Cent.Mbeck%OZ.AI.MIT.EDU@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU (Mark Becker) (06/29/86)
Hello -
I originally sent this request to Heath-People and didn't get any
responses so am repeating it to the Info-Micro world...
Can someone give me an idea of how "compatible" the Z-200 PC/AT
clone is with the "Real Thing"? I'm primarily interested in running a
u*ix port on it..
Barring that, has anyone seen a magazine review of the machine
that I could go read?
Thanks in Advance -
Mark
-------sandersr@ecn-pc.UUCP (Robert C Sanders) (07/07/86)
In article <1807@brl-smoke.ARPA> Cent.Mbeck%OZ.AI.MIT.EDU@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU writes: > Can someone give me an idea of how "compatible" the Z-200 PC/AT >clone is with the "Real Thing"? I'm primarily interested in running a >u*ix port on it.. >Thanks in Advance - Mark By my own experience with a Heath-200 (a Z-200), it is more compatible to an IBM AT than an IBM is; in other words, it has fewer problems, better electronic engineered, and more rugged than IBM. Programs provided by Heath/Zenith's user group offer the reading and writing of disk formats beyond IBM, and the Zenith can be set to run at 10-Meg, where the IBM cannot. The internal diagnostics are faster, but more complete than IBM; and the technical documentation is fuller and more complete than IBM. Because of IBM's comtract with Microsoft, they are up to DOS 3.2, where Zenith is up to DOS 3.10. For most this should be no problem, since DOS 3.10 supports MS Windows very nicely. I have worked with both machines -- the IBM will freeze up every now and then, the Zenith is still going without a glitch. If you can get through, the Zenith technical support is more reliable than IBM's. Since the machine was designed with the Heath market in mind, the service documentation and availability is greater than IBM. Does it sound like that I am sold on a Zenith? Over IBM I am. -- I'll buy a Kaypro any day though! :-) (seriously though, I would!) - bob -- ------------ Continuing Engineering Education Telecommunications Purdue University "Time is a mouse that requires constant feeding..." -- me ...!ihnp4!pur-ee!pc-ecn!sandersr