>>>There's some evidence to suggest that the Lisa is the Apple VI, which raises
>>>the question of what happened to IV and V.
>>
>> I think it would be more accurate to say that Apple considered naming the
>> Lisa the Apple IV. "Lisa" was originally just a code name, after all.
>
>In what way can that be said to be more accurate?
"...Lisa is the Apple IV" gives one the impression that the Apple IV was
a definite computer, rather than just a name that was considered, but
never actually used, for the Lisa.
It is quite probable Apple considered using the name "Apple IV" for many
computers that shipped after the Apple ///. Said Steve Wozniak, in
reference to the Apple ///, "...when we reintroduced it we should have
called it the Apple IV." (The Mac Bathroom Reader, pg 34).
My point is, "Apple IV" is such a logical name for a computer from Apple
that it could have been considered for just about anything. "Apple IV",
however, is not the sort of name that was used as a codename at Apple,
and therefore most likely would not have been called so in the
development stage, though there are many prototypes that could have ended
up bearing that name.
Of course, I'm just hypothesizing here. :-)
>Aside from the marketing model numbers, the only information I've ever found
>regarding alternate names that may have been considered was the story about
>the name "Applause".
According to _The Mac Bathroom Reader_, by Owen Linzmayer, page 80:
"Apple figured it needed a more professional-sounding name to appeal to
the business market, so it hired an outside consulting firm to recommend
a new name. Among others, they suggested Applause, Apple IV, Apple 400,
The Coach, Espirit, Teacher, and The World. Quite an effort went into
thinking up a different name, but the forthcoming computer had already
received so much press coverage under its code name that Apple reverse
engineereed the explanation that Lisa stood for 'Local Integrated
Software Architecture'"
If you're interested in reading about Mac History & prototypes, _The Mac
Bathroom Reader" by Owen Linzmayer and _AppleDesign_ by Paul Kunkel are
both excellent books.
Tom Owad
--
Sysop of Caesarville Online
Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>
Received on Tue Oct 06 1998 - 20:26:17 BST