pauls@inco.UUCP (Paul Stygar) (02/09/88)
In article <880205103031DE1.AVLQ@Mars.UCC.UMass.EDU>, Flash@UMass.BITNET (Rick Flashman) writes: > Anyone know what is the deal with Data Pacific. I purchased one of the first lot of MAGIC SAC PROFESSIONALS. Shipment was promised in November, arrived a month late, in time for Christmas ... one expects this with a new product, I had no problem since pre-XMAS is a time pre-occupied with lots of other things anyway. The Translator-1 arrived, worked fine, a few "undocumented features" (which one expects with a new product). The software support for Data Pacific continues to set the kind of example that I wish the other software/hardware suppliers would follow: one free update of the software included with the original purchase. Version 5.9 of the MagicSac software arrived in the mail a month after Version 5.5, along with a chatty Newsletter, with hints like: good karma is System 3.2 Finder 5.4, and bad karma is long file names ( > 21 or so) with the Hierarchical File System (HFS). Version 5.9 fixed problems with the ICD hard disk interface, so now Magic Sac works with ICD as well as the other hard disk interfaces (Atari, Supra, BMS, etc). The MagicSac lets me run software which is never going to be ported to the ST. I'm definitely a satisfied customer. > I called 3 months ago and ordered some MAGIC SAC PROFESSIONALS. I asked > the lady on the phone "Are they in STOCK and shipping?!?!?" She said > "Yes, should go out tommorow." > To make matters short, 3 months later, we have seen nothing, and we call > them EVERY week...and EVERY WEEK...they tell us..."Just shipped." Gets > kind of fishy after the 6th time. Data Pacific had some terribly bad luck with their first batch of Translator-1 assemblies. They contracted to an assembly house which inadvertently substituted a chip with a very similar part # ... the substitute fried the CPU when power was turned on. This set the folks at Data Pavordnysk behind about a month ... I've de-soldered chips on my ST ... it takes time to desolder, resolder, test, burn-in, etc ... lots of time. I imagine they've been very cautious with subsequent lots ... burn-in, tests, etc. Demand has been high ... The MAGIC SAC PROFESSIONAL is all that there is if what you want is a Mac clone. Since demand appears to have outstripped supply, delays can be expected. > Talked to David Small on GENIE who promised to look into it, since he is > also claiming that they are shipping. Never got a reply. You can send email to David Small at dsmall@well There's a mailing list for MagicSac users ... to get on the list, send email To: mcli@ur-tut.UUCP (Maurice Ling) Subject: Magic Sac Newsletter update > Annoying part is, that this stuff was/is for a goverment BID. You know how > those are picky on product delivery. It's fortunate there's a 32K limit on news items. This could start a variation on the "Multi-tasking: A Nightmare" blizzard. I assume you're proposing hard disk systems. Be aware that MagicSac presently does not support the 128K ROM. Though 80% or 90% of the current Mac software can be used, that percentage can be expected to drop as more and more products become dependent on features in the 128K ROM. No HyperCard, and no HyperCard based software. No System 4.0 or beyond. This is OK for home computer enthusiasts, who make cost effective decisions: purchase 80% of a Mac for a fraction of the price. -- pauls@inco (Paul Stygar) ** (703) 442-7960** **McDonnell Douglas-Inco, Inc., 8201 Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA 22102** **BEGIN*DISCLAIMER;*****The*views*expressed*by*me*in*no*way*reflect*the** **views*of*McDonnell*Douglas*or*its*subsidiaries.*******END*DISCLAIMER;**