From: jerry@connection.prospect.com (Jerry Shekhel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: Amiga 4000/Atari Falcon
Date: 28 Aug 92 14:52:27 GMT
Organization: Molecular Simulations, Inc.
X-Posted-From: connection.prospect.com
X-Posted-Through: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

abs0@coos.dartmouth.edu (Kelvin Leung) writes:
>
>>Sounds great.								NOT!
>
>may I ask... why not?
>

Well, paying $700 for a 386sx BridgeBoard just doesn't make sense when a
486 motherboard can be had for $400.  Desoldering the 386sx and installing
a Cyrix chip makes even less sense for the average user.  Besides, lots of DOS
software requires such strict hardware compatibility that I just wouldn't
trust using such a non-standard PC.  There are already enough compatibility
issues among the several standard motherboard manufacturers that are out there.

>
>>Not much.  There are some minor (minute) MMU and instruction set differences
>>and a built-in FPU and cache.  It just runs a hell of a lot faster than a
>>386/387 combo.
>
>may I repeat myself once again... "What can a 486 do that a 386 can't?"
>

Hmmm...  Deliver a certain level of performance?  Process floating-point
instructions without a coprocessor?  What exactly are you looking for?

>
>now... what does those minor instruction difference has anything to do
>with my question?  please remember... we are talking about running IBM
>software... is there any 486 specific software out there?  (and please
>dont tell me NeXTSTEP 486, as it isn't out yet).  More importantly,
>how many people actually use those 486 specific software?
>

What's your point here?

>
>[Taping computer-based presentations]
>>
>>Amazing technological breakthrough.  I used to do the same thing (for an in-
>>store display) with a vintage 1981 Atari 800 that I bought used in 1984 for
>>$75.  Of course, there were no presentation software packages, so I had to
>>program each presentation myself (colorful scrolling text and pictures were
>>easy to do on the Atari).
>
>well... at least a stock Atari can do it--but a "stock" IBM clone cant...
>more power to the Atari.  (Jeff Young, et all, please help me defend against
>Jerry... :) :) )
>

Great, Kelvin.  I'm sure the millions of VGA and SVGA users out there would
just love to sacrifice their sharp hi-res displays for TV-quality output.

>
>Furthermore, let's not forget one thing: when the ATari 8 bit, Apple II
>, Sinclair ??? and Vic-20 were released, not that many can afford to buy
>a RGB monitor just for output.  Therefore, a composite output from the
>machine is not only a feature, but also essential.   As a result, true--
>the Atari 800 can do it... but that's because it has to... or else
>no one will buy it.
>

Ah, I see.  And the Amiga does it "by choice", and that makes it superior,
right?

>
>	So... what's my point?  I don't mean to upset you, Jerry.  Yes,
>I agree Amiga's price is much higher than an IBM clone... but that doesn't
>mean that the Amiga doesn't have its merits.  We like the Amiga... that's
>why we are still staying with the Amiga--and that doesn't mean I don't
>open myself to other computers either... I agree with Mykes--though he
>owns a Dell 486 now, he claims he will still keep and use his Amiga.  Now,
>Jerry, would you please try to understand us--we like our machine--and it
>isn't dead yet... so let's not try to convince us the Amiga is doom, ok? 
>thanks...
>

I don't have anything against the Amiga.  I myself like the machine.  What
I can't stand is when people bash systems without becoming informed about
them first.  Unfortunately, this happens all the time with the Amigoids on
this newsgroup.  When it happens, I post responses.  This makes some people
think that I'm some kind of anti-Amiga PC advocate, but I'm not.

>
>Besides... if you did manage to convince some of us to jump boat to 
>the IBM market... well... congratulations.  However, the same group of
>people would easily jump boat to another system when someone else
>convinces them...
>

If I did manage to convince anyone, it would be a surprise to me, because I
never *tried* to convince anyone to "jump boat" or anything like that.

>
>Kelvin
>
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| Jerry J. Shekhel  | Molecular Simulations | Time just fades the pages      |
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