20-37bn@BRAGGVAX.ARPA (05/10/88)
I need a little guidance from net.advice about which Apple to buy.
I work with a guy who is going back to school and needs a computer that
will give the best all around performance. He is leaning toward one of
the MAC's but was wondering about the IIGS. The MAC SE is alittle more
expensive than he can afford right now. Also, what would be a good list
of software to get him through school the first semester or two?
It would be a real help if the capabilities of the MAC PLUS, MAC II, and
the APPLE IIGS could be synopsized.
Is the IMAGE WRITER a good printer for school?
He is at the moment going to major in Liberal Arts and would therefore
need Word processing, along with capabilities for sciences, math,
econimics and accounting.
Any and all help would be appreciated as he has got it in his mind to
buy without really thinking about it! An opportunistic buyer.
reply: KA NEUMAIER
20-37bn@braggvax.arpa
----------------AIRBORNE!!!!!!!halp@TCGOULD.TN.CORNELL.EDU ("Bruce P. Halpern") (05/11/88)
Two important considerations are the types of computers that will be available to your friend 'at school', i.e., when he is not using his own, and the expectations, if any, that courses will have for a particular type of computer. Not fitting in to the general or expected pattern can be a problem for a student since the computer is a tool rather than a hobby or source of pleasure. ****DISCLAMER: My comments, etc., are my own shakey opinions ******** | Bruce P. Halpern Psychology & Neurobiology & Behavior Cornell Ithaca | | INTERNET:halp@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu BITNET:D57J@CORNELLA D57J@CRNLVAX5| | UUCP:{vax135,rochester,decvax}!cornell!batcomputer!halp | | PHONE: 607-255-6433 Uris Hall, Cornell U., Ithaca, NY 14853-7601 |
dgiles@polyslo.UUCP (Darren Giles) (05/12/88)
In article <8805101610.AA12397@braggvax.arpa> 20-37bn@BRAGGVAX.ARPA writes: > >I need a little guidance from net.advice about which Apple to buy. My background: I'm a computer science major (junior/senior) with a IIGS. I've had it over a year now and LOVE it. I'm also going to be getting a Mac+, largely because of a Macintosh programming class I'm taking. > >I work with a guy who is going back to school and needs a computer that >will give the best all around performance. He is leaning toward one of >the MAC's but was wondering about the IIGS. The MAC SE is alittle more >expensive than he can afford right now. Also, what would be a good list >of software to get him through school the first semester or two? > Obviously, a word processor is vital. I use both MultiScribe and AppleWorks, depending on what kind of writing I'm doing at the time. They're both good programs, but are quite different. MultiScribe is easier to learn (if you've used MacWrite, you've used MultiScribe) and now has a built-in spelling checker, but is considerably slower. On the other hand, if you want to work with anything other than straight ASCII text, there's no question. I've found my most-used program is telecommunications... personally, I use MouseTalk. If you want to do any programming, it's infitely easier when you have the language on your own computer rather than having to use slow line-oriented langauges that dominate campus mainframes. I use & like TML pascal. >It would be a real help if the capabilities of the MAC PLUS, MAC II, and >the APPLE IIGS could be synopsized. Sorry, I can't really do a good comparison until I get my Mac. Anyone else? > >Is the IMAGE WRITER a good printer for school? I have one, and have had no complaints after having run 2500+ sheets of paper through it. It's not cheap, but it's dependable & the color comes in really handy when doing graphs, etc. The near-letter-quality mode is perfect for papers, and MultiScribe puts out better print than MacWrite (if you don't mind the long wait for the final copy). > >He is at the moment going to major in Liberal Arts and would therefore >need Word processing, along with capabilities for sciences, math, >econimics and accounting. > Also, another UNIXer writes that it is important to get the same equipment that the school has. I would like to disagree politely here: as long as the computer does what YOU want it to, it's good enough. I am one of the few people in computer science at Poly who has a GS, and have not suffered because of it. When I need to use the mainframe, I use my Mouse- Talk. When I need to do Pascal, I use TML Pascal. Etc. One qualifier, though: some schools and/or classes may be a lot more hardware specific than has been my experience. However, as the intended user is not in a technical field, it is unlikely that he'll be expected to have any computer, let alone a specific model. Good Luck, - Darren
kus3@sphinx.uchicago.edu (Bob Kusumoto) (05/12/88)
From article <8805101610.AA12397@braggvax.arpa>, by 20-37bn@BRAGGVAX.ARPA: > I work with a guy who is going back to school and needs a computer that > will give the best all around performance. He is leaning toward one of > the MAC's but was wondering about the IIGS. The MAC SE is alittle more > expensive than he can afford right now. Also, what would be a good list > of software to get him through school the first semester or two? If he wants to do general things like word processing and other stuff along a similar vein and not play games (we dont want to play games at school, do we?), go with a mac. As a longtime // fanatic, I've seen what a // can do and what a mac can do, and if the school sells cheap macs and cheap software for the mac, I would definate consider getting the mac over a //. An added plus here is that there are around 2-4 sites with laserwriters connected to a cluster of macs for great printing. He might want to check out what kind of support there is for either computer on campus. The good thing about the // I can think of offhand would be Appleworks and GEOS. Apart from this, is there anything on the // worth getting for college? > Is the IMAGE WRITER a good printer for school? Its a decent printer but the ribbon cartriages are expensive (I think). It does a great job but I hate it when my roommate prints his paper out at 3am (not as much if I'm already awake). > He is at the moment going to major in Liberal Arts and would therefore > need Word processing, along with capabilities for sciences, math, > econimics and accounting. Being sorta bias towards WordPerfect, I would highly recommend this word processor over any other, its one of the best for the mac (personal opinion). And if the school sells computer for cheap, they might have software for cheap as well. -- Bob Kusumoto | Follow me! Internet: kus3@sphinx.uchicago.edu | I'll play the game you want me, BITNET: kus3@sphinx.uchicago.bitnet | Until I find a way back home. UUCP: {ihnp4!gargoyle,oddjob}!sphinx!kus3 | --- Genesis, "One for the Vine"