johan@dutnak2.UUCP (09/27/89)
According to a leaflet of Computer Care Inc., their SoftStep modules allow you to build 1M SIMMs from leftover 256k SIMMs. If you buy four, they go for $50 a piece. It is more or less indicated that the resulting SIMM only fits in MacII's. They also have a product called "Rescue" ($330), that adds a SCSI port and six! SIMM slots to a Mac 512KE. Does anyone out there have experience with these products? Johan de Haas tel. +31 15 785188 E-mail: johan@dutnak0.tudelft.nl Delft University of Technology P.O Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands
alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us (Alex Pournelle) (09/28/89)
johan@dutnak2.UUCP writes: >According to a leaflet of Computer Care Inc., their SoftStep >modules allow you to build 1M SIMMs from leftover 256k SIMMs. >If you buy four, they go for $50 a piece. It is more or less indicated >that the resulting SIMM only fits in MacII's. My friendly neighbourhood Mac technician says these are much more trouble than they're worth--the many connections tend to work loose and cause flaky RAM problems. No direct experience. Alex
pwp@shamash.cdc.com ( HOUFAC) (09/28/89)
In article <919@dutrun.UUCP> johan@dutnak2.UUCP (Johan de Haas) writes: >According to a leaflet of Computer Care Inc., their SoftStep >modules allow you to build 1M SIMMs from leftover 256k SIMMs. >If you buy four, they go for $50 a piece. It is more or less indicated >that the resulting SIMM only fits in MacII's. > >They also have a product called "Rescue" ($330), that adds a >SCSI port and six! SIMM slots to a Mac 512KE. > >Does anyone out there have experience with these products? I can't speak about "Rescue", but I do have an SE here with a set of SoftStep adapters installed. The version I have allows you to construct 1/2 Meg SIMMs from the 256K'ers, giving you 2 Megabytes in an SE. Installation went fairly smoothly. I got a little concerned because the bottom of the chip leads from the top 256K SIMM were touching the tops of the chips on the bottom one, so I called their 800 number. They were very polite, knowledgeable and helpful. (F.Y.I. -- on some models of SE the leads do touch the chips, and it isn't a problem.) It works fine. I'm suprised, however, that anyone is still considering using these. At $50 each, they're hardly cheaper than buying real one Meg SIMMs. Given the potential for future incompatiblity and the greater number of connections (points of possible failure) I'd probably spend the extra $$. (At the time I did it, one Meg SIMMs were both hard to get and extremely expensive.) --Pete Poorman pwp@shamash.cdc.com
jnelson@tle.enet.dec.com (Jeff E. Nelson) (09/29/89)
In article <919@dutrun.UUCP>, johan@dutnak2.UUCP writes: > According to a leaflet of Computer Care Inc., their SoftStep > modules allow you to build 1M SIMMs from leftover 256k SIMMs. > If you buy four, they go for $50 a piece. It is more or less indicated > that the resulting SIMM only fits in MacII's. > > They also have a product called "Rescue" ($330), that adds a > SCSI port and six! SIMM slots to a Mac 512KE. > > Does anyone out there have experience with these products? I visited Computer Care, Inc., about nine months ago and had a chance to see some SoftStep modules firsthand and learn how they work. There is a different SoftStep model depending upon the computer (MacPlus, MacSE and MacII series) in which you wish to install them. In fact, there are several models for either the MacPlus or MacSE (I don't remember which). All of the SoftStep modules look easy enough to install. You simply place your 256K SIMMS in the SIMM slots on the SoftStep module and then place the SoftStep module in one SIMM slot in your Mac. The modules look simple (very few electronics) and fairly reliable to me. Wish I'd thought of the idea myself. :-) I don't have any practical experience with them, though. I didn't see Rescue, so I can't comment on it. For more information, contact Computer Care directly at: Computer Care Inc. 5124 Russell Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55410 +1 800 950 2273 (toll-free) +1 612 920 2273 (in MN or outside USA) +1 612 925 2720 (FAX) Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Computer Care, Inc. Use the information in this message at your own risk. -Jeff E. Nelson -Digital Equipment Corporation -Internet: jnelson@tle.enet.dec.com -Affiliation given for identification purposes only.