Concern about Apple offer

Press, 29 June 1982, Page 21

Concern about Apple offer

The Post Primary Teachers’ Association’ has written to every secondary school in the country expressing concern, as a matter of principle, about special offers tor school computers, such as that made by Apple Computer ' recent I v.

The letter drew attention to the implications of buying a computer offered at a cheap price, and then finding that a commitment to that brand had virtually been made.

"The offer from CED Distributors has the potential to capture a significant share of the market.” said Mr Bruee Webster, the general secretary of the P.P.T.A. "Once a particular market has been cornered, a supplier does not have to operate competitively and the

price can float upwards." But Mr Webster admitted that the advice might he hard to take. “To a school that is scraping up money to bu.v a computer the offer of a quarter-price computer is pretty tempting."

"The situation makes the association regret very much that the Government has been so lackadaisical getting to grips with the computer problem in schools," said Mr Webster.

He described the specification that is soon to be released by the State Services Commission as "the first tangible thing in two to three years that the Department of Education has done to give schools advice.”

“In view of the Apple offer it is too little, too late,” he said.