williams@kirk.dec.com (John Williams DTN 223-2163) (10/26/86)
After sifting through the mail, two thoughts came to mind: First, I think an enhancement to uucoding is warranted. A simple checksum at the end would do the trick, and would be compatible with earlier versions. An earlier version would simply ignore the checksum at the end, with no further complications. It would a least help to zero in on network problems. As it is, most versions I have seen add a character at the end of the lines so that spaces are not truncated. Why not replace this with a simple checksum? Second, the ST is an excellent work machine. The 68000 blows away the 8086 types. The lack of software, as has been pointed out, is only because the machine is only one year old. I held out until the ST came out, I have one of the first machines. I have done all sorts of work with it ( at home, where I can find peace and quiet ) from editing to graphics for presentations. I am completely satisfied with the performance. I have had absolutely no problems of any kind using the ST. I will admit that I am still awaiting a good symbolic debugger, perhaps Mark Williams is what I am looking for ( You really need a hard drive to use it ). I am writing this article from an ST right now, using PC Intercom through an Avatex modem, as reliably as if I were in front of my VT100. As far as software piracy goes, people with money to burn on outdated PC's probably have money to burn on useless software. Anything super-expensive belongs on a mainframe anyways. Here is a list on things I want to be able to do on my ST, all which I am completely satisfied with: Word processing Telecommunications Graphic illustrations Games Programming languages ( with the exception of the symbolic debugger ) Spreadsheet analysis All this stuff is available. Now. I'm not looking for a turn-key system to run my business for me. ( which is a dangerous prospect, to say the least, refer to the court case against lotus ) Anything a manager has against the ST in favor of the PC is purely ignorant bias. He most certainly has been watching too many TV commercials. John. decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-kirk!williams
jhs@MITRE-BEDFORD.ARPA (10/26/86)
In summary, if you want to be a Clown, buy an IBM PC. -John S.