From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm
That's probably true about the TI and others as there was a drop from near $600 to $299. I remember that the TI then had to be pulled off the shelf
for a very crucial 6-9 months due to a problem in the power supply where the insulation would melt with heat and the case would become energized. About the time (if memory serves) was when we started offering $100 off by sending us your old computer. I always felt that that was one of the death knells
for TI as we got the machines and software off the street and without
software (interest) you cant sell new machines.
We had skids of the computers down in production.
I didn't remember the $599 price until it was recently brought up, it was
$299 when I joined CBM.
BTW, the Tramiel video should be worth watching, I was there and he cracked
up the auditorium a couple of times, particularly at the end with his
comment that his goal had been to destroy Atari. I have never heard Jack Tramiel talk about himself before you had to pick up background while not accidentally stepping in something in the process. He mentioned that he didn't feel that it was his job to make employees feel good about
themselves, it was to correct their errors for overall benefit.(which fit my crew just fine, we just wanted to be successful in getting whatever we were assigned to done) Any time someone starts a paragraph "as you may know I am
a holocaust survivor" it is worth listening to.
William Lowe from IBM also cracked us up in an self-deprecating IBM way that help my attention and was very interesting to speak to afterwards. He was
very gracious as I was able to express a theory that I have held for 25
years about the environmental and decision making differences between the
IBM team and a couple of late night "animals" as we called ourselves. I probably came across as a real knee biter but I couldn't resist the opportunity to ask.
Bil Herd
The interview done by Computer Chronicles just fortifies my view that they were as slanted on the computer industry as FOX is about news.
It is nice that Jack was always about computers for the masses, but if not for the price war that TI started, the VIC wouldn't have come down so
fast,
and the C64 might have stayed at a higher price point for some time...
TI deserves some credit for that, at least...
But I really enjoy the old Commodore commercial comparing what you get
from
them, vs. Apple and IBM. It was so true.
(apologies for removing rec.games.video, my newsreader will not post a message if the news server does not have the newsgroup!)
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