Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (11/27/89)
Well, it finally happened.. I managed to dig out something positive about Atari and the newly announced Atari products. One of my pet peeves has been the closed ended, non-expandable design of the ST when it comes to memory. Apparently Atari has done an about-face on this issue though. The product announcements for the STE indicate that the computer will be internally expandable to the 4Megabyte RAM limit through the use of SIMM modules. This means an end to the kludges necessary to upgrade the amount of memory in an ST... no more "double-sided sticky tape", no more "piggybacking" chips or DIP headers. Assuming Atari goes with industry standard SIMM modules this means that expanding memory will be as easy as opening the case and plugging in a relatively inexpensive little module. I haven't gotten too excited over the sound or graphics of the STE, but this easy expandablility of memory is a good enough reason for me to consider buying an STE. Good job, Atari..! BobR
covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) (11/28/89)
Another postive note: My local Atari dealer is a fine gentleman named Henry Ahle who owns and operates a store called Computer Works in Glendale AZ. Business is going so good for him that Henry told me today that he is planning to open a SECOND store in the Phoenix-Sun Valley area. That is VERY good news. And it is attributed to Henry's support, after the sale, of his customers. I have referred many friends to Henry simply because I KNOW that if their machine EVER fails Henry can fix it. My sister back in Illinois has a 1040ST which was struck by an AC power surge during a thunderstorm. She shipped the 1040ST to me, and Henry had it fixed in less than a week. It turned out that the switching power supply died (but it protected the AC line fuse quite nicelt thanks :-) ). But, the thing is that Henry fixed it for less than it would have cost to send the 1040ST back to Atari for replacement. So, a GOOD local dealer, like mine in Phoenix can make all the difference!! Rich Covert
covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) (11/28/89)
Another postive note: My local ST dealer, Henry Ahle, just talked to me about his trip to Comdex. Henry was VERY happy with what he saw at Comdex. Henry saw the TT/p with the Atari 14" color monitor and the 19" monochrome monitor. Henry said that the color monitor was very crisp and legible, even for text. Henry was not pleased with the TT/p's cabinet, but was very happy with its operation. All in all, Henry thought that Comdex was good. But for the Not So Positive Note: Henry said that the STacy has passed FCC testing and should be shipping soon. The 1040STe is next to be tested by the FCC. It probably won't ship until 1st Quarter 1990. And the TT/p is the last to be FCC tested. Henry doesn't expect to see a TT/p until 2nd Quarter 1990. Now, realize, these delivery dates are estimates given to a MAJOR ST dealer. so, they should be reliable. Does ANYONE from Atari want to confirm these dates?? :-) So, I guess you should be able to buy a STacy soon, but a TT/p will have to wait until next Summer. Sigh... Rich Covert