[TenTec] While Supplies Last

[Paul Gates via TenTec]

I remember Osborne. Really wanted one but could not afford it at the time!

Paul KD3JF
--------------------------------------------
On Sun, 7/6/14, geoffrey mendelson <geoffreymendelson at gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [TenTec] While Supplies Last
 To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec at contesting.com>
 Date: Sunday, July 6, 2014, 3:09 AM
 
 On 7/6/2014 1:58 AM, Toby
 Pennington wrote:
 > I just noticed this
 little phrase in the advertising piece sent out by 
 > RF Concepts concerning the sale going on
 now.  "While Supplies 
 >
 Last".   It almost sounds like when the
 supply is exhausted there will 
 > be no
 more of these rigs available. Implication could be that
 their 
 > desire is to  sell down current
 stock,  and perhaps send out a new new 
 > rig for marketing.  In retail,  "
 while supplies last" could mean 
 >
 several things.
 You can be sure that the one
 thing they want to avoid is the Osborne 
 Effect. For those that do not know, Adam
 Osborne sold a microcomputer 
 (before IBM
 coined the phrase Personal Computer). Osborne's computer
 was 
 unique in the small computer business,
 it included software in the price 
 of the
 computer. In those days there were few competitors for
 software, 
 if you wanted an operating
 system, you HAD to buy a copy of CP/M. If you 
 wanted to do word processing, from a single
 page letter or list to a 
 novel, you HAD to
 buy WordStar, and so on..
 
 Osborne included (bundled from an old IBM term)
 all of these and others 
 with his computer
 and sold it for LESS than the sum of their retail prices.
 
 He did very well, UNTIL he
 announced the Osborne 2. It was such a great 
 advance that no one bought another Osborne 1 in
 anticipation of the 
 Osborne 2. He went
 bankrupt.
 
 Geoff.
 
 -- 
 Geoffrey
 S. Mendelson 4X1GM/N3OWJ
 Jerusalem
 Israel.
 
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