LIN%mit-ml@sri-unix.UUCP (10/17/83)
From: Herb Lin <LIN@mit-ml> here are the replies I have received to my query. The ADAM package sure sounds good but it may be too good. There have been reports that Coleco is having trouble getting it's product out the door as sheduled. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago a few months ago, Atari showed a system similar to Coleco's but there was a lot of speculation that they threw it together because for the sake of not being shown up by Coleco. ******* The ADAM has a 24 line by 40 Column display, and that shrinks when there is a status line. This is simply not enough information on the screen at once. The minimum would be 24 X 80 (1/2 page) optimum is 60 X 80 (full page) Also do you want true Word Processing with commands for formatting as well as editing. Or just a buffer editor which you set up the text correctly and dump it out. You may get the latter but a "real" (purely opinion) system will proabable be more like 1.5K. I have arbitrarily defined a "real" system to being a CP/M system. If you buy the big board for Digital Reasearch of Texas w/ SIO option, for $400 and a siemans 8" DSDD disk for $200 and power supplies and a box for $200, a keyboard and monitor for $150 and a smith corona printer for $500. Presto! a CP/M word processing system for $1450. Note that the Big board has a built in Video Display and keyboard interface and CP/M 2.2 is included in the purchase price. Of course you will want to buy your favorite word processing package and this will add from 0 to $300 dollars to the price but that is about it. ********** Atari will be selling its 600XL bundled with a slow letter quality printer and word processing software for about the same price as the Adam-- US$600. ********************