Mac OS 8 gets a warm
reception in isles

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Honolulu computer dealers say Apple Computer Inc.'s new operating system, Mac OS 8, is selling briskly in the islands, as it is across the nation.

"We're receiving more calls than we generally would on Apple products in general," said Michael Ching, general manager of Technology Integration Group, formerly MicroAge Computers. Ching said the launching of OS 8 last month seems to have spurred some interest in Apple.

At a demonstration in the Internet Cafe on Kapahulu Avenue last week, the store was crowded with people watching Rolf Nordahl, founder of the MacMouse Club, put the system through its paces on a big screen.

"All eyes were on Rolf," said Mike Palcic, Nordahl's partner in the Waikiki Apple sales and service business.

"We're getting a huge volume of calls," Palcic said, and the system software is selling fast. Nordahl has been using it on his own computers for about a month and calls it a great advance in the way Apples work.

Betty Markowski, owner of Mac Made Easy in the Manoa Marketplace, said she is selling OS 8 packages as fast as she can get them.

"We can't keep enough in. We're selling more than I expected," she said.

Markowski said the system still has a few conflicts with other programs that Macintosh owners might have in their computers.

That's common with new systems and Apple is working on the conflicts, she said. "Overall I haven't had very many complaints at all. We're even recommending it to our corporate accounts."

Markowski said she was on a back order list for a few days but Apple caught up and delivered everything she wanted.

Errol Kaufman, whose the MacSource business in Hauula equips high-end Apple users such as video and audio production companies, said his clients aren't clamoring for OS 8.

Like Markowski, he mentioned the conflicts with other software and said he is looking forward to the time when the system is bug-free.

Reviewers in national computer magazines and computer industry columnists have been saying OS 8 has few conflicts compared to what's normal in radically new systems.

OS 8, they say, actually makes the Macintosh less prone to "crashes," the times when a screen goes blank or a warning sign requires the operator to restart the machine.

Island dealers mentioned prices ranging from $99 to about $110. Current Macintosh owners can get a $30 rebate from Apple when they buy the new system.

Some stores on the mainland are selling the system at a discount, according to the Associated Press.