csrobe@ICASE.ARPA (Charles S. Roberson) (12/07/87)
Dear [ St Nick | Atari | Jack ]
I have been a good Atari ST owner for a year and a half now, and
I've even talk 4 of my (ex-)friends into buying STs! I try to help the
ST community by sharing PD software, and making (sometimes) helpful
suggestions to the net. I have even convinced my girlfriend that an ST
(a 1040) is a good machine for the money [I haven't said anything nice
about the Megas, 'cause I can't think of anything nice to say, yet.]
Well, since Christmas time is coming, I thought I might relay
my Christmas Wish List to you. So here goes:
1) A good, well built 2400 baud modem (at a reasonable price
-- $200-$250) that will stand the test of time. [Right,
now the only modem I'd consider is the USRobotics Courier
2400 at $300. I've seen others much cheaper, but I don't
trust them. I've seen too many that are intolerable to use,
and after scanning the modem mailing list, the USRobotics
is the only one that seems to have a consistently good
reputation.]
2) A 68020 ST with Memory Management and GNU or Minix. I have
decided that I like Unix and I (really) like the idea of
being able to recompile the system when I hear about a fix.
I am tired of being at the mercy of a corporation to get
something fixed, buying software that is declared "not
fit for any particular purpose [or whatever]". My machine
is almost totally run by PD software, why not build a good
[hardware] machine and make some arrangement for a OS
distribution like Kyoto Common Lisp. I know its a dead
issue so I'm going to stop here.
3) [This is really wanted I wanted to say]. I want a laptop ST!
I have my ST at home, but I move around a lot, and being
able to carry around part of my ST would be great! Some students
have IBM PC/XT/ATs at home and carry Portables to class for notes
and miscelaneous computing. I would spend $1000 for a good
laptop -- 1meg RAM, a display like the Zenith laptop, a couple
of high density 3.5 inch disk drives, and a built in 2400 baud
modem. I don't need color, I don't need a HD (it would be nice,
but I don't need it), but I do need a modem [if you really
want to be spiffy, make it modular enough so some Business type
can shove a celular phone attachment to it :-)].
Now, i know some of you are going to shake your head at this, but that's ok.
You're supposed to. I just wanted to make known what I would like to see
from Atari. The transputer sounds interesting, but it also sounds out of
my price range. I would really like to see a 2400 baud modem, and 68020
with memory management, and a simple-and-sweet laptop. (i'd also like to
see the extended resolution monitor, too.).
--chip
PS. Santa, if you can't deliver on the items listed above, I'd settle for
MINIX!