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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
- Path: sparky!uunet!europa.asd.contel.com!darwin.sura.net!mips!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!ames!nsisrv!smoon@strfleet.gsfc.nasa.gov
- From: smoon@strfleet.gsfc.nasa.gov (Sang J. Moon)
- Subject: Re: Macs cost too much (NOT!)
- Message-ID: <1992Jul27.142716.373@nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov>
- Sender: usenet@nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov (Usenet)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: dschonvachler.gsfc.nasa.gov
- Organization: NASA GSFC Code 534.3
- References: <1992Jul23.143042.14243@nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <14832@claris.com> <1992Jul24.143921.19730@nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <1992Jul24.214739.20091@wuecl.wustl.edu>
- Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 14:27:16 GMT
- Lines: 91
-
- In article <1992Jul24.214739.20091@wuecl.wustl.edu>, gene@wucs1.wustl.edu (_Floor_) writes:
- >
- > In article <1992Jul24.143921.19730@nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> smoon@strfleet.gsfc.nasa.gov (Sang J. Moon) writes:
- > ] In article <14832@claris.com>, mike_steiner@qm.claris.com (Mike Steiner) writes:
- > ] >
- > ] > In article <1992Jul23.143042.14243@nsisrv.gsfc.nasa.gov>, smoon@strfleet.gsfc.nasa.gov (Sang J. Moon) writes:
- > ] > > The system I got was:
- [stuff deleted]
- > ] > > high resolution mouse
- >
- > Why should there even be an option for resolution?
-
- Because regular mouses have a maximum if 300dpi resolution.
-
- [stuff deleted]
- > ] > > If you respond to this post, please list the system you bought and
- > ] > > how much you paid for it. It shows what you actually have to back your
- >
- > Okay, I'll chip in. I spent $4800 three years ago on a ][cx with
- > 40mb hd, 5mb ram, 8bit color (at a time out of a 24-bit palette),
- > and a 13" Apple monitor. Oh, and a 1200bps modem.
- >
- > At the same time, my dorm neighbor got a PS/2 with 40mb hd, 1mb ram,
- > 8bit color (a set 256 colors), and a 12" monitor, all for ~$3000.
- >
- > My computer kicked his computer's butt on number crunching, graphics,
- > ease of installing software (we both had to do this frequently due to
- > small hard drives), and ease of figuring out how to do things right
- > away. Whenever anyone wanted to write a paper, they'd come ask to use
- > my computer. When anyone wanted to do some heavy computations, they
- > asked for my computer. When someone wanted to look at neat gifs, they
- > (even the guy who owned the PS/2, since I could _read_ MS-DOS disks!)
- > would ask for my computer. When someone wanted to make drawings,
- > they'd ask for my computer.
- >
- > It was easy for me to show people (anybody) just once how to use my
- > mac, and they could figure things out on there own from then on. Not
- > so for the pc. Now though my computer cost ~60% more, it was _worth_
- > many times more!
- >
- > Anyone who thinks installing software on a pc is typically as easy as
- > it is on a mac is kidding themselves. There are some applications that
- > do take a while to install on a mac, but comparable programs usually
- > take even longer on a pc. Nearly every program I installed on my machine
- > required simply copying it from a floppy to the hard drive.
- >
- > _____ "But you can't really call that a dance. It's a walk." - Tony Banks
- > / ___\ ___ __ ___ ___ _____________ gene@cs.wustl.edu
- > | / __ / _ \ | / \ / _ \ | physics | gene@lechter.wustl.edu
- > | \_\ \ | __/ | /\ | | __/ |racquetball| gev1@cec2.wustl.edu
- > \_____/ \___/ |_| |_| \___/ |volleyball | gene@camps.phy.vanderbilt.edu
- > Gene Van Buren, Kzoo Crew, Washington Univ. in St. Louis - #1 in Volleyball
-
- This experience is similar to what I had in college as well except it was
- me showing off the macs over the pcs in the labs. It was easy to do so
- when they were just running DOS. Another reason I was able to outperform
- the PCs was because I had more access to shareware and public domain DAs
- & control panels & inits while the PC advocates usually did not have such
- support. If you check the ftp sites for PCs now, they now have the
- utilities to do GIFs and more. Also the PS/2 series were ridiculously
- expensive. To get a decent PS/2 to compare with something like a IIcx,
- you had to put out as much or more than a mac. When clones first appeared
- few took them seriously, but now they are at least 100% cheaper than a
- corresponding mac and you get quality to rival IBM. Word processing was
- great on the mac because it was the only WSIWYG word processor available
- to most people, but you can get WSIWYG in Windows now. The coming of Windows
- shouldn't be downgraded too much. Windows 3.0 had it's faults, but the
- faults are being fixed in successive releases. It is going through similar
- development that the Mac OS went through, and if Apple doesn't lower its
- prices, people will opt for Windows over the Mac. But it looks like Apple
- is getting the picture. The price of a IIsi 5/80 system with monitor and
- extended keyboard dropped from $3000 to $2800 in the past week.
-
- Installing software for most software for either machine is relatively
- easy assuming you had a relatively uncluttered system, but you can have
- problems with either. I just recently installed MacLinkPC Plus on my
- IIsi, and it caused at least one application to hang. I reinstalled
- system 7, and the problem disappeared. I did this because MacLinkPC
- modified a system controlled file called DRVR during installation. The
- problem with either machine is in deinstalling software. I usually
- deinstall software on a PC by deleting the program folder and searching
- through the autoexec.bat, config.sys, and win.ini files. I deinstall
- software on the mac by deleting the program folder and searching through
- the system, extension, control panel, and preferences folders. It's
- usually is no significant labor either way.
-
- I'm impressed that you had a IIcx in college. All I could afford was a
- used Apple ][ plus, but I could do more on it than the guy next door with
- a PC (heh heh).
-
- Sang J. Moon
-