wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (05/17/84)
<****>
I have owned my 1541 for nearly a year, and have just had to repair it
when I rode it into the ground during a 12 hour computing session. It
cost $60 to repair (repair by local company) and seems to be working OK
now. By current list prices, I still have spent less than the price of
an MSD drive. I suggest waiting for the new 1542 drive, which has the
same specs but replaces the idiotic disk clamp system with a "turn lever
to latch" type.
I have used the Gazette program, "Speedscript", quite a bit, and am happy
with it (especially for the price). I have written up to 20 page documents
with it, and my only complaint is that the insert function is very slow
if you insert something near the beginning of a long document. One
glitch I've found, the first time after powerup that I try to print a
document, the printer dumps some garbage first. It works normally after
that.
For a printer, unless you have specific need for true letter quality, I
suggest sticking with dot matrix. My Gemini 10X cost $290 (plus $70 for
CARDCO-G interface) and has good print quality, expecially in the
Doublestrike/emphasised modes. The advantage of a dot matrix is, of course,
speed. That 20 page document I refered to earlier printed out in about
twenty minutes, at about 60 CPS. The equivalent time required for a 13 CPS
daisy wheel is left as an exercise for the student. A daisy wheel is
also obviously much better for program listings, too.
Ron Wanttaja
(ssc-vax!wanttaja)