dlc659@csc.anu.oz (04/12/90)
Some background ...
A friend of mine has just been given an old (really old) IBM PC clone by his
employers. His organization is such that there is a head office located in
Queensland, and 40 or so field staff (of which he is one) around Australia.
The field staff are based in their own homes and need to communicate regularly
with the head office and each other. This has been/is done with phone calls,
public fax facilities and Australia Post. But now they are introducing a
dial-up modem and electronic mail facility.
Apparently, at least twice a day the head office machine PC will dial each
field PC. It will collect any mail that might be sitting on the field PC's
disk waiting to be sent, and in turn download any mail addressed to that PC
which it has collected. Since a lot of paperwork currently flows back and
forth between field staff and head office, this email facility should offer a
a cheaper and speedier turn around.
The problem ...
My friend is a computer novice and can't stand the arcane world of MS-DOS.
He has had some exposure to Macs, through a common friend and myself. He
would dearly like to sell his antique PC and move to a Mac. He has asked my
advice on how best to do this.
His needs are these:
1) To be able to communicate with the head office PC for automated transfer
of compressed files. I believe they use a product called CCmail. I also
believe that the compression/decompression is done separately to the
emailing. I will be finding out what compression program they use later
this week.
. Anyone had experience with comms programs and CCmail compatible ones
in particular?
2) To be able to read/write PC WordPerfect files.
. Can the Mac version of WordPerfect do this?
. Can any other Mac word processors fit the bill?
3) To be able to read/write MS-DOS floppies - probably 3.5 inch, but
possibly also 5.25 inch. I know about Apple File Exchange.
. Anyone had long(er) term experience with DOSmounter?
4) To possibly run the odd MS-DOS based program.
. Anyone had experience with SoftPC?
. Can SoftPC talk to the Mac's comms ports?
. Could we use it to run CCmail?
. What if MS-DOS gets upgraded - can SoftPC use the next version?
. Does SoftPC require a 68030-based machine or can it run on a 68000 SE?
5) To buy a printer that he can use now with his PC and still be able to use
if/when he moves to a Mac.
. Has anyone had experience with Epson compatible printers and the Grappler
cable?
. (For Australian readers) How about the Auto-Ice "Grappler-like" cable?
. How do these cables work; ie will they cease functioning with System 7?
. Can anyone recommend inexpensive laser/inkjet printers that can be
be connected to both PCs and Macs without too much bother, and that are
likely to still work correctly under System 7?
I think he would prefer a cut-sheet feed mechanism. I own an ImageWriter II
but couldn't recommend it based on the fact that the tractor feed mechanism is
unreliable, and the cut sheet feeder costs extra. [I *really* like the output
from my ImageWriter, but strongly feel this is one big area Apple could do
much better.] Besides, I don't think it is PC compatible without extra cost.
His first priority is 5). Any recommendations on any or all of the above
points would be greatly appreciated - the sooner the better.
Please email me, rather than post.
Thanks in advance.
Drew Corrigan.
(drew@anucsd.anu.oz.au)
PS. I realise that I might be able to get help with this from an Apple
dealer, but my experience has been that many sales staff don't know all that
much about technical issues. [Saw a sad case the other day while buying a new
printer ribbon. A person wanted to upgrade from an Apple II to a MacIIcx.
"Sorry. There's no way to transfer your documents over," assured the sales
assistant. Never heard of Apple File Exchange, null modem cables, or any of
the numerous file translation bureau services! Sigh.]