KEN%jpl-vax@sri-unix.UUCP (01/26/84)
From: Ken Adelman <KEN@jpl-vax> Can I get MacSyma? -Kenneth Adelman California Institute for Technologists ------
edhall%rand-unix@sri-unix.UUCP (01/26/84)
MacSyma? That would require a Big Mac... -Ed Hall Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, CA edhall@rand-unix
A2DEH%mit-ml@sri-unix.UUCP (01/27/84)
From: Donald E. Hopkins <A2DEH@mit-ml>
Date: Thursday, 26 Jan 1984 01:23-PST
From: edhall at rand-unix
To: KEN at jpl-vax
cc: info-micro at brl-vgr, info-apple at brl-vgr
Re: Mac Review
MacSyma? That would require a Big Mac...
-Ed Hall
Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
edhall@rand-unix
I hear the DoD's got that for their WOPR computer... (remember, the one that
sounds like it's got a diesel engine?)
-Donbrucec@orca.UUCP (Bruce Cohen) (01/30/84)
In regard to the Macintosh specs sent out by David.Anderson@CMU: one minor quibble. The mouse is mechanical, not optical. I played with a Macintosh for half an hour or so, and was curious about the mouse. It uses a plastic ball just like the Lisa mouse. In fact, it looks and feels like the Lisa mouse with a new housing, even to the occasional slippage. Mac is indeed faster than Lisa, and Apple seems to have learned from some of the mistakes they made in the Lisa operator interface. I did succeed in crashing the machine, by sticking it in a loop where it kept asking for a diskette I didn't have, and wouldn't allow me to abort the operation. The salesperson had to power the machine down and reboot. On the other hand, my six-year-old couldn't kill Macpaint, though he tried. I asked about Lisa II, and was told that the store would get some in about a month. Still no definite pricing, but the rumor is that a minimum system, without a hard disk, will cost ~$3500, and a real system with a 10 meg hard disk will cost ~$6000 with the minimal software. Bruce Cohen UUCP: ...!teklabs!tekecs!brucec CSNET: tekecs!brucec@tektronix ARPA: tekecs!brucec.tektronix@rand-relay
David.Anderson@CMU-CS-G.ARPA (01/31/84)
CMU announced today a super price for the MacIntosh: $1050 for students and employees. I went to a dealer to check it out, and here are some facts and some observations. FACTS The basic Mac has these features and sells for $2495 retail: o 68000 at just under 8 MHz o 128K ram, 64K rom o 9 inch 512 x 342 b/w screen o built-in 400K 3.5 inch floppy + port for an external drive o rs232 port (both serial ports have 9-pin connectors) o rs422 port (up to nearly 1M bps) o 4 voice audio, sampled at 22 kHz o built-in speaker + audio port in back o clock/calendar with battery backup o detached keyboard o optical one-button mouse o MacWrite and MacPaint software o 9.7 x 10.9 x 13.5 inches, about 18 pounds (w/ recessed handle) o no fan or expansion slots The ROM has some nice features, such as a built-in alarm clock, calculator, and other system utilities. These options will be available in the near future (perhaps some are available now): o a cute padded carrying case o Imagewriter Printer (uses the rs232 port) o 300 baud or 300/1200 baud smart modems (use the rs422 port) o external disk drive o numeric keypad o security kit (for locking your Mac to your desk) OBSERVATIONS (mixed with facts) At the discounted price, this is a fantastic machine. I was able to sit and play with one for about an hour and a half (amazingly enough, there were very people there to check it out). I was particularly impressed by the speed -- the MacIntosh is a good bit faster than the Lisa, and it definitely shows in some of the graphics. The software available seems to be very well thought out and easy to learn and to use. My major complaint about the hardware is that the screen is kind of small (9 inch) and the resolution only just adequate for these applications. The keyboard felt nice, but seemed perhaps just a wee bit cramped -- AND THERE IS NO CONTROL KEY. There are 3 keys that the hardware can use as "shift" keys, but none of them is in the right place for a control key (they put the CAPS LOCK key there). Another serious problem is the lack of software. About 100 companies have had Macs to use for some time now, and their software should be out very soon. At least it had better be. The brochure acts as though some of the following programs are already available(*), while the others are currently being developed: from Apple: MacWrite (*) MacPaint (*) (these are standard) a font editor (*) (my dealer had this, it may be standard) MacDraw MacProject (*) MacTerminal (*) Classcal programming development system (shown in brochure) from MicroSoft: Multiplan (shown in brochure) Chart (shown in brochure) File Word others: Lotus 1-2-3 PFS: filer MacWrite is very nice, but can only be used to create documents up to about 6 pages in length. Serious work will demand something better. It is easy to clip figures from MacPaint and put them into documents, and a wide variety of fonts (about 10), sizes (9 to 72 points) and styles (italic, bold, underline, outline, shadow) can be used. They are shown properly on the screen (although switching fonts incurs a noticeable disk access), and anything you can create can be printed on the new Imagewriter printer. The sample printout I saw looked very nice. The screen can handle about 24x80 with the smallest fonts, but when I played with some of the larger sizes I felt like I wasn't seeing too much on the screen (perhaps 8-10 lines). There are many other impressive features, but I'll leave it here. This is much more computer than the Apple ][ or the PCjr, but I am uncomfortable comparing it to the IBM-PC and other "serious"? micro-computers (the impossibility of adding a hard disk would seem to eliminate a Unix clone, for instance). Expandability to 512K with 256K chips is apparently a possibility, but I've heard no details. The MacIntosh may revolutionize the industry, but at $2495 with little software we're left waiting for more. --david
bjroehl@wateng.UUCP (Bernie Roehl) (02/11/84)
Hmm. Well, the Mac seems like a reasonable enough machine, except
for the following problems (some minor, some major):
128K total ram memory. Yes, I've heard the rumors about plugging
in 256K chips to get 512K, but if you'll check out the
motherboard you'll find the ram is soldered in. Unless
you want to take to your brand-new Mac with a soldering
iron, you'll have to get a motherboard swap from Apple
(which may be expensive since it involves paying a tech
to do the work; parts+labor = $$$$)
monochrome display. A lot of people feel that color is not only
useful, but necessary. Time will tell, but it's another
aspect of the Mac hardware that's carved in stone (there's
no provision for another display)
68000 processor. It's unquestionably superior to the 8088, but
so far there's a dearth of software for it. If you run
Unix and program in C, the underlying processor is almost
unnoticeable in 80-90% of the applications; thus the
advantages of the 68K vanish like the proverbial snows in
summer.
no bus. Hence, no third-party peripherals, except for the "serial
bus" all the literature mentions. A serial bus cannot
provide you with memory expansion or an alternate processor
(i.e. put a 16032 in and use the 68K as an i/o handler).
The bottom line is that it's nice, but probably too little to late. The
IBM PC, for better or worse, will maintain its hold on the market for a while
yet, and certainly won't be knocked out by the Mac. What you will see is a
board that plugs into the PC and gives you a 68K, some RAM, and the ability
to run Mac software; it's easy to build one, and the demand will be there.
Comments on the above are welcome; flames to /dev/null, please.
--Bernie Roehl
(bjroehl@wateng)
--
-Bernie Roehl (University of Waterloo)