[Duo2400] Re: Expanding the list -- not closing it.

[Ivan Drucker]

>Hi, ListMom here.
>...trying to decide where we take the list.
>Thoughts?
>
>Eric Prentice
>ListMom

I am sympathetic to expanding the list, because it is a small club that 
will only dwindle in size. I initially thought it would make sense, when 
you suggested it, to include the new 12", especially since I'm 
considering buying one. But upon reading various opinions, I think I've 
come down on the side of not including the 12". It really would turn into 
two lists; the hardware, architecture, and OS are so different that I can 
imagine 2400 people being bored by the 12" discussions, and new 12" 
listers being REALLY bored by the 2400 discussions (rather than 
appreciating Apple's portable heritage). Almost any topic currently on 
the list is potentially interesting to the subscriber, but that would 
cease to be the case if the 12" machines were added. Plus, unlike the Duo 
and 2400 machines, which were always somewhat esoteric, a zillion people 
are going to buy the 12" models (as they have iBooks), and the list might 
lose its homey feel.

Therefore, I would propose expanding it -- but rather than to include the 
new "compact" portable, perhaps it should include other older PowerBooks. 
I am not sure where the cutoff should be -- pre-Titanium/iBook? Pre-G3? 
Old World? But I think if we were to do that, it would expand the list 
base while keeping things much more relevant to all readers. I think what 
a 3400 owner may well appeal to a 2400 owner, and the same goes for 1xx 
users to Duo users. Accessores, software, etc -- the 12" has almost 
nothing in common with the 2400 beyond the brand, but there are lots of 
machines which do have a lot in common. The 12" machine would actually 
probably have a happy home on the iBook list, I would think.

I personally would propose a pre-G3 cutoff, perhaps with the exception of 
the original one that looks like a 3400 (Kanga/3500). The PowerBook G3 
Series (Wall/Main Street/Lombard/Pismo) is kind of its own family and has 
a large user base, plus those machines run OS X natively, which is a 
significant difference. To include everything before those machines would 
keep the list somewhat esoteric, which I think is part of its appeal (the 
PowerBook 100 was kind of the 2400 of its day), yet broaden it enough to 
inject some new life into it.

Anyway, just a thought.

Ivan.