steves@hpuamsa.neth.hp.com (Steve South CRC) (04/22/91)
You bet I have comments on the Commodore 286 (actually a Commodore PC30 III).
1) It is very cheap. (20Mb disc version).
2) The disc drive is marginally slower than a three toed sloth.
(average seek time 75mS)
3) Everything else seems to work OK except.....
I added an Everex card with 1.0Mb extended memory. Windows 3.0 starts
up fine at 6 MHz and 8 MHz, but locks up entirely when you try to start it
in standard mode at 12 MHz. I have been totally unable to get round this.
The documentation (Netherlands version) is completely devoid of any
information about the company's address/'phone number. So getting help
is a bit of a problem. Microsoft did give me a number for Commodore in
the US, but this was a recorded message telling me to call an 800 number.
Sadly you cannot call 800 numbers from outside the US.
4) I would like to replace the hard disc with something that works in the
human timeframe rather than on a geological timescale. However, the
documentation does not even tell me what kind of interface it is.
5) You get what you pay for.
To summarise, if you are looking for something to start adding all sorts of
goodies to, with good documentation and support, look somewhere else. If you
are looking for a bog standard low-cost machine for pottering about on, then
by all means go for the Commodore is you can get a good deal.
In my defence, I bought it as a machine for my wife to use, but I can't
help tinkering with it.
Steve (I'd rather have an HP9000/700 but they don't pay me enough) South
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These are *my* opinions.
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