ewhac@well.UUCP (01/31/87)
[ The Boing Wars should go where this line may go. ]
This is the only public contribution I'm going to make to this
"discussion." It's long and verbose in the hopes that the amount of
information encoded herein will overload the input buffers of the other
contributors, causing them to crash, leaving the net safe for another few
months.
I had hoped that all these issues were thoroughly covered in Boing
Wars I, sometime last year. Since I am a bit of a cynical and caustic
person when I get irritated, and since I'm also high on Industrial Strength
Contac at the moment (I have a cold), the following posting is the result.
But first, a disclaimer:
- - - ---===>>> NOTE <<<===--- - - -
The following is the PERSONAL OPINION of the poster. While the
poster freely and openly admits to having an inflated ego, and suffers from
megalomania, and would just as soon declare the following diatribe as
inarguable fact, common sense dictates that they are merely opinions, and
should be treated as such. People are fallable (although the poster would
never admit to it), and as such are wont to reach conclusions that may be
based more in emotion than in fact. The poster tries to avoid this whenever
possible, but he, too, is guilty of it. Please forgive him.
Read the preceeding paragraph once more, just so that you know what
you're in for, and how you should respond (or, better yet, reduce net
traffic; don't respond).
The following is a rather cynical and caustic look at many of the
microcomputers available to the general public today. Both positive and
negative points are covered. This list is by no means complete, and feature
coverage of each system is also incomplete. DO NOT BASE A BUYING DECISION
ON THE FOLLOWING; STUDY THE SYSTEMS YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ON YOUR OWN
CAREFULLY!
The list is in no particular order.
--------
Timex/Sinclair ZX-80:
A Z-80 based system designed for introducing the individual to the
world of computers.
+: It has a very low price, plugs into the family TV, and is useable by
just about anybody. It contains a reasonable sub-set of BASIC, and
sports some graphics capability (mostly character oriented).
-: The machine is basically a smart doorstop. It has a membrane
keyboard which is almost impossible to type on (it does make the
machine waterproof, though). It has very little memory, stores
programs on cassette, and isn't really useful for anything.
Opinion:
A bit of a joke, really. Was probably a high-school student's
senior project.
--------
Atari 800/800XL/130XE:
A 6502-based (close enough) system designed for game playing and
general purpose computing.
+: The system has decent graphics, and comes with a full 64K of RAM,
filling the 6502 address space. It can handle cartridge, cassette,
or diskette-based software. The BASIC supplied is respectable. The
graphics and sound chips sport many unusual and useful features not
found in other systems. The CPU runs at 2 MHz, twice the speed of
most other 6502-based systems. Can be purchased for under $100.
-: No one writes software for this beast anymore (well, nearly no one).
The video chip steps on the CPU for DMA far too often, slowing the
thing down tremendously. The disk drive software is bizarre. None
of the connectors on the thing resemble anything standard. The
keyboard on the 130XE is atrocious; the 800XL's was much better.
The standard text screen is 38 columns wide. Where did they get
this figure?
Opinion:
Not a bad little box. I used to hate it for political reasons,
until I found out more about the hardware inside. I wish I'd spent more
time with it.
--------
Commodore 64/128:
A 6502-based system designed for introductory computing and game
playing.
+: The first low-priced 6502 system to ever come out, beating the Apple
and Atari systems by hundreds. High-resolution graphics with 16
colors, 3 sound channels with filtering, and sprites. Sports a full
keyboard. Also contains a full featured BASIC interpreter, with
full-screen editing capabilities.
-: Design errors in the VIC ][ chip make the display feeb out if you
try anything fancy. VIC ][ chip also tromps the processor every
eight video lines to do display DMA. Disk drive interface is
SERIAL! (effective 3000 baud throughput.) Joystick port is really
the keyboard scanner matrix; tilting the joystick causes "keys" to
be pressed.
Opinion:
Marginal. It could have been much better, if they hadn't screwed up
the VIC ][ design so badly, and if the damn disk drive was faster.
--------
Apple ][/][+/][e/][c:
A 6502-based system designed for general-purpose computing.
+: Zillions of programs exist for this thing. Internal slots allow
many expansion possibilities. Sports text, lo-res, and hi-res
graphics. Has a full keyboard. Comes with BASIC interpreter and
machine language monitor.
-: The machine is obsolete, even though its price doesn't reflect it.
The machine was originally a clever hack by a clever engineer, but
has NEVER evolved beyond it. The screen mapping for all three
viewing modes is outrageous. The disk controller is software. All
the flavors of DOS have bizarre bugs. DOS and BASIC never did merge
properly (to open a file, you PRINT "^DOPEN FILE").
Opinion:
Obsolete. Dead. A fossil. Apple just doesn't know it yet. If
they drop the price of the thing to $200 or less, it may wake up again, but
I doubt that will happen.
--------
Texas Instruments 99/4a:
A TMS-9900 based system designed for introductory computing.
+: Came with a subset of ANSI BASIC. Was the first 16 bit micro
computer. Pricing made it affordable by families.
-: A shortsighted and greedy management at TI killed the system by
making it: incompatible with everything on the planet (ANSI
BASIC??!!), unable to run anything except their own software,
expensive to upgrade, only came with 16K RAM, and slower than death
by old age. Also came with a keyboard that was unreal (to type the
" (double quote) character, you had to press FCTN-P).
Opinion:
An extermely bad joke. Machine level programming couldn't even save
this monster (the TMS-9900 processor had no internal registers, you see).
The keyboard was what really got to me.
--------
IBM PC/PC-XT/PC-AT:
An Intel-based system designed for general-purpose computing.
+: Comes with 256K RAM, BASIC, PC-DOS 3 point something. Has a
heirarchial file system. Has zillions of business applications
written for it. Sports a full detatchable keyboard. Has internal
slots to permit inexpensive memory and peripheral upgrades. It's
made by IBM, which means it probably won't break anytime soon.
-: Uses the Intel processor, which is segmented, making programming
more difficult than it should be. IBM's own systems are chronically
slower and more expensive than equivalent clones. The keyboard is
laid out wrong (the AT keyboard is slightly better). Applications
for the system are expensive and require a fully loaded system (i.e.
640K). 640K never seems to be enough, either.
Opinion:
A yawner. Technologically unintersting. But it works. Apparently,
that's all people seem to care about. When will they learn :-)?
--------
Macintosh/Macintosh Plus:
A 68000-based system designed for general-purpose computing.
+: An extremely easy-to-use user interface makes learning the system
simple. Comes with high-resolution graphics. Has a DAC output
channel for sound. A full stroke keyboard and mouse are standard
equipment. The system is widely accepted as the standard machine
for "Desktop Publishing."
-: It looks like a toaster. Graphics are monochrome only, and you
can't hook in your own monitor. The screen is too small. The file
system (on the 512K units) is S-L-O-W. The disk drives don't know
what speed to run at. You can't eject a disk when you want to. The
video circuit tromps ALL of RAM when it does DMA for display, thus
slowing down the 68K to an effective 4MHz. The machine is also
overpriced for what it is.
Opinion:
Hardware and software design screw-ups make this one of the most
ridiculous machines out there. It also suffers from Apple's strange pricing
structure. I suppose I shouldn't complain, though. The machine works, and
it works for people who never touched a computer before....
--------
Apple ][GS:
A 65816-based system designed for general-purpose computing.
+: Compatible with the Apple ][? systems, meaning it can run zillions
of programs. Has an upgraded and faster CPU, making applications
run much faster. Has 15 channel sound capability. Comes with
high-resolution graphics with a choice of 4096 colors.
-: OVERPRICED!! Inherits all the problems associated with the Apple
][? systems. Has a strange keyboard (the spacebar is too small).
Insists on having a blue background screen for the BASIC
environment (which I hate). Has ridiculously slow disk access time,
and takes forever for the program launcher to start up. Audio
hardware designed wrong (if you turn up the volume high enough, you
can hear the GS thinking).
Opinion:
Oh, please. Will they never get it right? Granted, running
Choplifter at 2.8 MHz is exciting. For about five minutes. In order to
improve the ][ series, they have to fundamentally change the design, not
just make the CPU faster. And where did this $2000 price tag come from?
--------
Atari *ST:
A 68000-based system designed for introductory and general-purpose
computing.
+: Inexpensive. 68000 runs at a full 8MHz. Minimum memory
configuration is 512K. 1M systems are available. Sports high
resolution graphics in either color or monochrome. Also has an
iconic desktop user interface to make use of the system easier.
Comes with a MIDI interface.
-: GEM is a dog. The desktop is clumsy and SLOW. The operating system
doesn't seem to handle exceptional conditions well (just a little
bomb icon is supposed to tell us everything). You need to choose
between monochrome or color; you can't have both at the same time.
The keyboard has a dead feel to it, and hitting multiple keys is
too easy. Disk I/O is unusually slow, and appears to do no track
buffering.
Opinion:
A nice box. A bit on the boring side, but a nice box. Someone
should port BSD UNIX to it.
--------
Amiga:
A 68000-based system designed for general-purpose computing, game
playing, and video production.
+: Relatively inexpensive (compared to equivalent systems). Comes with
several custom chips to help off-load the CPU burden. CPU runs at
7.14 MHz. Sports high resolution graphics with 4096 colors (all
visible at once). Has 4 DAC sound channels, co-processor, blitter,
interrupt controller, etc. Has iconic desktop for ease of use.
First mass-marketed micro to have a multi-tasking OS.
-: The DOS is a pig. System software is still buggy after two (count
em') revisions. Does not have the variety of software available for
other systems. Expansion of the system is expensive (average $1000+
for a 20M hard disk). Peripherals promised years ago still haven't
arrived (Genlock, A-Live! (GenLock may be here, but I haven't seen
it)).
Opinion:
A truly neat box. Has some deficiencies, but it's the first system
since the Apple ][ that a hacker can really get into and play with.
--------
Summary:
--------
Timex-Sinclair ZX-80: Doorstop
Atari 800/800XL/130XE: Nice box
Commodore 64/128: Marginal
Apple ][/][+/][e/][c: Fossil
Texas Instruments 99/4a: Junk
IBM PC/PC-XT/PC-AT: Yawner
Macintosh/Macintosh Plus: Useable junk
Apple ][GS: Expensive junk
Atari *ST: Nice box
Amiga: Neeto box
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that I'm finished, and that everyone on the net agrees that I'm
a complete jacka--, could we.....
PLEASE STOP THIS STUPID BICKERING BEFORE THE SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO
DROPS TO ZERO, AND SOMEONE STARTS MODERATING THIS GROUP!!!
While arguing about these machines can be fun at times, wouldn't it
be better if we devoted our energies towards writing wonderful software for
these wonderful machines?
The Contac is wearing off; I better go now before I become sane...
(In case you still haven't noticed....... :-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
________ ___ Leo L. Schwab
\ /___--__ The Guy in The Cape
___ ___ /\ ---##\ ihnp4!ptsfa!well!ewhac
/ X \_____ | __ _---)) ..or..
/ /_\-- -----+==____\ // \ _ well ---\
___ ( o---+------------------O/ \/ \ dual ----> !unicom!ewhac
\ / ___ \_ (`o ) hplabs -/ ("AE-wack")
____ \___/ \_/
Recumbent Bikes: "Work FOR? I don't work FOR
The _O_n_l_y Way To Fly! anybody! I'm just having fun."dickow@ui3.UUCP (02/04/87)
/....blug again!
I loved the basenote about all those consumer computers!!! Great stuff.
But what about...
Cray SuperComputer
+: Very fast for a six million dollar computer. Has everybody's credit
status stored in auxilliary memory. Can calculate the square root of 2
to an accuracy of 4 billion decimal points in only 3.45723 nanoseconds.
-: Big botch-up. Who has enough liquid nitrogen sitting around to cool down
that wiring, anyhow? Can't fit it onto a desktop. Won't play pacman. Has
very little entertainment software written for it. No popular magazines
available anywhere. This is one computer that is truly totally, absolutely,
and utterly useless for home computing. Clearly, the C64 is a superior
machine.
---------*******-------------***********--------------------------------
The opinions of the author are representative of the Ultimate Truth
---------*******-------------***********--------------------------------
Bob Dickow (...egg-id!ui3!dickow)