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Mac Musings
Rumors and Speculation
Dan Knight - 13 January 1998
During Macworld San Francisco came the rumors that Claris would discontinue Emailer. With freeware Eudora Lite and the emailer in Internet Explorer 4.0, perhaps people would be unwilling to pay for Emailer.
Well, I paid for Emailer - and for the upgrade to 2.0. At work we're slowly moving people from Eudora Lite to Emailer. It's simply the best email manager on the market, as MacHome recognizes in the February 1998 issue. Emailer is the kind of insanely great software Microsoft never manages to come up with.
- Frankly, if this is the case, I will start a "Save Emailer" campaign.
Today (Jan. 13) MacInTouch relates rumors that Claris will sell FileMaker Pro to Oracle and ClarisWorks and the Mac OS will be brought under the Apple banner. The operative word, of course, is rumors.
Putting one and one together, I wonder if Apple plans of closing the Claris division. (Yes, one of Apple's consistent profit centers.) If so, why?
Mind you, this is only speculation. Steve Jobs already has Apple in bed with Microsoft, which need not be a bad thing. But what if part of the agreement was that Apple would not compete with Microsoft in the applications software arena?
If that were the case, Claris would try to sell FileMaker Pro to someone who would keep it alive and well. Frankly, FileMaker Pro is the most important product in the Claris stable, if not in the entire Macintosh software industry. Too many users depend on FileMaker for it to simply disappear.
With Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and CyberDog bundled with the Mac OS, users already have three options for surfing the internet and managing their email. Anyone can download Eudora Lite for free. AOL users get free software.
Yet Claris Emailer has carved out a niche among those willing to pay for email software. It stands head and shoulders above the free products, offering easy integration of multiple email accounts and powerful filtering and storage options. Frankly, it's worth every penny Claris charges for it.
But if Apple has agreed to pull out of the software business, Emailer will either be killed or sold off.
Fortunately, Microsoft Works seems to be history, killed by Microsoft Office on the high end and ClarisWorks on the low end. I wouldn't want Office on my computer, but I'd be lost without ClarisWorks. Apple must keep it alive, even if only to bundle with computers as a catchall application.
- BTW, Claris pretty much cleaned up in MacHome's Reader's Choice Awards. ClarisWorks won both the word processing and spreadsheet categories. FileMaker Pro took database honors. Emailer handily won as the best email application. And Home Page was top choice for web page creation.
I'd be lost without Home Page. Version 1 was excellent. Version 2 was incredible. Version 3 is almost untoppable (well, I could add one or two features). But Microsoft also makes web design software....
If Apple kills Claris the cash cow, many of us will be justifiably upset. We have grown dependent on the efficiency of ClarisWorks, the power of FileMaker Pro, the grace of Emailer, and the simplicity of Home Page.
Sure, Apple can sell these products to other vendors, but that dismantles the best competition Microsoft has. (Did you know that the fastest growing sector at Claris is Windows versions of these applications?)
Let's hope the rumors and speculation are false. Claris has been a shining star in the Macintosh heavens.
Dan Knight , webmaster, Low End Mac-
MacWeek posted the following article on January 15, 1998.
Claris Emailer alive and kicking
- Contrary to rumors circulating on the Internet, Claris Emailer isn't dead....
- "In a nutshell, Claris has not ceased development of Emailer," said Steve Ruddock, a spokesman for the Santa Clara, Calif., company.
It's public knowledge that Emailer 2.0v3 is under development; release is immanent. Thus, "Claris has not ceased development of Emailer." However, note that there is no promise of future versions or upgrades - only the statement that the program remains under development at the present time.
If you use Claris Emailer, use this link to let Claris know what you think of it, and that you hope they continue improving it.
Addition January 30, 1998
- If you use Claris Emailer, click here to join Mac Geeks' Think Emailer! campaign. I personally think Emailer is a gem. It's so well done, I haven't even considered Eudora Pro or Outlook Express.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Musings
- Our Debt to the IBM PC, 01.09. A Mac user looks at the legacy of the IBM PC.
- Surprise, Average Broadband Throughput Is Lower than Maximum Throughput, 01.08. If a service is advertised as 8 Mbps maximum, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the average speed is below that number.
- The Lisa Legacy, 01.08. We should always remember how Apple's innovation paved the way for all future computers.
- The 17" Unibody MacBook Pro Value Equation, 01.07. The new model is a bit faster, a bit smaller, a bit lighter, and has an incredible 8-hour battery life.
- More in the Mac Musings index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 15" 'TiBook' PowerBook G4, Jan. 2001 - A new 1" thin PowerBook design with a titanium case, 15" widescreen display.
- Group of the Day: PowerList for those using Power Computing Mac clones.
- January 9 in LEM history: 01: Macworld keynote - 02: The new iMac - Redefining Apple's market - 03: Safari shows off the Apple difference - Impressions of Safari beta - 04: The colored iPod mini - 06: Installing 'Tiger' on unsupported Macs - Time to replace 5-year-old PowerBook - 07: iPhone and Apple TV - Axiotron Modbook - Mac vs. PC price comparisons are never fair - Backup to the rescue - 08: 2008 Mac Pro value equation
Recent Content on Low End Mac
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- Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad, L. Victor Marks, My First Mac, 01.09. Dad, thanks for bringing home that first IBM PC way back in 1981.
- What a Legacy: The Origin of the IBM PC, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.09. IBM introduced its PC on August 12, 1981, shaking up the entire personal computer industry. Today even Apple makes its computers IBM compatible.
- Heat Management for 'Books and the Last Mac to Run OS 9.1, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 01.08. Tips on keeping a first-gen MacBook Air from throttling back with CoolBook, using G4FanControl with a G4 PowerBook, and the fastest Mac that can boot Mac OS 9.1.
- A History of Apple's Lisa, 1979-1986, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.08. Originally envisioned as a business computer to replace the Apple II, the Lisa brought the mouse and GUI to the computer market - only to be felled by the less costly Macintosh.
- Lisa's DNA Is All Over Modern Computing, Ray Arachelian, Apple Seeds, 01.08. Those who label Apple's Lisa a failure are ignoring the computer's legacy that shows up in every personal computer sold today.
- The Innovative Lisa, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 01.08. Apple's Lisa and how it paved the way for the Macintosh.
- Waterfield First with SleeveCase for New 17" Unibody MacBook Pro, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 01.08. Waterfield has a reputation for top quality bags at appropriate prices, and it's already designed a sleeve for the new 17" Unibody MacBook Pro.
- Blackouts and Web Access, Death of a Kanga, the Future of PowerPC Macs, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 01.07. Also another email client suggestion and whether a G3 iMac can handle a 7200 rpm hard drive without overheating.
- How Netbooks Impact Microsoft and Apple, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 01.07. Netbooks are keeping Windows XP alive, which may slow adoption of Windows 7, and perceived value keeps the Mac market share growing at the expense of Windows.
- The Ill-Fated Apple III, Jason Walsh, Apple Before the Mac, 01.07. "...not only was the Apple III mind crunchingly expensive, it was made with none of the passion of the Apple II or Macintosh."
- 2 Apple Failures: Apple III and Lisa, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.07. Apple's two not-so-great product lines between the Apple II line and the Macintosh.
- Apple III Chaos: Apple's First Failure, Joshua Coventry, Cortland, 01.07. Apple had known nothing but success with its Apple II product line, but when it tried to enter the business world with the Apple III, the learned the cost of failure.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
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- Best G5 iMac Deals, 01.09. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $400; 1.8 SuperDrive, $450; 1.9 iSight, $575; 20" 1.8 GHz, $500; 2.0, $625; 2.1 iSight, $699.
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- Best Mac Pro Deals, 01.08. New 2.8 GHz 4-core, $2,099 after rebate; refurb 8-core, $2,399; new, $2,589 a/r; 3.0 $3,398 a/r; refurb 3.2, $4,099; new, $4,099 a/r.
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- More deals in our archive.
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