kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y) (12/26/89)
In article <954@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU> bchurch@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU (Bob Church) writes: >> to upgrade a //c to //c+, sell your //c and with the money buy a Lasre >> 128EX/2. > >Hmm, we tried that once. I went to Columbus to help a friend buy a Laser. >Micro-Center informed us that they had sold twenty lasers that year >and that so far three had been returned because of defects. None of these Strange, my friends and I have never had any problems with them at all. I don't understand, why would anyone need help buying a Laser. :-( Just like buying a IIc, everything is built in, you don't need to worry about anything basically. From all the reviews I have seen, I am surprised about the defective rate. Also, only selling 20 unites a dealer a year is pretty out of the scale compares to what I read in A+/InCider. Could you clarify your statement so it's not just a rumour? >three had returned from Taiwan or wherever yet, but they told us that in the The Lasers were manufactured in Hong Kong. But the CopyII+ that bundled with it were Made in USA :-) Also, (at least on my warranty card) Central Point Software handels the repairs. They don't send it back overseas--does the Apple dealers send GS parts back to singapore? Do you know how long the shipping goes? Video Tech owns Central Point now but I think the handeling for repairing is still the same (although the company is Laser Computer--I think). By the way, some local dealers can handel repairs also. I have not dealt with them (I didn't need to). But one of the reasons I bought my Laser was because I read several magazine reviews about their second day turn around repairing policy and good service. >past the ROMs on the replacement lasers were often different so that some >software that worked before didn't work on the replacement machine. Their If you don't know it, please don't make a joke out of it. The ROM has been very compatible (actually so compatible that I wonder why Apple has not sue them). To confirm that my words are valid, I suggest you dig out your old Apple magazines, there were some wonderful reviews. There have not been many versions of ROMs either, because it was good at the first place. For me, except for 1 or 2 *old* *old* copy-protected arcade games (which won't work in a 65C02 base IIc as I was told), I have no compability problems at all. Considering all the strange stories your local dealer has told you. I suggest you contact Video Tech directly to find out how wrong your dealer has been handeling your case. >demo model was only compatible with software that didn't use a space bar >since theirs had fallen off and wouldn't go back on. Yep, sounds like a >real bargain to me. I'd be able to get all kinds of work done around the >house while the thing was being repaired. Hope my wife doesn't find out >about them Strange? All the other Lasers I have seen have good keyboards. Actually, the way I feel, the Laser keyboard is at least better than the IIe's. You may be different, but that space key does *not* pop. I suggest you contact Video Tech because some lowly manufactures in your area may be cloning the successful Laser--at least your story is very, very strange. >Bob Church >att!oucsace!bchurch Don't get me wrong, if the IIc+ was out or if Zip chip was reliable enough, I would have bought a genuine Apple. I needed all the processor speed and the fastest "Apple" was a Laser128EX. I am looking forward for a Apple IIGS or (someday) a GS clone runs at 10Mhz. And a Mac would be nice also--didn't get it this Xmas :-) Disclaimer: I have no connection with Laser/Video Tech/Central Point except as a satisfied user.
bchurch@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU (Bob Church) (12/26/89)
In article <15210@boulder.Colorado.EDU>, kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y) writes: > > In article <954@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU> bchurch@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU (Bob Church) writes: > >> to upgrade a //c to //c+, sell your //c and with the money buy a Lasre > >> 128EX/2. > > > >Hmm, we tried that once. I went to Columbus to help a friend buy a Laser. > >Micro-Center informed us that they had sold twenty lasers that year > >and that so far three had been returned because of defects. None of these > > Strange, my friends and I have never had any problems with them at all. > > I don't understand, why would anyone need help buying a Laser. :-( > Just like buying a IIc, everything is built in, you don't need to > worry about anything basically. > Yes, that was very bad syntax on my part. My friend needed help in finding the dealer that sold the lasers. However, the rest of the post is an accurate description of what happened when he tried to buy one. I suppose that the dealer may have been lying, in which case he blew a sale for no apparent reason. Still, it was not exactly encouraging. Bob Church att!oucsace!bchurch A f e w lines for the mailer
brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian WILLOUGHBY) (12/30/89)
In article <15210@boulder.Colorado.EDU> kuo@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KUO ANDY Y) writes: > The Lasers were manufactured in Hong Kong. But the CopyII+ that > bundled with it were Made in USA :-) That's the problem. The technology is overseas, and the only support you can get here is replacement or repair. Difficulties with the design of their products hit a brick wall because there is no technological communication between Hong Kong and USA. See below. > Also, (at least on my warranty card) Central Point Software > handels the repairs. They don't send it back overseas--does the > Apple dealers send GS parts back to singapore? Do you know how > long the shipping goes? It sounds like you might be saying that the GS is made in Singapore, but I may have misunderstood. Tell me, do you think that the GS is actually manufactured in Singapore? Or is it just that the ICs that Apple purchases to put into the GS are stamped as "Made in Singapore". Just because the RAMs are made overseas doesn't indicate that the machine is assembled there. Even if the GS IS assembled elsewhere (I doubt that the GS or the Mac are made anywhere but in Folsom, CA), what would stop Apple Co. from keeping local stock in the same way that CPS keeps local stock of Asian products? > Video Tech owns Central Point now but I think the handeling > for repairing is still the same (although the company is Laser > Computer--I think). By the way, some local dealers can handel > repairs also. True: Video Tech owns both Central Point and Laser, according to Laser Computer Technical Support. > If you don't know it, please don't make a joke out of it. The > ROM has been very compatible (actually so compatible that I wonder why > Apple has not sue them). To confirm that my words are valid, I suggest > you dig out your old Apple magazines, there were some wonderful reviews. I haven't poked around a Laser, but the Franklin clones (the new ones, now that the company has resurfaced like a Phoenix after Apple Co. sued them out of existence once before :-) do not disassemble memory like the true Apple monitor does. I wouldn't recommend a Franklin to a programmer for that reason. Does the Laser support all of the Apple monitor commands? Has anyone byte compared the ROMs to see if Laser photocopied Apple's property? > Considering all the strange stories your local dealer has told you. I > suggest you contact Video Tech directly to find out how wrong your > dealer has been handeling your case. > > I suggest you contact Video Tech because some lowly manufactures > in your area may be cloning the successful Laser--at least your story > is very, very strange. Hey, I'd like to contact Video Tech about some design flaws in my Universal Disk Controller. I called CPS and Laser both, but they didn't know anything technical about the product, just that Video Tech designed it, and they didn't even know how to contact Video Tech. Please, if you know Video Tech's number, post it for me. > I needed all the processor > speed and the fastest "Apple" was a Laser128EX. Actually, you can get an Apple ][ Plus very cheaply and add a Applied Engineering TransWarp card to acheive the same speed as a Laser128EX, but you would also have 7 extra slots! But I'm not strictly Apple Co., because I have a home-made Apple Plus clone with the AE TransWarp. > Disclaimer: I have no connection with Laser/Video Tech/Central Point > except as a satisfied user. I would be satisfied if Video Tech had either given thier overseas number with the UDC product, or at least technically trained the Laser employees on the Support number that they did list with the product. Brian Willoughby UUCP: ...!{tikal, sun, uunet, elwood}!microsoft!brianw InterNet: microsoft!brianw@uunet.UU.NET or: microsoft!brianw@Sun.COM Bitnet brianw@microsoft.UUCP