revpk@cellar.UUCP (Brian 'Rev P-K' Siano) (06/24/91)
I don't post or read this echo very often-- most of the subjects are
a little outside of my interests-- but I couldn't help but notice Thomas
Hill's notes about the ST and Amiga.
On local boards, I've grown very tired of the computer wars. Not just
because it's a pretty senseless topic to argue about to begin with, but
because the only way anyone is remotely justified in claiming superiority for
his computer is if he BUILT and DESIGNED the damn thing himself. But 99.9% of
us can lay claim to having the cash, credit cards, or wealthy parents that
enable us to make a purchase-- at BEST.
And, because I'm an open-minded sort, I don't bust on other peoples'
purchases; for one thing, we don't argue over what brand of CD players we
buy, and another, different strokes for different folks.
Now, Thomas Hill's endless touting of the Amiga struck me as more
than a little strange. Not because some of his facts might be wrong, or
because he was presuming to know things about the ST marketplace that we
didn't.
But think about this; Thomas Hill goes out of his way to bust on ST
users, and wants to convince us to use Amigas. Granted, they're nice
machines-- my roommate just bought a 3000-- but why is Thomas Hill so
messianic about them?
I can understand, halfway, if Thomas had found Jesus or had submitted
to the will of Allah, and wanted us to do the same. But why is Thomas so
wrapped up in what computers we own? Is he an Amiga salesperson? A Commodore
marketing manager? Why, exactly, is he so emotionally committed to making
sure that we own HIS kind of machine? Does owning an ST constitute a moral
affront to him?
Issues of STs and Amigas aside, I think it's pretty clear that Thomas
has some problems. Not even the do-or-die Commodore 64 fans I know-- mainly
children with few other interests to hold their allegiances-- get as worked
up as THomas does. I can think of a dozen better causes for Thomas to worry
about-- say, supporting the Electronic Freedom Foundation, or better, using
his fables Amiga to crank out letters on behalf of Amnesty International.
In short: what sort of deranged, socially-deprived noodnik would give
a tinker's dam about what computer anyone else uses-- and would actively
campaign to sell merchandise that he has no immediate financial stake in?
Heck, I've seen more rational stuff coming out of Jesus freaks.
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Brian Siano, aka [ "Mr. A. Hitler, the old Nazi thing, says
[ Mickey's silly. Imagine that! Well, Mickey is
Rev. Philosopher-King [ going to save Mr. A. Hitler from drowning or
[ something some day. Just wait and see if he
revpk@cellar.UUCP [ doesn't. Then won't Mr. A. Hitler be ashamed!"
[ -- Walt Disney, 1933.
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