About These Files----------------This disk contains a transcript of the infamous meeting at Apple ComputerInc (November, 1992) at which time Apple stated publicly for the first timethat they were going to discontinue the Apple IIGS.The entire meeting was taped by Ernie Moore of the Bay Area Apple II UsersGroup. As it turns out, it is illegal in California to tape a meeting unlesseveryone 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 ComputerInc to have their status revoked. Now, a year later, it's time for the restof 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 (minusa few jokes) and the quotes are quite accurate. The 2% innaccuracy figure comesfrom 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 forall posterity.Keep in mind that throughout transcript, Ernie interjected his own remarks andstatements and comments. Those are found within the {} brackets. Those remarkswithin the brackets were added after the meeting, and do not reflect what wassaid during the meeting. Only one file on this disk contains the transcript ofthe meeting (The.Meeting). The other files were created by Ernie Moore afterthe fact. Joe KohnShareware Solutions IIOctober, 1993--------------------------------------------------------------------------------PROJECT APPLE STORM - AntecedentIn the first week of July, 1992, a cartel of Apple ][ users and developers,represented by the Bay Area Apple ][ Users Group, (BAAUG), arranged a meetingwith members of the User Group Connection and the Apple ][ Engineeringcontingent at Apple Computer Inc. The intended purpose of this gathering wassingular. "To discuss the merits of the continued operation of BAAUG as anApple ][ User Group."  The initial meeting, set for August, 1992, was postponed by Apple because ofunforeseen developments preoccupying those expected to be in attendance.Another scheduled for early September, was also postponed and rescheduled tolate 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 samereason, and rescheduled for November 19th @ 10:00AM.Many of the BAAUG/A2 representatives had made prior arrangements and wereforced 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 Campbellcomplex for the 11/18/92 meeting, and were at that time informed of therescheduled gathering. To conclude this poignant diatribe, three BAAUG memberswere an hour late to this appointment as a result of inaccurate directionsvolunteered 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 HernandezProdigiously Missing:  Tim Swihart of ACI..!!!This report was assembled from a 90 minute audio tape that recorded theproceedings 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 thevoice cannot be directly associated with the individual that spoke the words,the speaker will be identified as either "APPLE" or "BAAUG". Commentory notesby the author are indicated with "{ }"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------PROJECT APPLE STORM - The BeefMEETING BEGINS: {Finally}Santoro: What would you like to walk out of here with?Moore: Basically, straight shoot-from-the-hip answers regarding the status ofthe Apple ][. We don't want to be subjected to the limitations of nondisclosurestatements and the like because we have an obligation to our users. We'd alsolike to know what the Apple plans are for future and new Apple ][ users. Wearen't here to prosecute or to be cross examined, we just want straight andhonest 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 specificreason that Apple has for not releasing a new ][ cpu?Santoro:  We just can't rationalize it. This is a business decision that wasreached at a corporate level far above our heads here! It's been termed as ahigh risk. Another Apple ][ would send a wrong message to consumers.  We don'twant them to think that we have two platforms and it's obvious that Applesupports 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 theoriginal again!} We get tons of letters from people that have had wonderfulexperiences with their Apple ]['s from a variety of sources. However, lastmonth 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 adealership for a long time.  This is a dealership decision. Apple can'tdictate to the  dealerships what they should keep in stock. People werebuying Macs and weren't buying ][gs's. Also, it's expensive for us to makethem. 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 wasreleased, 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 beendebatable, but this is '92 and almost '93 and we have to think of the futureof the company.Moore: Yes, and we are obligated to think of the future of this huge numberof people that own Apple ]['s, who firmly believe Apple Computer Inc isgiving 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 asolid show of support by Apple, be it in the form of a new cpu or a guy on tvwith an Apple ][ as his choice for a home computer system.Lunatic: A primary question that I have is, Apple has repeatedly professedsupport for the Apple ][. If Apple Inc is still supporting it, why can't usersget 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 theservice personel dosen't recognize the machine. They want to know if the ][gsis 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 fora 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 toservice and maintenance.}  We're currently in what you may refer to as thethird 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 alearning device and now, the average user has their computer as a tool. Theyuse 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 andsupport. Users need a definative response when repairs to their systems arenecessary. User Groups aren't the answer because most aren't qualified toprovide service and/or repairs. Diaz: At AllTech we're encountering even more of a problem. We have become oneof 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 purchasesmade by AllTech Electronics. They ask us if we're re-selling things and they'reafraid that Apple Inc will cut them off.  Garvey: There's a missing link between Apple and the end users that dealershipsused 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 hottestcomputer and the Apple ][ isn't it. I've made a proposal that would fall underthe 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 userhas 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 wantedinformation about his computer, or wanted to buy a machine or parts, orget 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 thisdealership 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'smuttering to himself. He places an ad in the paper to sell his system and whenthat's done he buys a DOS machine because he can get support, buy software orhave that system serviced anywhere. Santoro: He comes back and thinks that this dealer dosen't do what he used todo and that's absolutely true. We want to keep our Apple ][ customers with thehopes 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'sgoing to get in a month. So what's the most efficient way for Apple to dealwith 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 usergroup.Garvey: What Ernie is driving at is an extension of something that I wanted toget into a little bit later, but the reality of this is that the user cannotrely upon service from the dealerships. Apple has always sent their products todealerships for distribution and now their also being sent to super stores andresellers. I look at the Sears catalog and I don't see any Apple ][ productsthere. Also, how do I get service for my system?Santoro: We've just produced a new catalog that has all of the Apple productsin 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 theback of it with Apple ][ peripherals only.Garvey: Does this means that I can call up Apple, give them my resellerslicense number and pick up my purchase? Kohn: Why can't Apple ][ cpu's be distributed by these super stores alongwith the Powerbooks and etc?Apple: Everyone views the Apple ][ as a single market machine. Dealershipsregard 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 theymalfunction. They call ComputerLand and get the same story. By the way, howmany Apple ]['s does Apple Inc recognize as being the computer of  choice inthe end users home?APPLE:  Actually it's a legal problem regarding contractual agreements withPowerBooks where the stores cannot do mail orders of Apple products. The biglegal question was that if we went mail order with our cpu's, would thatviolate the contractual agreements with these retail outlets? {Evasive...eh!}Kaaup: Wait! I thought we were talking about why the Apple ][ cpu wasn't inthe catalog? We don't want to sell people ]['s, we want to take the installedbase 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 certainthat if user groups were given resell capability, they would have to becertified and trained. Take me to any ComputerLand and show me a certified andtrained Apple ][ individual...! As for startup fees, why? The user group wouldorder 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 showedpeople it's capabilities, they would sell tons of them. For the life of me Idon't understand it.  There's this huge potential Apple ][ user base eager forsomething like the ][gs, and Apple is simply ignoring this magnificent marketand telling them we don't want to sell you an Apple ][ we want to sell you aMacintosh! Santoro: I know exactly what you're talking about and going mail order is whathas 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. Youhave to remember now that the gui was reverse engineered and ported over to thegs! {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 vsa 386 or 486. We want to take the Mac, with a large supplier like Motorola andcontinue 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 makingreference 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 fordiscontinuing the Mac. What I'm making reference to is the attitude that Applehas 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 engineerswere put on the Hypercard GS project? There were 20 to 50 engineers on thatproject over the life of it. It took three years to complete it and how manycopies were sold? A few thousand at most. System 6 was a parallel project andcost us just as much. We've made the superdrive card, the ethernet card and thevideo 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. Italso was a direct competitor with HyperStudio which was already established!}Kohn: Somethings wrong here and users are really confused. Apple is making allof 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 whyyou'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 totake 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'respending all this money just for the sake of letting Apple ][ users know we'restill behind them.Moore: Ah ha..! heh, how goes Mac third party development these days? ActuallyJohn,  that's exactly what we don't want. If Apple dosen't make money off ofthe ][, it only serves to act as nails in the coffin and hasten the systemsdemise.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 ofprogram. Especially for schools because they have 75% of all the Apple ]['ssold. Here's what I'll propose. A mail order service for Apple ]['s. You putyour system in a box and sent it to Apple. Three days later you have yoursystem 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 thespace for free. What about Apple dealers? Can the dealer be sent something sothat 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 copiesout 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. Approximately25% of those are in people's homes. So we now have an installed base of roughly2 million Apple ][ users and 11 million Mac users that we want to get thecatalog 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 instock. It would make their customers happy and also benefit them if they don'thave 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 cardswith an 800 number on it to give to Apple ][ people. When the user calls, he'dbe able to get three things immediately. The software guide, the catalog andthe Apple ][ guide, all from that one number. Then his call for service ormaintenance would be handled.Moore: John, you may know this. Rye, Ray, you may not. There's one primaryreason for the Apple ][ enduring as long as it has. Throughout the history ofApple, it's been know as the friendly company. The company that was willing totouch base with the little people while IBM was the beast or the orge of theindustry. IBM's belonged in the subterrain of huge corporations and wereservers etc.  Believe what you will, if Apple loses this image and tries tocompete nose to nose with IBM in the corporate level, it will signal the endof 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 takingin user group members for the PC Jr and telling them about how they're going tocontinue support. I don't think you'll see Ford have a user group meeting about1977 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 thehome computist because there's a lot of "Dead Soldiers" on the field and thatstatement is aimed directly at the Apple ][ users and educators that Apple Inchas cast aside already. These people aren't buying Macs, they're switchingplatforms.Diaz: What I trying to drive at, is there are other people out there in themarket, affilliated with user groups or not, that would like to do things suchas sell video overlay cards or super drives and the like.APPLE: There are two great expirements with the catalog. One is theavailability of cpu's in the catalog. Great experiment number two is thirdparty products in the catalog. There's a small, and very select few, thirdparty items in there.Diaz: Apple did this third party thing with the Apple3 long ago also. The sameidentical thing and they sold everything with THEIR label on it. Then theydiscontinued the cpu. People want to look at the catalog and buy things. Thedealerships don't want to be bothered with the Apple ][ or any of itsperipherals. They would be happy to give ][ users an 800 number,a catalog andget 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 giveresponses to technical questions about these items. Since the dealerships orsuperstore clerks can't do it either, this leaves the user groups as the nextlevel for handling this task. We have a dealer that willing to sell us System6and 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 byreselling parts and providing service, maintenance, recommendations andconsultation 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 Applebashing and I don't want to appear as a critic, but there is another largecross section of users that think the Apple front office is infested withmorons 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 Applereleases, 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 beingintroduced? 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 hasgone further out of the way to insure compatability. We haven't received anyfeedback 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 greatestissue at hand now is system software licensing. All of the feedback that I'vereceived about products is "Keep Pushing!" Garvey: With the Apple ][, when did you start to get that kind of productionfeedback... '86-'87?Santoro: The greatest dissent that we've received is from the man on the streetwith a family and he wants to get his kids into the computer age. He asks hiskids what kind of computer they use in school and hears "Apple ][." Next hegoes 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 becausedevelopers that are into that intricate type of programming are doing it forthe 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 reallydigressing!Santoro: I have to attend another meeting. Are there any final questions thatyou'd like to ask?Moore: There is one question that I have. If Apple isn't going to market orpromote the Apple ][, why can't it be opted out to a third party developer orinagurated into an affiliate company ala Claris?Santoro: That's a point well taken. This has already been proposed to Scullyhimself and the answer was that we don't want to let the Apple logo out of thecompany!Moore: There has never been a Macintosh made with the name Apple associatedwith 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 wecould 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 themdigitized,  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'sgoing to be dropped from the price list very soon. The ][e is fine and will becontinued.{There's a lot of mumbling throughout the room}Lunatic: After System 6.0.1 and the Ethernet Card, will that be the last thatwe'll see from Apple for the gs and how long will it be before it's taken offof the price list?Santoro: Probably before the end of the year. The Apple ][ ContinuedEngineering Group is going to remain intact through the next fiscal year andthat'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 - AnalysisIn reviewing of the information provided by Apple at this meeting, there aremany 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 forthis reporter to peek between the lines and see the real picture.In retrospecting the Apple ]['s history for the last 5 years, there are eventsthat 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 Applerepresentatives never gave an answer either directly or indirectly. Thestandard comment of, "The 65xxx cpu is old technology!" was always offered asthe 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 1977are in homes and the 75% balance are in schools. Using those figures, therehave been approximately 1.37 million Apple ]['s sold to users as the computerof choice in their homes since 1977. I recall reading an article in the 1985era, where 15 million Apple ]['s had been sold *then* and 40% were in peopleshome as the computer of choice.This reporter would like to know why a major corporation such as Apple Computercannot support two product lines, being the Apple ][ and the Macintosh. Thisreporter would also like to know why a major corporation such as Apple Inc,having a tremendous installed user base with the Apple ][, would elect toproceed with a poorly planned program of elimination of that massive fertilemarket at the apex of it's popularity. Assuredly it was not done for thefinancial welfare of the company as sales of the ][gs were far beyondpromising 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 summarizedwith a single word... " EGOTISM!" This reporter charges that the CEO of AppleComputer Inc has a fanatical craving to compete with the legend of the pastCEO of Chrysler Motors. (Can't touch Lee you rascal!)  This twisted thinkingmandates that the name *WOZNIAC* be expunged from the minds of the masses asthat name automatically invokes images of the Apple ][. (Can't touch Steveeither dude!) This twisted thinking also mandates that the name Macintosh beestablished as *THE* Apple computer. Yet the name Apple is never affiliatedwith the Macintosh, only the logo!Now comes the anticipated closed chapter for the, umm, gentleman. At themeeting the head of the Apple ][ Continued Engineering Group disclosed thatthe ][gs would be taken off of the price list before the end of 1992, and thatthe ][e would remain because of the K-12 committment. The reasoning for thisaction was that the assembly lines could be used to produce PowerBooks whichare 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 allas it's not that long. Pass it on. There's only one way to stop the systematicmurder of the Apple ][,  SUPPORT IT!  Support it with testimonials; support itwith word of mouth praise for the system to prospective first time buyers;support it by developing software and hardware for it; support it by demandingto see ][ cpu's and peripherals in Apple dealerships; support it by demandingthat Apple Inc display Aple ]['s in their catalogs; support it by demandingthat Apple Inc market it with enthusiasm. This is the only way to protect yourinvestment. This is the only way to drive a stake through the heart of the onethat Bram Stoker REALLY wrote his nover about!I encourage responses to the transcripts of Project Apple Storm. With enoughinterest from the end user base, assuredly Project Apple Storm II will takeplace and this time with the voice of the masses behind us. Please spread thetranscripts of PAS to each and every online service in existance. As was oncemost eloquently stated, "the Apple ][ isn't dead yet, but it appears that it'sterminal." We're going to be the surgeons that bring the near dead to gloriousand 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