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1987: A Year in Review by Ellen Leanse It hardly seems possible, but it's true-with this issue of Quick Connect, we close the door on 1987 and open it to the new opportunities awaiting us in 1988. In many ways, 1987 took all of us by surprise. We started off with a relatively simple challenge: how to build on the program we commenced in 1986. We ended with issues of far greater complexity: how to serve a rapidly changing User Group community, and how to position the User Group Connection for a vital, ongoing role in a new Apple-an Apple addressing a broader realm of users and user solutions than in any year before. You've Changed The profile of the User Group community has changed dramatically this year. Last year, we classified nearly all known groups as local ones-traditional User Groups functioning in communities, open to the public, and offering a variety of services. In the last twelve months, a considerable number of specialized, private User Groups have been established, significantly changing the complexion of the community we serve. The following table says it all. User Groups by Interest Area 1986 1987 Community/Local 541 623 University 86 93 Business 38 65 Government 1 10 Special Applications 47 61 Total: 713 852 As the nontraditional segments grew, we sought ways to address their unique needs while still building our outreach to community groups across the country. In reaching out, we involved groups of all kinds in events such as AppleWorldsm and the User Group University that followed it, in functions at the MACWORLD Expo(R) and AppleFest(R), in several regional User Group meetings and a national event in Dayton, in an Advisory Council representing diverse User Groups, and, perhaps above all, in our monthly communications exchange. We've Changed Because you've changed, so have we. In September of this year, we officially joined forces with Apple's Developer Co-Marketing group-an entity that had already proven itself of great value in bridge-building with Apple's third-party development community. We drove our move into this group because of the parallels between their needs and those of the User Groups we work with: communications, development, and involvement in major programs, to name a few. We also felt that Developer Co-Marketing shared similar goals, such as our commitment to weaving our constituency-developers and User Groups-permanantly and integrally into Apple's fabric. In addition, the Connection staff has doubled to meet our new challenges. Last January, we were a team of three: Cathy Hoolihan, Phyllis Farnam, and me. Cathy went on to evangelize the User Group message to the Apple dealer community, while Phyllis planted her feet on the ground and watched her responsibilities grow. Since then, we've added staff dedicated to specific types of User Groups: Joan Tabb for Government and Business groups, Judy Chang for Community User Groups and Apple Computer Clubs, and a soon-to-be hired manager for University-based User Group programs. Phyllis champions User Group communications and events, and I continue my work in developing the relationship between Apple, User Groups, and the audiences we serve. The team is backed by Terry Mock, our valiant Area Associate and overall great supporter, and-at least till his Master's degree lures him back to Ohio-Ken Eddings in Special Projects. Lots of changes in just twelve months! Summary Apple is more committed than ever to developing our rapport with the User Group community. And the Connection is optimally placed and staffed to fulfilling that commitment. We anticipate less change and more forward momentum than in the last year, and feel ready to work as a team towards our common goal. 1988 will be the third year that Apple has had a Connection with you, the User Group world. And all of us-Phyllis, Joan, Judy, Terry, Ken, "TBH" (and Apple acronym for "To Be Hired"), myself, and the many people at Apple who support our cause-know it will be the best year yet. Best wishes for a happy, fulfilling New Year, Ellen Leanse Program Manager and Chief Evangelist The Apple User Group Connection [SIDEBAR] Apple is more committed than ever to developing our rapport with the User Group community. The Power of the PeoplePApple's Home Market Who buys more Apple(R) computers than any one else? Who first put Apples in the schools and on the desktops of America? The same people who made the Apple logo the second best recognized logo in the world: individuals. People like you who got behind Apple technology and told everyone and anyone who would listen. You proved the power of the people. Today, individual purchasers buy more Apple computers than business, more than educational institutions, and more than government. First Apple empowered individuals by giving them access to computer technology and information. Now, individuals are empowering Apple by representing the largest unit volume market Apple addresses. But then, the individual has always been the center of Apple's universe, according to Bill Larson, Apple's manager of the Home Marketing group (formerly Consumer Marketing). In fact, selling to individuals is precisely what sets Apple apart from other Fortune 500 computer manufacturers. Today, individuals represent Apple's second largest revenue center, and in terms of rate of sales, they've made Apple the largest single computer manufacturer in the consumer market. "It's really the individual that has made Apple so successful," says Bill, "and because my group markets to individuals, I think we represent a lot of the heart and soul of Apple." Who are these individuals who make up the home market? In short, they are parents with children who use computers in school, and anyone who does work at home. Home learning and the personal office are the major reasons why people buy personal computers. "It's a complex market," says Bill, who points out that just on the business side, there are over 20 million people who do work at home-the non-self-employed who bring work home from the office, and the self-employed who operate their businesses from home. The latter group alone includes entrepreneurs and salespeople; the whole service industry of freelance creatives-writers, artists, video producers; and home business networks like Avon, Mary Kay, and Shaklee. "These people are twice as likely to own a home computer as the general population," says Bill, "and if they own one, they are twice as likely to own a modem. They also spend 50% more on software and peripherals than the average computer user." How do you reach such a broad spectrum of people? By offering them the solutions they all need. "Our new solutions approach represents a major shift in how we communicate with the home market," explains Bill. "Home business, home learning, and home publishing are all applications desired by individual users working with developers and dealers. We want to build momentum for true home solutions. You'll see us doing more and more of this kind of thing-reaching out to the third-party community while communicating with the customer about what the specific components of the solution really are. We're working with our dealer channel to ensure that the total solution is available at the point of purchase." Another way to reach home users is through a resource Bill considers worth its weight in gold: User Groups. "They are our real evangelists," claims Bill, "because they are out there demonstrating the positive word of mouth that drives this business. That's worth more than an extra million dollars for advertising or 100 more salespeople. Why? Because User Groups are so effective as Apple advocates." "User Groups are the opinion leaders of the industry," Bill continues, "and as such, we need to be more tapped into them in terms of what we do well, what we can do better. I plan to go and speak with User Groups directly. I think that kind of personal interaction is valuable. They need to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak, what Apple is doing, and we need the feedback about whether it's what the marketplace wants." To help Bill implement his marketing plans, Apple has given him the largest program budget of any marketing group in the company and the go-ahead to triple his staff next year. In fact, if the Home Marketing group itself were a stand-alone company, it would be in the Fortune 500-and larger than Compaq Computer. Obviously, Apple's commitment to the home market has not been eclipsed by its success in other markets. As Bill puts it, "Our roots are in the individual, and we haven't lost touch with our roots." [SIDEBARS] "It's really the individual that has made Apple so successful." "User Groups are the opinion leaders of the industry." Apple's Man from France: Jean-Louis Gasse "At dinners where I'm buttonholed by people . . . , I am no longer simply Jean-Louis Gasse, forty-three years old, vaccinated, married, father of three children, lover of puns, music, and California, curious about rhetoric and psychoanalysis, a voracious magazine reader, a math freak who wandered into the business world. I am, rather, an emanation of Apple; I represent a function, a culture, a technology.** And, one might also add, the future. As Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Jean-Louis is the architect, the inspiration, and the driving force behind the technological innovations at Apple. As a technologist par excellence with the sensitivity of a poet, the probing mind of a philosopher, and the worldview of a visionary, few are better equipped to help shape the future of personal computing than the man from France. While his eyes may be focused beyond the next generation of computers, his feet are firmly planted in the real world of here and now, his ears listening to the feedback, ideas, and suggestions of today's Apple users. That's the message we got when we visited Jean-Louis at Apple headquarters for an exclusive interview for Quick Connect. We asked for his views on User Groups, their future, and, of course, the future of personal computers. He gave us a potpourri of insights into today and tomorrow. Here they are. What is your attitude toward User Groups today? I've always prized User Groups, both personally and as a manager at Apple, because I believe they are very connected to our company, to our roots. After all, Apple was born at the Homebrew Computer Club. Pooling the knowledge of special interest groups helps our customers value their computers, and that's very basic and very important. Also, I think that User Groups have some less direct functions. A lot of good ideas are coming from User Groups. We get a lot of good feedback from them. Sometimes they have suggestions and ideas that show trends, uses in personal computing that we, with our blinders, might not see. The most excited people get into User Groups, so you have an exaggeration of market feedback, but then you can read some tendencies that you couldn't read otherwise if you only had the law of averages applying. Steven Jobs was quoted as saying that as computers become simpler, there will be no need for User Groups. What do you think is the future of User Groups? Were computers to become that simple! The problem is that each time you make a computer, assuming that you don't increase its complexity but make it simpler, you're going to reach more people of less proficiency. So the need for the benefits of the User Group in some ways remains forever as you reach parts of the population that do not have the same skills in using computers as the early adapters. Are you saying that computers will become simpler? It so happens that there is no such thing as a computer becoming simpler at constant power. The power of computers escalates, so the number of things you can do with them escalates. And in some ways, computers are becoming more complicated even though we try to engineer them to compensate for that. We're in a phase where the complexity of the computer is growing, but I would argue that if the power the user needs grows faster than the complexity, you have a problem. With a little bit more complexity, users might have more things to contend with, but they will get much more done. And they will see that it's a good deal for them. Right now, we are in that phase with the Macintosh II and the Apple IIgs(R) computers. Our newer computers are more powerful and in some ways more complex, but our customers don't seem to be disappointed by that. But there is still simplicity. That's what I like about the SE. When I travel, I sometimes take an SE, and all I have to do is plug in the power cord, the keyboard cord, and I'm in business. This is great. Another example is the Macintosh II. We don't call it a Mac II for nothing. There's a heritage there-you have more configurations like the Apple II. But although it's more configurable and thus more complex, it is not more difficult to use. Actually, we tried to do things in the Mac II to make things easier to configure. For instance, you can put any card in any slot without telling the computer where anything is. It's that easy to configure. There are no dip switches to tell it your disk drive is in slot 6 or 7. And the compatibility of the cards is guaranteed by the Nubus(TM) protocols. If you observe the protocols, you are guaranteed that the cards will work together. We are putting some higher-level protocols in place so that you can have multiple processors on multiple cards, and there will be a way to coordinate their work so they all cooperate. In your book written in 1985, you predicted that the Apple II would acquire more memory, speed, disk storage capacity, better color, and graphics with better resolution. You predicted that the Mac would acquire "brothers that would continue to develop its charm." All of this happened. What's next? The example I use and continue to use is the Honda Civic. Actually, I have just been vindicated by Honda. Their new Civics look like the old Civics, but they improved the suspension, they rounded some corners, they sharpened this, they changed that, and they put a little more pep in the engine. That's what we're going to do with the Macintosh computers. The Honda Civic is a good metaphor for the Macintosh. Honda proved that you don't have to be a giant to beat General Motors. But I worry much less about the competition than I do about the customer. My worry is how do we take care of the customer, what can we do to please the people who feed us, not what the competition is doing. In your book, you implied that 5th-generation computers will not have artificial intelligence. Why? I didn't mean to say that artificial intelligence will never happen. What I'm saying is that the applicability to our business in the near future is not there. Artificial intelligence right now is unable to do simple things. The simple things are very sophisticated. One example is a spelling checker. Why aren't there any good spelling checkers? Because spelling needs to understand content. Checking spelling has to understand the language, otherwise it won't know the difference between "her" and "here." There is no technology today that can deliver 99.999% or more accuracy, because it needs to understand such breadth of context. Still, there has been a lot of progress with artificial intelligence. There are expert systems which are vertical applications that allow you to store some knowledge that is easily translatable into simple algorithms. We can expect that our computers will someday have an inference manager built into the operating system, but it won't check spelling any time soon. And it won't translate English into French any time soon either, because we don't understand language in and of itself. Many users tend toward the low-end machines. But we've heard concerns expressed that Apple's marketing seems to be emphasizing the high-end business machines. Could you comment on this? We are not emphasizing business at the expense of something else. Apple is very strongly committed to education, for instance, and in the home market. What we want to emphasize is the office at home. Again, let me take the example of the Honda. Honda was the cheapest car at one time. Now it's not. But customers keep buying Hondas in great numbers. So now you have people buying Yugos. That's OK. You can make Hondas, you can make Yugos. You can't be all things to all people. Right now, I've been beating my own brains for two and a half years figuring out how to make a $1,000 retail Macintosh. There's no way we can do that. Why? Because we enriched the user interface, we put HyperCard(TM) out, we put the MultiFinder(TM) out. People don't want anything less. They don't want a Mac Junior. There's a certain quality of what we want to implement, how we want to implement things. In general, our standards, regardless of our lapses, are such that we don't feel we can make a good business making Yugos. That's only my opinion. But the customers seem to agree, if you look at the numbers. In the end, it's a business, and the free market votes. That doesn't make the other machines bad at all, and I really mean it. But Apple is different. We have different criteria, different margin structures, so we can feed a lot more money into R&D and service and support. That is a style of the company that goes with the style of the product. What is the most exciting thing about your job? The most satisfying part is working for a very good group of people. I admire them. I have this incredible, deep satisfaction that, my God, this is what I wanted to do. Never in my life have I felt stronger that I'm working for an organization versus them working for me. That's very nice. That's what I like most. How would you like to be remembered? I'd like to be remembered as having helped people succeed. That is my success. What deeply satisfies me is when I see people succeed because of a number of factors of which I am one. I can look across the street to Acius and see some of that as well. But I'm just a factor. They did it. I didn't. Sometimes, as long as I'm not an obstacle to my people's work, I am earning my living! If you had one thing to say to User Groups, what would it be? To Macintosh users, I'd say use HyperCard. This is the greatest thing since Macintosh. When I went on sabbatical for seven weeks in France, I took a Mac II, a Mac SE, two modems, and a LaserWriter(R) Plus to do some serious hacking-something I can't do during my life here, because between my work and family, I don't have much time for hacking. There, I could stay up till 3 AM and not worry about tomorrow morning's staff meeting. I discovered that the combination of HyperCard and HyperTalk(TM) is one of the best things that happened since the Macintosh. HyperCard can really have an impact on how we as human beings empower ourselves intellectually. To everyone, I say this: User Groups can weigh on us to do things, and they can do things for themselves by really getting the best out of their machines. That, we cannot do for them. And when they do that, there's going to be a change in the culture, a change in certain forms of literacy, and a change in the way we work. There's going to be a change in the way we communicate, the way we learn things, the way we enjoy knowledge. In the end, what do we do on earth? We do very few things. We structure our time and create meaning. And User Groups can have an impact on that and I hope they realize this. When you make computers, you want them to be used as well as they can be. Emotionally, that means a lot to us at Apple. [Photo Caption] Jean-Louis Gasse, Apple's Senior Vice President of Research and Development; founder of Le Club Apple, the first Apple User Group in Paris; and member of two User Groups-Boston Computer Society and A.P.P.L.E. in Seattle [SIDEBARS] "The need for the benefits of the User Group in some ways remains forever . . ." "It so happens that there is no such thing as a computer becoming simpler at constant power." "The Honda Civic is a good metaphor for the Macintosh. Honda proved that you don't have to be a giant to beat General Motors." "I've been beating my own brains for two and a half years figuring out how to make a $1,000 retail Macintosh." "When I went on sabbatical for seven weeks in France, I took a Mac II, a Mac SE, two modems, and a LaserWriter(R) Plus to do some serious hacking . . . " Introducing . . . A New Column As you know, Apple's User Group community is continually expanding to include groups with specific interest areas. To keep you informed of the specialized activities in these interest areas, we're adding a special focus column for business, government, education, community, and "junior" User Groups. The following article, featuring an update on Apple's outreach to government users, kicks off this discussion area. The Government Connection Our tax dollars are supporting the purchase of computers, including Apple systems, in government. So we think you might want to know how these systems are being used. This column is designed to keep you in touch with interesting updates regarding Apple in government. If you have questions on Apple's government program or government User Group activities, write to Joan Tabb, Program Manager for Government and Business User Groups, who will be contributing to this column on a regular basis. Contact her at AppleLink: TABB1, or at the Apple User Group Connection, M/S 36AA, 20525 Mariani Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014. Did you know that Apple has a Government Affairs group, alive and well in the Washington, D. C. area? Bill Poulos, Manager of Government Affairs, explains that the group serves mainly as a lobbying base for end-user concerns, monitoring public policy issues and local, state, and national legislation that affect Apple Computer and its customers. As such, their work puts them in direct contact with Apple users and the User Groups who represent them. Bill says that User Groups "have a tremendous grass-roots input and are a great asset to Apple's efforts to gain presence in the government arena." That's why Bill is working to incorporate User Groups into his program, where he feels they can really have an impact on Capitol Hill. One example: Current legislation is being proposed by the FCC to raise rates on interstate telecommunications services. This is a hot issue on which User Groups can really make a difference. What is Apple doing to bring government User Groups together? This month, Apple will bring key government User Groups together in a first-time-ever conference designed to explore the special issues of Apple User Groups in a government setting. The User Group Connection and other Apple personnel will meet with leaders of the Apple government User Groups to learn more about their special programs, services, and opportunities in the government environment. This conference should initiate an ongoing dialogue between government User Groups and Apple. ------------------------------------ With a smile . . . A flyer appearing in several locations at the Pentagon: "MS-DOS. Just Say No." And the Pentagon User Group takes full responsibility. Hmmmm. A sign or affection, or a sign of the times? [SIDEBAR] Apple's Government Affairs group is in direct contact with Apple users and the User Groups who represent them. Just Add Water! Want to start a User Group? Expand an existing one? Offer more services and work with your community? The only ingredient you need is Just Add Water! That's the title of Apple's soon-to-be-published resource guide for User Groups-a veritable recipe for success for new groups, old groups, large groups, and small groups. There's something for just about everyone, including topics on: o getting connected with Apple o starting a User Group o maintaining a User Group o developing organizational strategies o communicating with other User Groups o working with Apple dealers o obtaining shareware o implementing creative projects (vastly different from the noncreative variety!) o understanding your group's nonprofit tax status Currently, we're exploring methods of distribution and expect Just Add Water to be available early in 1988. Look for further news in Quick Connect or check the AppleLink(R) network. [Photo Caption] While interning at the Apple User Group Connection, Ken Eddings, a graduate student of applied philosophy at Ohio's Bowling Green State University, cooked up Just Add Water just for you. [SIDEBAR] Just Add Water! That's the title of Apple's soon-to-be-published resource guide for User Groups. A User Group's Best Friend: FidoNet How would your User Group like to communicate with thousands of Macintosh users across the country and send mail to almost any networked computer in the world? You can with a FidoNet-compatible bulletin board system. Thanks to special "gateway" software for the Macintosh called TabbyNews, you can now link up your Macintosh with thousands of FidoNet-compatible bulletin boards throughout the country. Ported to the Macintosh by Michael Connick, a New Jersey-based computer consultant and author of the Mouse Exchange BBS program, FidoNet runs under Mouse Exchange and provides nationwide conferencing and electronic mail capabilities. With FidoNet compatibility, you can also join the nation's fastest growing on-line service for Macintosh owners: EchoMac. A national Macintosh Forum, EchoMac is a FidoNet conference that serves an estimated 10,000 users on 125 bulletin boards across the country. For more information, contact your nearest FidoNet Bulletin Board or contact SMUG at AppleLink UG0031, BMUG at AppleLink UG0001, or write to BMUG, 1442A Walnut Street, #62, Berkeley, CA 94709. In the Bay Area, you can also use your modem to call the Macintosh Tribune at (415) 923-1235 or Mac Q at (415) 661-7374. [SIDEBAR] FidoNet makes it possible for Macintosh bulletin boards throughout the country to be linked. [Trivia Questions] page 2 What breakthrough product did the developers Bricklin and Frankston bring to the market? page 3 What was the first Apple program that would start up with the same disk on an Apple II and Apple II+? page 4 What two words does "bit" stand for? page 5 What was the name of the world's first functional electronic computer completed in 1946? page 6 What is the name of the Japanese operating system for the Macintosh? [Bulletin Board Items] 1988 Calendar of Events January 15-17 MACWORLD Expo San Francisco, CA April 8-10 National Apple Users Group Conference Ann Arbor, MI 313-662-1199 May 20-22 AppleFest Boston, MA June 10-12 Southwest Apple User Group Conference Phoenix, AZ 602-277-8511 August 10-12 Macworld Expo Boston, MA September 16-18 AppleFest San Francisco, CA If you would like to have your national or regional User Group event printed here in future issues, please write to Phyllis Farnam, Apple User Group Connection, 20525 Mariani Ave., M/S 36AA, Cupertino, CA 95014. Did You Know? The Macintosh, along with MicroPhone(TM), was on board during the World Cup Power Boat Races held recently in Guernsey, England, calculating speed, charting distances, and obtaining up-to-the-minute information on weather conditions. According to John Burdick of Saginaw, Michigan, a consultant to the Power Boat Association of America, "The Macintosh computer is so fast that we rely on it to perform essential tasks for these races." Trivia Teasers Answers page 2- VisiCalc page 3- AppleWriter(TM) page 4- Binary and digit page 5- The ENIAC page 6- KanjiTalk In Apple's History . . . DECEMBER 1976-Apple I computer boards are now sold through ten retail stores in the U.S.-from San Francisco to Chicago to New York. 1977-First year sales close at $774,000. 1980-Apple goes public with 4.6 million shares at $22 per share. Every share is bought within minutes of the offering. 1981-Apple achieves a $1 billion annual sales rate. 1983-The Apple III+ is announced and the ImageWriter is introduced. 1984-Michael Jackson is presented with a Macintosh at the end of his "Victory Tour" in Los Angeles. 1985-Apple buys 14 pages of advertising in USA Today, all of them focusing on the Apple IIe and IIc. 1986-Over 200,000 AppleTalk(R) networks are now in place, making it one of the world's most preferred local area computer networks. Improved Access to the User Group Community The Apple User Group Connection happily announces the conversion of our User Group database to a relational database program. This means that we will be better able to direct appropriate developers, prospective members, and other User Group advocates to you. We will also be able to respond more quickly to changes in your groups by having a faster update mechanism and less lost mail, and can get more timely information to you. The new system is currently being installed, and we look forward to sharing its benefits with you in the near future. Staff Editors: Phyllis Farnam and Ellen Leanse Contributors: Jean-Louis Gasse, Bill Larson, Joan Tabb, Ken Eddings, and Terry Mock Writer: Janet Joers Design and Production: Aplin, Uno & Chibana 1987 Apple Computer, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Apple II gs, AppleFest, AppleLink, AppleTalk, and LaserWriter are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. AppleWriter, HyperCard, HyperTalk, Macintosh, and MultiFinder are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. AppleWorld is a service mark of Apple Computer, Inc. MACWORLD Expo is a registered trademark of World Expo Co., Inc. MicroPhone is a trademark of Software Ventures Corporation. Nubus is a trademark of Texas Instruments. Other third-party products named in this issue are trademarks of their respective companies. WHAT'S INSIDE The Government Connection Apple's Home Market Jean-Louis Gasse: An Exclusive Interview Just Add Water! FidoNet 1988 Calendar of Events *Reprinted from The Third Apple by Jean-Louis Gasse with permission from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.