If Apple hadn't invented the Mac we would have had the IIGS for a while then a new system developed off of that. In many respects the IIGS was superior to the original Mac. Politics killed off the IIGS as Steve Jobs really wanted the Mac to be their main focus so he let the "8 bit" division die off. The IIGS wasn't even an 8-bit machine. It was 16/32 bit like the original Mac but with the added advantage of being fully 6502 compatible so it could run most Apple II software. If Apple had allowed the IIGS to survive then most Apple II users would have bought one of those instead of a Mac so they could continue using their existing software and for the advantages that the IIGS had over the Mac like a larger color screen and synthesizer chip. Had Apple continued the IIGS, I am sure they could have gotten the company behind the 65816 chip to develop faster and more powerful versions just as they pushed Motorola for more powerful 680x0 variations and later PowerPC versions. Lisa probably would have died off due to it's high price tag and proprietary hardware. Where the heck were you supposed to get a Twiggy drive for one of those outside of Apple if yours failed? Businesses don't like being constrained to purchasing from one vendor only. They like to have backup choices in case any of their suppliers goes under. So you just paid ten thousand early 1980's dollars for that Lisa and three weeks later Apple goes bust. Then what do you do for parts and service? Not a situation any business owner likes to contemplate. So Apple would probably have done fine without the Mac as they had a suitable machine in the IIGS that could fill many of the same roles that the Mac and Lisa were capable of and was priced lower than both of them.
On Dec 9, 5:37 pm, Gord Tulloch <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all: > > I'm an Apple II enthusiast who also dabbles in vintage Macs, although > mostly as a means of running emulators and hardware like the Apple //e > emulator board for PDS :) > > One thing I've been pondering lately that I thought I'd bounce off the > group is: What if Apple has never invented the Mac? What would the > computer landscape have looked like? What directions would Apple have > taken the Apple II? Would Apple's dominance in personal computers > have continued rather than spending some years as a niche player? > Would DOS/Windoze have been a big player? > > I'm also asking the same questions on Apple II forums, to get a sort > of "pro" Apple II perspective, but I'm hoping to get a more "anti" > perspective from Vintage Mac users (since for better or worse in > essence Steve Jobs "killed" the Apple II to ensure the Mac would be > the core product at Apple). I'll write up the responses into an > article that I'll certainly share (I'm not doing this for a paid job > FWIW, I wish!). Thanks! > > Regards, > Gord -- ----- You received this message because you are a member of the Vintage Macs group. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To leave this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintage-macs Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
