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- Path: sparky!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle
- From: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
- Subject: What makes a computer "exciting"..?
- Message-ID: <72251@cup.portal.com>
- Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 23:13:26 PST
- Organization: The Portal System (TM)
- References: <1h2r5bINNqv5@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> <4895@wet.UUCP>
- <72180@cup.portal.com> <1992Dec22.125539.4044@cc.umontreal.ca>
- Lines: 42
-
- >>Wow, a 386 clone is about as exciting as watching re-runs of "Designing Wom
- >Tell me about yesterday's technology while you're at it...
-
- 3 lessons to be learned...
-
- 1. A processor is not the only thing that makes a good computer.
- 2. A 486/66Mhz does'nt necessarily mean 'loads of fun'
- 3. Yesterdays technology was only 24 hours ago. :-)
-
- Very good points..!
-
- Ok.. for a somewhat different discussion.. what exactly is it that
- makes a computer "exciting"..?
-
- Pattie Rayl doesn't like PCs because of the way they look. She
- likes the looks of the Mac, so I guess that for her, the physical
- appearance of a computer would be what is "exciting"..
-
- A lot of people like to compare specifications.. is a 32 bit bus
- better or worse than a 16 bit bus running with a CPU that can
- implement "look ahead" caching.. in that respect, the internal
- aspects of a computer are what are "exciting"..
-
- Others are excited by what the computer can actually do in
- "real world" applications..
-
- The Falcon is "exciting" because it combines a lot of features
- that are either "leading edge" or have the potential for unusual
- applications.
-
- A VAXcluster might even be "exciting" for some people because of the
- idea of multitasking a lot of processes and the system resources associated
- with a large system.
-
- To me, a '386 clone IS exciting, because I can use it to play
- Red Baron on the Sierra Network and shoot down (or get shot down
- by) friends from all over the country, something that can't
- be done with any other kind of computer at the moment.
-
- So, what is it that makes a computer "exciting"...?
-
- BobR
-