From: mathew <mathew@mantis.co.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Macs cost too much (NOT!)
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 12:25:57 BST
Distribution: world
Organization: Mantis Consultants, Cambridge. UK.

ASI509@DJUKFA11.BITNET writes:
> In article <5794.2a6ac834@hayes.com>, bcoleman@hayes.com (Bill Coleman) says:
> >Huh. Isn't your time worth something? Isn't that part of the reason for
> >buying a computer in the first place -- in order to save you time and
> >hassle to get something done? If the computer creates work instead of
> >diminishing it, then it hasn't fulfilled it's job.
> 
> Depends on who has to pay for the machine. If it`s my boss then you`re right.
> But there are even people out there who repair their cars themselves. I _can_
> install OS/2 or Windoze on an Intel box (i.e. I know how to push in the disks
> and for some hundred $$$ I do it myself.

Yeah, well, I can install Windows as well.  But now that I've done it about
ten times, I'm getting a bit pissed off doing it.

Windows seems to have a half-life of about 30 days.  Around once a month
something decays and stops working.  This happens even when I don't fiddle
with it.  For example, this month my DOS shells stopped working properly. 
They were causing internal errors in the Clipper compiler.  I hadn't touched
the settings for my DOS shells since the month before, when I last installed
Windows.

To get my compiler to work again, I had to blast the windows directory and
reinstall again from scratch.  As I say, I have to do this about once a month.
Each time, it takes me about an afternoon to get everything reinstalled the
way it was to start with.  Fortunately it's not my time; I don't mind being
paid to watch applications re-installing.

I fiddle with the System on my Mac at home all the time.  I go in with
ResEdit on the System and Finder.  I try out all sorts of qool INITs (I
generally run six or seven of 'em.)  In spite of this, the System appears to
be solid.  I often leave the machine booted up for days at a time without
problems, and I've never had to reinstall the System.

> >So? What do you have? You have a CPU, Disk, Color display, Sound,
> >printer, modem. Sounds like the IIsi, right? Almost, but not
> >quite.
> 
> OK there is no microphone (I never use it on my IIsi) there is no ability to
> put five CRTs on my desk an shuffle the mouse around them (who buys two
> monitors for a 3k machine) and its five times faster for real cpu intensive
> tasks.

Like running Windows, for example.  But try seeing how fast your machine is
at running (say) a complicated Excel spreadsheet under Windows, and compare
*that* with the Mac.

> >into a network using ARA! Then you'd need network protocols, wouldn't you?
> >How about 32-bit color model in the OS? It's going to be hard to make
> >use of that fancy display without a consistant OS support for the display.
> 
> Do we talk about DOS or PC compatible computers in the $3k league ?
> For these machines there IS consistant OS(/2) support for the display.

Oh, good.  Perhaps you'll tell me where I can get some OS/2 Trident TVGA
drivers for my Copam B-2430 video card.  I'd love to run OS/2 on this $3k PC,
but I don't want to do it at standard VGA resolution when my video card can
handle much more.


mathew
-- 
Ceci | n'est pas une pipe.