nather@utastro.UUCP (07/15/84)
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AST has announced, and is delivering, a monochrome graphics/text card for
the IBM PC that includes a serial port, a parallel port, and a clock-
calendar. It goes for $429 at a local discount store. The AST ads speak
highly of it.
BE WARNED!
They offer *no* graphics support whatsoever -- they don't even tell you
how the board works, how to address a pixel -- the graphics option is hardly
even mentioned in the manual. They supply *no* software of any kind, demos
or otherwise, to even show the graphics work.
A call to the factory was less than satisfactory --
"It runs Lotus 1-2-3."
"But I don't WANT to run Lotus 1-2-3."
"Well, that's what the board is for...we offer no support for graphics besides
what's in the manual."
"There's *nothing* in the manual."
"I know that. It runs Lotus 1-2-3."
Experiment shows it also runs HBASIC -- the modification of BASICA supplied
with the Hercules graphics card -- and probably is a Hercules clone. If you
buy one you can have a lot of fun guessing how it works -- AST won't tell
you a damn thing. And the discount house won't take it back.
Emptors had damn well better caveat.
--
Ed Nather
{allegra,ihnp4}!{ut-sally,noao}!utastro!nather
Astronomy Dept., U. of Texas, Austin