From: bpb9204@tamsun.tamu.edu (Brent Burton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Sozobon (or other free C's): would this strategy work?
Date: 8 Jan 1993 00:57:49 -0600
Organization: Texas A&M Univ., Inc.
Distribution: comp
NNTP-Posting-Host: tamsun.tamu.edu

rduta@nyx.cs.du.edu (Radu) writes:
| 
|I take that whole post as a direct insult! 

Geez.

| Just because you have
|the money to go ahead and buy MPW or Think C, doesn't mean that everyone can.
|I for one can't even come close to spitting out the $150 for Think C.  I'm 
|currently a student in colege so that could explain the lack of funds. 

I bought Think C about three years ago.  Since the campus computer store
didn't carry it then, I had to cough up $169 mail order to get it.
But now, you can visit your campus computer store (if it has one), and 
get a copy for about $75 (it's actually $70 here).  If there is no store
or they don't carry it, I'm sure you can work a deal with either Symantec
or perhaps somebody at the university with clout.

Anyway, $150 is only equivalent to little more than two text books.
With a student job on campus somewhere, you can make that easily in a month.

|On
|the other hand I'm using a Mac + which i bought for less that 200.  So
|before i spend more money on a compiler than I spend for my comuter i'll
|much rather buy another computer.  

Well, you'll have many PeeCees to choose from.  And pretty soon, they'll
look like a mac, too.

|I hapen to agree with FSF drive against apple, I'm all for it, and i think they
|have a good reason for it as well.  Apple has had the bad habbit of
|ripping people off since the bigining of time.  

I personally think it's an arbitrary decision on their part.  Apple has
become the industry bad boy, the FSF scapegoat.

What I'm worried about is folks like Microsoft.  They are literally taking
over the PeeCee market.  When one company becomes as big as MS and as
far reaching, there isn't much new technology (software) developed as
there would have been with many many smaller companies.  I think the FSF
(and everybody else) should be boycotting Microsoft for their industry
takeover!  (OK, it's not that bad yet, but it's close).

In the past I've said some pretty nasty things about Apple (prices, quality
of my old mac +) but Apple has really turned their act around.  Back in
August I bought a new IIsi for a decent price.  In short, Apple makes
quality products (the quality has been improving) and you have to pay
for that quality.

|Recently i was debating buying a  mac CI for 2000, noting how much prices
|came down, but then I saw a 486 66 for only 1000.  Now lets face it, a 486
|66 will cream a 68030 25.  Put linux on it, and your set, not to mention
|that i'll have all the code that has ever been written for unix.  

No, you'll still have to download it.  Just because you get a PeeCee
doesn't mean you get all the code in the world.  I have a mac - I can get
all the code in the world (and sometimes, I feel like I've downloaded 
that much.)

Also, when considering how much a PeeCee costs, do you even ponder the
*quality* of the machine?  Have you ever looked at the common clone?
At my last system administration job here on campus, I had to screw with,
and I mean *screw* with PeeCees.  Most PeeCees have a cheap case, thin
internal frame that doesn't keep the motherboard secured (the motherboard
flexes with the frame), the harddrives are usually cheap, like Seagate,
and the overall look of the computer smells of cheapness.  Your common
clone will not survive a year being run continuously without something
happening.

Now when you consider quality, like IBM or Compaq, the price for a PeeCee
goes up dramatically.  

|I strongly feel that someone should write a port for GCC, something that
|is independant of MPW, or any other comertial product.  I can't make it happen
|since I don't know enough, but i hope someone that knows enough can and will
|do it.     Make it happen!

Well, they are.  Have your heard of TopSoft?  They are getting it together.

|*******************************************************************************
|I only kill to know I'm alive!

I guess it is all relative.

-Brent
-- 
+-------------------------+
| Brent Burton    N5VMG   |    
| bpb9204@tamsun.tamu.edu |  
+-------------------------+ 
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