities, they would sell tons of them. For the life of me I don't understand it. There's this huge potential Apple ][ user base eager for something like the ][gs, and Apple is simply ignoring this magnificent market and telling them we don't want to sell you an Apple ][ we want to sell you a Macintosh! Santoro: I know exactly what you're talking about and going mail order is what has been proposed. Our competitive advantage is the Macintosh ease of use. We've taken that and expanded it and that's why Apple continues to grow. You have to remember now that the gui was reverse engineered and ported over to the gs! {This is the head of the Apple ][ team talking here remember!} Moore: The gui reverse engineered from the Mac to the gs... NOT! Santoro: We just don't want to go after the competition with a 6502 or 816 vs a 386 or 486. We want to take the Mac, with a large supplier like Motorola and continue to grow. The choice was made and this was the business decision. {Again, this is the head of the ][ Continued Engineering Group speaking!} Moore: Wait! We're getting blown out of proportion here. I'm not making reference to 6502 or 65816 technology vs Mac technology. That's a mismatch. If you compare Mac technology to Cray technology then you'd have a case for discontinuing the Mac. What I'm making reference to is the attitude that Apple has taken toward the Apple ][. Apple has given the ][ user a {loud hand clap} slap in the face instead of extending a corporate hand and telling them, "We'll help you over the bridge!" Santoro: I'll have to disagree with you on that. Do you know how many engineers were put on the Hypercard GS project? There were 20 to 50 engineers on that project over the life of it. It took three years to complete it and how many copies were sold? A few thousand at most. System 6 was a parallel project and cost us just as much. We've made the superdrive card, the ethernet card and the video overlay card, all to show the Apple ][ users that we still support them. {Hypercard was given away free with Macs and remains a lousy GS program. It also was a direct competitor with HyperStudio which was already established!} Kohn: Somethings wrong here and users are really confused. Apple is making all of these wonderful cards and peripherals, but they aren't showing it to anyone. No one knows that they exist. You need to tell people what you're doing and why you're doing it. Santoro: That's a point well taken. OK, let me summarize this. What you deem as ongoing support from Apple is 3 things. 1... A source for cards and peripherals etc should my system break down. 2... Get me some software. Let me walk into Egghead and see Apple ][ software. 3... Service my program. Given these things, let people know about them. Moore: Number 4, actively promote and market items 1,2, and 3. Santoro: Here's what we've done on each of these items. We have a new Apple ][ software newsletter. We're doing the next version at this very moment. Previously it was available only through user groups, but now we're going to take an ad out in A+/inCider and make it available to everyone, free of charge. No sales are involved in this we're giving developers a free plug. We're spending all this money just for the sake of letting Apple ][ users know we're still behind them. Moore: Ah ha..! heh, how goes Mac third party development these days? Actually John, that's exactly what we don't want. If Apple dosen't make money off of the ][, it only serves to act as nails in the coffin and hasten the systems demise. Santoro: Let me just finish telling you what we're doing. Service. Service is a big problem. You can't get it. All I can do is propose a PowerBook type of program. Especially for schools because they have 75% of all the Apple ]['s sold. Here's what I'll propose. A mail order service for Apple ]['s. You put your system in a box and sent it to Apple. Three days later you have your system back. We want to make peripherals available to the direct public. If we can manage to break even then that will make the company happy. Moore: If you do this it's definately a step in the right direction. Santoro: Not *if*, we're doing it! Kohn: From the viewpoint of A+/inCider, you'll probably be able to get the space for free. What about Apple dealers? Can the dealer be sent something so that if a user brings his system in to them and they can send it to Apple? They can also give a copy of the catalog to people that are interested. Livingston: Yes, the catalog is working. We only sent about a million copies out and we've had very good response so far. People are anxious to get them. Santoro: About 8 million Apple ]['s have been sold since 1977. Approximately 25% of those are in people's homes. So we now have an installed base of roughly 2 million Apple ][ users and 11 million Mac users that we want to get the catalog to. Garvey: Could you take that to the next step and have a second printing? Apple: {In unison} YES, yes yes! Kauup: We most assuredly will. We want the dealers espicially to have them in stock. It would make their customers happy and also benefit them if they don't have to maintain low profit additional inventory stock. They want to sell Macs. Lunatic: What I'd like to see would be for dealers to have a bunch of cards with an 800 number on it to give to Apple ][ people. When the user calls, he'd be able to get three things immediately. The software guide, the catalog and the Apple ][ guide, all from that one number. Then his call for service or maintenance would be handled. Moore: John, you may know this. Rye, Ray, you may not. There's one primary reason for the Apple ][ enduring as long as it has. Throughout the history of Apple, it's been know as the friendly company. The company that was willing to touch base with the little people while IBM was the beast or the orge of the industry. IBM's belonged in the subterrain of huge corporations and were servers etc. Believe what you will, if Apple loses this image and tries to compete nose to nose with IBM in the corporate level, it will signal the end of Apple Inc as the home computer specialist. The current trend places Apple in the "Novation" mode if you know what I mean. Santoro: Well your point is well taken but I don't think you'll see IBM taking in user group members for the PC Jr and telling them about how they're going to continue support. I don't think you'll see Ford have a user group meeting about 1977 Ford Fairlane buyers. {PC Jr's run DOS 5.0 too!} Moore: An Apple ][gs is not a Ford Fairlane and cannot be compared to one. Don't underestimate IBM. They've already stated that they intend to market the home computist because there's a lot of "Dead Soldiers" on the field and that statement is aimed directly at the Apple ][ users and educators that Apple Inc has cast aside already. These people aren't buying Macs, they're switching platforms. Diaz: What I trying to drive at, is there are other people out there in the market, affilliated with user groups or not, that would like to do things such as sell video overlay cards or super drives and the like. APPLE: There are two great expirements with the catalog. One is the availability of cpu's in the catalog. Great experiment number two is third party products in the catalog. There's a small, and very select few, third party items in there. Diaz: Apple did this third party thing with the Apple3 long ago also. The same identical thing and they sold everything with THEIR label on it. Then they discontinued the cpu. People want to look at the catalog and buy things. The dealerships don't want to be bothered with the Apple ][ or any of its peripherals. They would be happy to give ][ users an 800 number,a catalog and get them out of their stores. However, since I work in the mail order business, I know that the people who *answer* at the 800 number will not be able to give responses to technical questions about these items. Since the dealerships or superstore clerks can't do it either, this leaves the user groups as the next level for handling this task. We have a dealer that willing to sell us System6 and SCSI cards, but they get paranoid that someone here will step on them! Garvey: That's the exact position that I'm in on the PC/Mac side of things. It's still a viable business and there's still a living that can be earned by reselling parts and providing service, maintenance, recommendations and consultation to end users; and then purchasing and installing these things. In the user group environment, they are more visable. Moore: OK, there's another issue that I'm concerned about. I'm not Apple bashing and I don't want to appear as a critic, but there is another large cross section of users that think the Apple front office is infested with morons and dimwits. APPLE: Yea Ernie, go ahead and tell us what you really think of us. {Jovial atmosphere!} Moore: What these users are concerned about is the number of cpu's that Apple releases, praises, then abandons. Count the number of Macs over the past two or three years that are no longer in production. Diaz: That's true. When someone buys a Mac, in the next month or two another is released and their system is obsolete. Garvey: Are you getting negative feedback on the amount of new cpu's being introduced? I mean like the not so old cx's and ci's are all obsolete now. Santoro: I don't think there's a company on the face of the planet that has gone further out of the way to insure compatability. We haven't received any feedback to that effect. {Seems evasive again eh!} Moore: Perhaps you haven't, believe me it exists and in appreciable quantity! Kaaup: I'm in the best position to receive feedback like that, and the greatest issue at hand now is system software licensing. All of the feedback that I've received about products is "Keep Pushing!" Garvey: With the Apple ][, when did you start to get that kind of production feedback... '86-'87? Santoro: The greatest dissent that we've received is from the man on the street with a family and he wants to get his kids into the computer age. He asks his kids what kind of computer they use in school and hears "Apple ][." Next he goes to the dealer and asks for the best Apple ][ available. He gets a ][gs, takes it home, then he discovers that there's a limited software base because developers that are into that intricate type of programming are doing it for the Mac. {Something's wrong with that scenario. The man goes to the dealer and the dealer isn't selling Apple ]['s at all... What's gone awry with that story?} Garvey: I have at home a ][e, ][gs, MAc+ and a Mac SE. Using the SE is really digressing! Santoro: I have to attend another meeting. Are there any final questions that you'd like to ask? Moore: There is one question that I have. If Apple isn't going to market or promote the Apple ][, why can't it be opted out to a third party developer or inagurated into an affiliate company ala Claris? Santoro: That's a point well taken. This has already been proposed to Scully himself and the answer was that we don't want to let the Apple logo out of the company! Moore: There has never been a Macintosh made with the name Apple associated with it! Santoro: {Laughing} That's not a point of argument. {Entire room laughs} Keltner: We're producing some archivial chronicles and I was wondering if we could have access to the original ][gs commercials? They were very impresive. Santoro: I don't know where they are but if you find them and get them digitized, you're welcome to do it. BAAUG: I think they're on Quicktime! Santoro: In closing, the demand is so low right now for the ][gs, that it's going to be dropped from the price list very soon. The ][e is fine and will be continued. {There's a lot of mumbling throughout the room} Lunatic: After System 6.0.1 and the Ethernet Card, will that be the last that we'll see from Apple for the gs and how long will it be before it's taken off of the price list? Santoro: Probably before the end of the year. The Apple ][ Continued Engineering Group is going to remain intact through the next fiscal year and that's about a year from now as the fiscal year just started. Beyond that is up to the company. I don't see any hardware beyond the Ethernet card. Garvey: Will there be any revisions to the Ethernet card because in reality, it's an EtherTalk card? Santoro: We're looking at putting TCIP on it because we see the text based ][e's and ][c's in schools as being perfect for going into the Internet! {After insignificant further chatter, the meeting ended!} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT APPLE STORM - Analysis In reviewing of the information provided by Apple at this meeting, there are many items unveiled which prior to meeting were rumors only. Statements like, " We don't want users to think that we have two platforms ", made by the head of the Apple ][ Continued Engineering Team give cause for this reporter to peek between the lines and see the real picture. In retrospecting the Apple ]['s history for the last 5 years, there are events that occured which give cause for raised eyebrows. a) ... Shortly after the ][gs was released, the ][c+ was released and it boasted a 4.5 mhz cpu compared to the state of the art gs which had a native speed of 2.5 mhz. b) ... Approximately 10 months after the ][gs and ][c+ were released, dealers began telling customers that the Apple ][ had been discontinued by Apple Inc and was no longer in production. The ][c+ was dropped from the price list less than 1 year after it was announced. c) ... 18 months after the gs was released, mysteriously software developers terminated gs projects they were working on. Many of them were near completion. Is, WHY a question or an answer? d) ... A User Group Connection coordinator stated at the meeting, " We don't want to sell people Apple ]['s, we want to support the existing Apple ][ user base! " When asked, "Why isn't Apple Inc pushing for Apple ][ sales?", the Apple representatives never gave an answer either directly or indirectly. The standard comment of, "The 65xxx cpu is old technology!" was always offered as the response. Yet the 65xxx cpu is thriving in other cpu's! Apple would have us believe that only 25% of all Apple ]['s sold since 1977 are in homes and the 75% balance are in schools. Using those figures, there have been approximately 1.37 million Apple ]['s sold to users as the computer of choice in their homes since 1977. I recall reading an article in the 1985 era, where 15 million Apple ]['s had been sold *then* and 40% were in peoples home as the computer of choice. This reporter would like to know why a major corporation such as Apple Computer cannot support two product lines, being the Apple ][ and the Macintosh. This reporter would also like to know why a major corporation such as Apple Inc, having a tremendous installed user base with the Apple ][, would elect to proceed with a poorly planned program of elimination of that massive fertile market at the apex of it's popularity. Assuredly it was not done for the financial welfare of the company as sales of the ][gs were far beyond promising and the profit margin was lucritive. Realizing that there is no logical answer to these many strange occurances; and that the advent of them all began with the changeover in the high office, there is one solitary explanation that may be extracted. It may be summarized with a single word... " EGOTISM!" This reporter charges that the CEO of Apple Computer Inc has a fanatical craving to compete with the legend of the past CEO of Chrysler Motors. (Can't touch Lee you rascal!) This twisted thinking mandates that the name *WOZNIAC* be expunged from the minds of the masses as that name automatically invokes images of the Apple ][. (Can't touch Steve either dude!) This twisted thinking also mandates that the name Macintosh be established as *THE* Apple computer. Yet the name Apple is never affiliated with the Macintosh, only the logo! Now comes the anticipated closed chapter for the, umm, gentleman. At the meeting the head of the Apple ][ Continued Engineering Group disclosed that the ][gs would be taken off of the price list before the end of 1992, and that the ][e would remain because of the K-12 committment. The reasoning for this action was that the assembly lines could be used to produce PowerBooks which are apparently in high demand. This reporter poses this question to all who read these lines: Why can't a corporation as large as Apple Computer, Inc think in terms of company growth and expansion, improve the capability of the 65816, market it with enthusiasm as other 65xxx based systems do and enjoy the success? If you have not read the transcripts of the meeting, please do so. Read it all as it's not that long. Pass it on. There's only one way to stop the systematic murder of the Apple ][, SUPPORT IT! Support it with testimonials; support it with word of mouth praise for the system to prospective first time buyers; support it by developing software and hardware for it; support it by demanding to see ][ cpu's and peripherals in Apple dealerships; support it by demanding that Apple Inc display Aple ]['s in their catalogs; support it by demanding that Apple Inc market it with enthusiasm. This is the only way to protect your investment. This is the only way to drive a stake through the heart of the one that Bram Stoker REALLY wrote his nover about! I encourage responses to the transcripts of Project Apple Storm. With enough interest from the end user base, assuredly Project Apple Storm II will take place and this time with the voice of the masses behind us. Please spread the transcripts of PAS to each and every online service in existance. As was once most eloquently stated, "the Apple ][ isn't dead yet, but it appears that it's terminal." We're going to be the surgeons that bring the near dead to glorious and blissful life. Contacts: Future Net: User #1@#9 Oggnet : User #8@Valhalla AOL : EPM BAAUG GEnie : Contact Mike Garvey or Lunatic and ask them to forward responses to me. Here's to hoping that I'll type to you later... E. Moore