All is less than complete harmony in Apple Computer Inc’s future products department if a story in the San Francisco Examiner is to be believed. The range of forthcoming Macintosh machines reported from various sources is so large and varied that it lends weight to the paper’s report, attributed to Apple insiders, that product plans have been changed repeatedly as a result of internal squabbling at Apple. There are constant discussions about what’s going to happen next, comments one source. Trigger for the story was the intelligence that in January, Apple will bring out a Motorola 68030-based model of the Macintosh SE, offering performance comparable with that of the Macintosh IIx. The box is said to come with 4Mb or 8Mb of main memory, optional 40Mb or 80Mb disk, two expansion slots and built-in black-and white VDU – making it appear to be aimed at similar markets to those addressed by the IIx. Apple declined comment on the Examiner’s report: the paper also looks for the 12 lbs lap-top Macintosh, a cheaper Macintosh II, and a top-end II for launch during 1989.
