aca@nyit.UUCP (Al Arthur) (12/07/87)
I'm relatively `new kid on the block' so to speak. I've been a faithful user (hacker, etc). on the TRS-80 coco since about 1981. Yeah, I have one of those old grey boxes with a `D' board in it, and it still works! Well, I have done just about all I can with the COCO, and decided to look into another machine about a year ago, and have come to the hopefully wise conclusion that the A2000 is what I'm looking for. I am a UNIX system programmer primarily interested in a good environment for developing larger-scale programs, and secondarily (not by much) interested in graphics and digital sound. I am also interested in the possibility of MACH (from cmu) eventually running on my machine. I do some consulting work, and though I don't like anything that reminds me of Intel or MS-DOS, it might be a good idea if my machine had the ability of doing work there (Ugh!!). My questions are: Where is the best buy in A2000 system chassis lately? I am considering the SCSI adapter and a large winni. which drive would you suggest (in the 40-60 Meg range)? How about the SCSI controller from ASDG in New Jersey? If I have the SCSI and a winchester, is it still advisable to obtain an additional 3.5" floppy drive? As far as memory goes, I know that I will, one day, like to expand the memory on my machine to more than 2Meg. Knowing this, I wouldn't want to go out and get a board that tops-out at two, and then either replace it or take another slot. I noticed that ASDG has a board that can be populated with 0,2,4,6,or 8 Megs. Are there any others? Any thoughts for or against the ASDG board? Any other Suggestions? I am thinking 68020 or 68030; should I wait for 32bit memory on something like a Hurricane Board? Is the A2080 high persistance phosphor monitor available yet... and how does it compare with the A2002? If the A2080 isn't available yet, what might be some suggestions? Thanks for your help, Al ~~ -- Alex Arthur, System Programmer/UUCP Administrator New York Institute of Technology - Computer Graphics Laboratory Gerry House, Old Westbury, New York 11568 Phone:(516) 686-7644 UUCP: ...!philabs!nyit!aca