Sega Genesis, DEC Alphastation, Newton, Gameboy, ThinkPad, DayStar Genesis ...
>Even if I buy a computer with the express purpose of
> doing graphics, I still want to use it to write a letter, balence my
> checkbook, check email, surf the web and in my spare time, goof off.
I guess this is true for your home computer.
But if you buy a computer for the expressed purpose of doing graphics, you're
probably in the business of doing
graphics. And at work, you probably *don't* want to write letters, balance
checkbooks, surf the web and ... OK, maybe
goof off. Much more likely you'll want one computer just for running Photoshop.
Give it a bunch of RAM, put it on a
network and let people take turns running their stuff through.
Sounds like a specific machine to me. And if it does the job well, it's worth
the price.
(Quick aside: If you're fran, none of this applies. Here's how you get your
money back: Register to become an authorized
Apple repair center. Get your validation. Rack up several hours fixing your own
computer under warranty and send the
statements to Apple, which will kindly reimburse you for all your effort. Dial
up and order your PowerCenter 180 with all
the extra money you made. Sure it's a lot of trouble, but more than you've
already gone through?)
>>> Make enough money to
>>> sell expensive machines at reasonably high margins.
>>
>>To whom?
>
>Not to me! If I'm going to take a chance on a niche machine to specialize
>in multimedia and graphics I'd at least go with something new like the
>BeBox. But as of yet there really isn't any software out for it.
Erm, well ...
One of the bigwigs at HotWired comes up to you and says: *We're moving your
desktop computer to another department
in three days. You can choose any replacement you want, within reason. You'll
have a couple of days to get it up and
working on the network. We expect you to process illustrations, do image editing
and write all your usual nifty web
stuff.*
If you chose BeBox (fine choice though it may be), you could still be sitting
around waiting for the software six months
from now, right? I mean, a year from now, sure, it may be a far bigger threat to
Apple than Win95/97 could ever be.
>What advantage does buying and apple these days offer you?
If you're in the graphics industry? In order, here would be mine:
1. Compatibility with about 80 percent of the industry.
2. Familiarity (and ease of use, but maybe most of that is just familiarity).
3. PowerPC runs Photoshop and Painter faster.
4. More graphics software than any other platform.
5. Hardware prices have dropped significantly since introduction of clones. (And
Power Computing is well within the
price range of similarly powered Wintel machines.)
Dwayne Purper
Chapel Hill, N.C. USA
*With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good.*