ragg0270@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (07/22/90)
I just finished lobbying for an Amiga to be included in a grant proposal with no success. The end result was a request for a Mac IIfx. Of course the biggest complaint people had with the Amiga was "it has no software". Please don't start a flame war over this, whether it's true or not, it is the perception most people have. So I'd like to offer a suggestion for a package I think would make the Amiga much more attractive: Bundle together: Amiga 3000 @ 25 MHz w/ 100 MB HD Ethernet hardware w/ TCP/IP software and X-Windows WordPerfect Maple AmigaTEX Absoft Fortran Compiler Lattice C Some resonable upgrade path for UNIX when available Price: somewhere around $5,000 or less. I think this would really sell to us academic types. COmpare to the IIfx system (prices approx.) Mac IIfx, 4 MB Ram, 160 MB HD: $6800 13" RGB Monitor $ 655 Keyboard $ 150 Ethernet Card $ 500 Video Card $ 600 Fortran + C Compilers $ 500 (?) TOTAL $8700 Add TEX, Word and Mathematica: $10,000 or so. The hardware and software listing above is approx. equivalent. The Mac system still has the advantage that additional scientific software is available, which is why our proposal is asking for a Mac. Still, the above Amiga system would be very competitive, I think. I also think C= could gain an advantage by stressing the Amiga's multitasking and versability. I use Macs and Mac IIs daily and when trying to (1) transfer files using FTP, (2) print documents on a LaserWriter and (3) run a plotting program (IGOR), even a MacIIx (68030 w/ 68882 I think?) is a real slug. One task frequently takes over the whole machine for 15+ seconds and FTP transfer rates are well under 1 KB/sec (from a Cray 2). Could the Amiga do better under similar conditions? If so that alone would sell me.
philip@utstat.uucp (Philip McDunnough) (07/23/90)
In article <46200104@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> ragg0270@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes: > > >I just finished lobbying for an Amiga to be included in a grant proposal with >no success. The end result was a request for a Mac IIfx. Of course the biggest >complaint people had with the Amiga was "it has no software". Please don't >start a flame war over this, whether it's true or not, it is the perception >most people have. >So I'd like to offer a suggestion for a package I think would make the Amiga >much more attractive: > >Bundle together: > >Amiga 3000 @ 25 MHz w/ 100 MB HD >Ethernet hardware w/ TCP/IP software and X-Windows >WordPerfect >Maple >AmigaTEX >Absoft Fortran Compiler >Lattice C >Some resonable upgrade path for UNIX when available > >Price: somewhere around $5,000 or less. I think this would really sell to us >academic types. > >COmpare to the IIfx system (prices approx.) >Mac IIfx, 4 MB Ram, 160 MB HD: $6800 >13" RGB Monitor $ 655 >Keyboard $ 150 >Ethernet Card $ 500 >Video Card $ 600 >Fortran + C Compilers $ 500 (?) >TOTAL $8700 >Add TEX, Word and Mathematica: $10,000 or so. > >The hardware and software listing above is approx. equivalent. Well, the Amiga bundling is certainly a good idea, and Maple and AmigaTex are excellent choices. The platform to compare the A3000 to would be a MacIIci, unless you have a need for the extra slots. Maple is available on the Mac( and Waterloo is currently upgrading it-not clear if they are on top of the Amiga situation). But more importantly, FrameMaker2.0 is available for the Mac, and soon a technical WYSIWYG technical word processor(less expensive than FrameMaker which is only $500 for academics-FrameMaker that is) will be on the market. It will read/write TeX files. The prices you are quoting for some of the Mac items are not academic ones. I agree that the multitasking capabilities of the Amiga(although tasks are not protected via hardware) is an advantage, but A/UX 2.0 is really quite nice. In order to convince me to buy the Amiga bundle over the MacIIci, you would have to divide that $5000 by 2. What service contracts are available for the Amiga? Philip McDunnough University of Toronto philip@utstat.toronto.edu [my opinions]
seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) (07/25/90)
In-Reply-To: message from philip@utstat.uucp Ahh...but by saying he needed to compare the A3000 with the ][ci, you're only taking into account cpu speed. What about the higher thru-put of the A3000's SCSI DMA? Or the fact that the A3000 doesn't have a 5Mb/sec bottleneck when peripheral cards talk to RAM on the motherboard? An ultrafast CPU is nice...but a higher degree of performance can be attained, and maintained by a balanced machine... Sean //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// UUCP: ...!crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc | ARPA: !crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc@nosc.mil | " Fanatics have their INET: seanc@pro-party.cts.com | dreams, wherewith they | weave a paradise for RealWorld: Sean Cunningham | a sect. " Voice: (512) 994-1602 PLINK: ce3k* | -Keats | Call C.B.A.U.G. BBS (512) 883-8351 w/SkyPix | B^) VISION GRAPHICS B^) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\