richard@islenet.UUCP (Richard Foulk) (08/28/87)
[I'm relaying this for someone unable to post]
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 87 09:52:02 cdt
From: Brett Slocum <ihnp4!umn-cs!hi-csc!slocum>
Message-Id: <8708271452.AA00806@hi-csc.uucp>
Subject: Re: 3B1
I can read news (comp.sys.att, unix-pc) but I can't send
to it. Could you either forward my message to the net or
answer my questions?
I've heard about the massive discounts and discontinuation
of the 3B1. Why is it being discontinued and is it worth
getting? Will ATT still support it? If I decide to get it,
what accessories should I get with it? DOS-73? Voice Power?
What set of software should I get if I want to develop
software (C, Pascal, and Unix)?
Thanks,
Brett Slocum, Honeywell Corporate Systems Development Div.
(The research center for the non-defense half of Honeywell)
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--
Richard Foulk ...{dual,vortex,ihnp4}!islenet!richard
Honolulu, Hawaiiwcs@ho95e.ATT.COM (Bill.Stewart) (09/01/87)
In article <3456@islenet.UUCP> richard@islenet.UUCP (Richard Foulk) writes:
:[I'm relaying this for someone unable to post]
:From: Brett Slocum <ihnp4!umn-cs!hi-csc!slocum>
:I've heard about the massive discounts and discontinuation
:of the 3B1. Why is it being discontinued and is it worth getting?
Our marketing people never did understand out how to market
the 7300 (renaming it 3B1 was a last-ditch attempt.)
When it first came out, the price was too high and there wasn't
enough application software available, and some of the software that
came with it was "not yet ready for prime time". So nobody
bought them.
Now that the bugs are out and the price is down under
$1000, it's a *great deal*, if what you want to do is UNIX software
development, general applications, office work, etc.
:Will ATT still support it?
At least as long as the warranty lasts, and unofficially for
quite a while. (Most of the UNIX-PC's we sold were to Bell Labs
and AT&T-IS, so there are a lot of developers playing with
them.) There are some neat things that have been done
internally, such as the Chinese Word Processor and Voice Power.
:If I decide to get it,
:what accessories should I get with it? DOS-73? Voice Power?
You need at least 1 MB ram, and you really should get the 40MB
drive or else buy the 20MB and do your own upgrade. Voice Power
is a neat board, if you have applications for it. I've heard
mixed reviews of the DOS-73 board's compatibility, but I've seen
it being sold for <$300, so it's probably worthwhile if you
don't already have a DOS machine. The RAM/EIA combo board is a
good way to get additional RS-232 ports and RAM. Be sure to get
the 512K version, which is expandable to 2 MB, not the 0K version.
:What set of software should I get if I want to develop
:software (C, Pascal, and Unix)?
You've got to buy the standard development package to get the
compiler. Beyond that, I'd mostly stick to generic UNIX
software, unless your target market is other 7300 owners.
:
Disclaimer - These are my own personal comments. Do you think AT&T
would have said stuff like this? :-)
--
# Thanks;
# Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs 2G218, Holmdel NJ 1-201-949-0705 ihnp4!ho95c!wcs