root@uthelios.UUCP (10/10/87)
Despite (or perhaps due to) managing the systems of the above organization, I know very little about Ataris. So when my father called this evening and mentioned that he was considering buying a 520ST, there wasn't much info I could give him. So I thought perhaps I'd find out from the people who *really* know - other owners. He is considering purchasing one, mainly as a word-processing machine (although he will probably get interested in other things once he has one). I have a few questions I would like to ask you all. 1. The sale price offered is in the range of $900 (Cdn) including a printer. Is this a reasonable price to pay for something which I gather from this group has been around for a couple of years? 2. Is the machine fairly solid? He is not a computer person (yet) so it would be best if he doesn't initially have to learn a lot about how to diagnose problems (and get really disenchanted by having to spend more money to replace broken parts). 3. The local ad claims that the machine will run both IBM PC and Mac software. Is this true? Is there any other software required (some kind of preprocessor or anything) which is required for the 520ST to do this? 4. Personal opinions on how the machine performs, bearing in mind that it is not likely to have any great demands made on it. Is 512K enough to load your favourite word processing program and still have space left over for an essay (remember this is coming from someone used to having 4GB of virtual memory :-) )? General "user satisfaction", particularly from those who have used other systems. Please send replies directly to me, as we have 2-day expiry on this list (to save on tight disk space). My addresses are below. Thanks in advance to all who give me their opinions. They are much appre- ciated. Ruth Milner Systems Manager University of Toronto Physics/Astronomy/CITA Computing BITNET: sysruth@utorphys uucp: ...!seismo!utai!utgpu!radio!helios!root