c60a-1bq@e260-4f.berkeley.edu (nunnayourbiznezz) (09/15/88)
In article <2624@sugar.uu.net> peter@sugar.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes: >In article <14185@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, c60a-1bq@e260-4g.berkeley.edu (nunnayourbiznezz) writes: > >They have. I bought my second Atari 800 (an 800XL) for $64. The newer 800s >are a bit more expensive but they're still in the $100 range. Commodore >makes small computers in the same price range, too. > >Yes, they're not big machines. They have no hard drive and only 64K of RAM. >But they're quite affordable... in the price range of telephones. [much deleted] >-- > Peter da Silva `-_-' peter@sugar.uu.net > Have you hugged U your wolf today? My phone cost me $5 :-) True, there are the Atari 800 and C= 64. Both are solid, cheap machines, but you need more than a console to work. say $80 for the console, $150 for a disk drive, $50 for a wp and something else (lang. or game or edu), and the price is $280. In my mind, that is the BARE minimum system. No cassettes pleez, disk drives have been the only way to go for years. Take that bare system and add a printer, modem, 2nd drive, more sw, BOOKS, monitors, and the price shoots up again. My dream cheapo system would be a PClone board mounted on top of a 3.5" drive. with space under it for another 3.5 drive (of course). It would have TTL and composite mono out. 640K, 8Mhz, all the usual. There would be ports for printer, and rs232. Only 2 slots: 1 for a hard drive, the other for a modem or whatever. Definitely not a power system, but useful. John Kawakami
peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) (09/15/88)
In article <14292@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, c60a-1bq@e260-4f.berkeley.edu (nunnayourbiznezz) writes: Me (Peter da Silva): > >They have. I bought my second Atari 800 (an 800XL) for $64. The newer 800s > >are a bit more expensive but they're still in the $100 range. Commodore > >makes small computers in the same price range, too. > >Yes, they're not big machines. They have no hard drive and only 64K of RAM. > >But they're quite affordable... in the price range of telephones. > My phone cost me $5 :-) I had one of those, too. Now I have a $50 model. At the local Rat Shack they go up to $200. > True, there are the Atari 800 and C= 64. Both are solid, cheap machines, but > you need more than a console to work. Yes. You need a LOGO cartridge ($10), a TV, and a tape recorder. > In my mind, that is the BARE minimum system. No cassettes pleez, disk > drives have been the only way to go for years. We're not talking something you're going to use to run a small business. The subject is providing computer education for ghetto kids. Yes, Leary is off-base putting the Amiga in this range... but the Atari and C= low end machines are available. -- Peter da Silva `-_-' Ferranti International Controls Corporation. "Have you hugged U your wolf today?" peter@ficc.uu.net
erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) (09/16/88)
In article <1508@ficc.uu.net>, peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes: > In article <14292@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, c60a-1bq@e260-4f.berkeley.edu > (nunnayourbiznezz) writes: > (Peter da Silva): [Re: cheap 8bit machines for poor people.] > > True, there are the Atari 800 and C= 64. Both are solid, cheap machines, but > > you need more than a console to work. > Yes. You need a LOGO cartridge ($10), a TV, and a tape recorder. Tape recorder for C64, the CBM Datasette, runs around $10 used where I've seen it. Mine was given to me by a pawn shop: "We dunno how to make it play music." TV's: I got a *NEW* 12in B/W, with a 90dy warr. for $45 at a 'electronics warehouse'. > > In my mind, that is the BARE minimum system. No cassettes pleez, disk > > drives have been the only way to go for years. For big, high data applications, maybe. I had a year of *BIG* fun on a VIC-20, Datasette, and BW tv. Learned lots o neat things. Same thing with the RadioShack ModILvI, b/w monitor and RadShack tape deck. Disk drives are for people in a hurry that have too much money. :-) -- Skate Unix or die, boogie boy.... J. Eric Townsend ->uunet!nuchat!flatline!erict smail:511Parker#2,Hstn,Tx,77007 ..!bellcore!tness1!/
wbralick@icc.afit.arpa (William A. Bralick Jr.) (09/16/88)
In article <14292@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> c60a-1bq@e260-4f.berkeley.edu (nunnayourbiznezz) writes: > >My dream cheapo system would be a PClone board mounted on top of a 3.5" drive. Ugh! A PClone? How would that introduce folks to anything more than the wave of the past -- true trailing edge tech (sorry, Richard). :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) Will
leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson) (09/17/88)
In article <14292@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> c60a-1bq@e260-4f.berkeley.edu (nunnayourbiznezz) writes:
<My dream cheapo system would be a PClone board mounted on top of a 3.5" drive.
<with space under it for another 3.5 drive (of course).
<It would have TTL and composite mono out. 640K, 8Mhz, all the usual.
<There would be ports for printer, and rs232. Only 2 slots: 1 for a hard drive,
<the other for a modem or whatever. Definitely not a power system, but useful.
Well, someone could buils such a system cheaply enough...
Intel sells the "Wildboard 88" for $50 ($55 with 8087) in quantity 1000.
This is a PC motherboard on a 2"x4" card! All you need is memory, and the
various adapter cards.
Now consider one multifunction board I've seen. It had the following on
*one* full length card:
Hercules compatible video
clock
Floppy controller
two serial ports
two parallel port
I think that with a bit of work and use of surface mount and "chip mount"
(where they bond the silicon chip to the board directly!) we could get this:
Hercules video
CGA video (with TTL, mono composite, color composite)
3 printer ports (all that most versions of DOS support)
4 COM ports
clock
Floppy controller
all on *one board. If you used one of those cases intended for two 5.25"
drives, you could get two 3.5 drives, the power supply, this "motherboard"
*and* a couple of full length slots inside. I think the biggest problem
would be finding room for all the connectors on the back :-)
--
Leonard Erickson ...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I used to be a hacker. Now I'm a 'microcomputer specialist'.
You know... I'd rather be a hacker."