daniel@linc.cis.upenn.edu (Daniel Williams) (10/07/87)
[ ...munch...] I want a 3B1. TRC of Los Angeles has advertised these machines for about $2200 for a 2MB RAM, 67 MB disk with UNIX and the developers' utilities. This seems like a very good price to me. If anyone has had experiences dealing with this outfit (good, bad or average) I could use the information. Reply directly and I will summarize. Thanks... Dan
wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew) (10/09/87)
<<questions about the quality of the vendor>>
Based on an article previously appearing in comp.sys.att and some
nosing around of local vendors, I decided to go with Technology
Resource Center.
****Quasi-commercial content warning. Press "n" if you dont *****
care for such stuff!
Since we all [presumably] know what the 3B1 is, this isn't exactly
commercial, but more along the lines of where can I get the best
deal?
I talked to several local dealers and TRC. All had about the same
price, with TRC being marginally lower. For me, TRC wins,
eventhough I am in Ohio. The cost of shipping the machine is less
than the 5% state + 2% county tax I'd pay here. AT&T hotline
service in this area is quite good, thus I don't really have any
qualms about mail order. I know AT&T can make it right. Of
course, if you live in an area where AT&T service is more like
DEC's [lack of] service, you might want to go with a dealer where
you can slap your poor dead machine on the counter and gripe in
front of customners.
TRC is currentloy taking about three weeks to ship their machines
out to customers. The sales reps are: Ellis Goldberg and a lady
named Shawn. The former person has his own 3B and seems to know a
lot about the product. The latter person is pretty much an order
taker and go-fer. They can be reached at:
TRC phone nos.: 1-800-433-4904
1-213-937-8822
Prices as of 5-Oct-87:
Machine Options Price
7300 1meg + 20 meg disk $ 785
3B1 1 40 $ 1250
3B1 2 40 $ 1395
3B1 2 67 $ 1595
Unix 3.51 foundation set $ 219
Unix 3.51 utilities $ 352
Note that 3.51 utils include DWB stuff and foundation
set has all the hooks for starlan, etc.
DOS 73 card runs msdos w/ herc. emulation $ 795*
DBase III $ 556
MS Word (what version??) $ 356
MS Basic $ 356*
Smart Integrated software $ 399
* indicates price for this item isn't a good deal!
This vendor will take credit card orders on Visa, M/C, and AT&T L/D
credit card (!). Surcharge for credit card orders is 2%. If
desired, they'll ship UPS 2nd day air collect. There is no
surcharge for UPS collect. They'll call you the day they ship with
the total, so you can drop by the bank and get a cashier's check
for the proper amount.
Their lead times for shipping are about three weeks. They are
blaming the delay on AT&T being slow with getting the manuals for
3.51 out. I don't know if I believe that for sure.
So far, these guys seem pretty reputable. I particualarly like the
idea of no-surcharge collect shipping, as it puts the burden on the
shipper not to smash the machine, and I don't have to front any
money before my machine actually arrives.
Bill Mayhew Electrical Engineering
Division of Basic Medical Sciences
Northeastern Ohio Universities' College of Medicine
Rootstown (what a name!), OH 44272-9989 USA phone: 216-325-2511
wtm@neoucom.UUCP (...!cbosgd!neoucom!wtm)ostroff@oswego.UUCP (Boyd Ostroff ) (10/14/87)
In article <722@neoucom.UUCP> wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew) writes: [ deleted much stuff about buying a 3b1 from Technology Resource Center ] > >Their lead times for shipping are about three weeks. They are >blaming the delay on AT&T being slow with getting the manuals for >3.51 out. I don't know if I believe that for sure. > I have experienced the same story from my VAR (RG Engineering in Syracuse NY). I ordered a 3b1 about 6 weeks ago. At the time, the salesman said there shouldn't be any problem getting it in 3 weeks. Just today I was told it might be "a couple more weeks". They also blamed the delay on AT&T for running out of UNIX software... Anybody else care to comment? -- UUCP: seismo!rochester!rocksvax!oswego!ostroff US MAIL: Boyd Ostroff, Technical Director, Department of Theatre SUNY College at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126 PHONE: (315) 341-2138