2141smh@aluxe.UUCP (S. M. Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA) (01/16/85)
**** ****
From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA aluxe!2141smh
> relatively unbiased report on the Mac ...(in Consumer Reports)
To be fair, here are some of the shortcomings pointed out by Consumers
review of an otherwise well recommended machine (appliance):
1) Although the Mac...comes with 128k of RAM -- not much of that is left
for actual data processing after the operating system and a program are
loaded.
2) It's offering a memory upgrade to 512k. But the upgrade costs $995.
3) The Mac has a standard 58-key keyboard with very few extra keys for
computing. An optional numeric key-pad is $99.
4) The Mac comes with a single built-in disk drive--and therein lies
another shortcoming.
5) When you load a program such as Macwrite, you must leave that program
disk in the drive.
6) The system files alone take up 212k of disk space. An applications
program like Macwrite takes up about 55k more. That leaves only 146k of
space on the disk for saving documents.
7) A second disk drive is a $495 option.
8) The monitor measures nine inches diagonally, compared with 11 inches
for the typical computer monitor.
9) You need a graphics printer specially adapted to the Mac. You must take
the $595 cost of the Imagewriter or similar printer into account.
10) A basic system lists for $2800 but the memory upgrade, printer, extra
disk drive, and key-pad bring the total to $4984.
Let's hope next week's announcement will eliminate all of these shortcomings.david@randvax.UUCP (David Shlapak) (01/18/85)
> **** **** > From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA aluxe!2141smh > > > relatively unbiased report on the Mac ...(in Consumer Reports) > > To be fair, here are some of the shortcomings pointed out by Consumers > review of an otherwise well recommended machine (appliance): > > 1) Although the Mac...comes with 128k of RAM -- not much of that is left > for actual data processing after the operating system and a program are > loaded. > 2) It's offering a memory upgrade to 512k. But the upgrade costs $995. Well, Consumer Reports is probably aimed at people buying a new computer, and for them, a "Fat Mac" costs about the same as a regular Mac did when it was introduced, so the real meaning of the "$995" upgrade is debatable. > 3) The Mac has a standard 58-key keyboard with very few extra keys for > computing. An optional numeric key-pad is $99. Who needs a numeric keypad? I'll bet significantly less than half of current or future Mac owners miss it...hell, my $n000 terminal at work doesn't have a numeric keypad! > 4) The Mac comes with a single built-in disk drive--and therein lies > another shortcoming. -- > 7) A second disk drive is a $495 option. The "Fat Mac" solves this one pretty well for most people too. > 8) The monitor measures nine inches diagonally, compared with 11 inches > for the typical computer monitor. I don't have much trouble dealing with the screen size; I find it much MORE legible than the bigger screens on Big Blue PCs. > 9) You need a graphics printer specially adapted to the Mac. You must take > the $595 cost of the Imagewriter or similar printer into account. Well, there are now interfaces coming out for all kinds of printers. And besides, since when can one avoid "taking into account" the cost of a printer when one buys a computer? The only machine I can think of that comes with a printer is (was?) Adam, which as we all know, turned out to be a stroke of marketing genius. And, for the price one actually pays (<$500), the Imagewriter is not such a bad deal! The honest truth, as I see it anyway, is that the "Fat Mac" is MORE computer than most people will ever need. I'm sure that all you serious addicts out there wil never be satisfied until Apple sticks 10Mb of RAM into the thing, packages it with a 40 meg hard-disk, a laser printer, and 4.n Berkeley UNIX and sells it for $299.99, but me, I'll settle. Cheers! --- das