sritacco@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Steve Ritacco) (09/27/90)
I've been considering an Outbound, and would like some general opinions about it. I saw the machine at the Macworld Expo, and was quite taken by it. So, what does everyone else think. I know that the 40 Meg hard drive model lists for $3999, but what is a good price, and where is a good place to purchase one. I live in Boise Idaho, so I won't be able to buy one locally, how about mail order? Thanks
clarson@ux.acs.umn.edu (Chaz Larson) (09/28/90)
In article <15590006@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> sritacco@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Steve Ritacco) writes: >I've been considering an Outbound, and would like some general >opinions about it. I saw the machine at the Macworld Expo, and >was quite taken by it. So, what does everyone else think. I just used one at a local Apple dealer...boy, that IsoPoint would drive me insane. The screen seemed fairly evil, as well. chaz -- -- "I Am The Reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln", Insists Prince. -spew clarson@ux.acs.umn.edu AOL:Crowbone
matsu@is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp (MATSUOKA Satoshi) (10/03/90)
In article <2296@ux.acs.umn.edu> clarson@ux.acs.umn.edu (Chaz Larson) writes: >In article <15590006@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com> sritacco@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Steve Ritacco) writes: >>I've been considering an Outbound, and would like some general >>opinions about it. I saw the machine at the Macworld Expo, and >>was quite taken by it. So, what does everyone else think. > >I just used one at a local Apple dealer...boy, that IsoPoint would drive >me insane. The screen seemed fairly evil, as well. I am a happy user of one of the first Outbounds shipped here in Japan, and I would have to disagree. I use a variety of Macs (IIcx + Apple TPD, SE/30 + RasterOps 264, etc.) and Sparcs, so I am speaking in fair comparison to 68020/30 systems and workstations. The details of the product is essentially as what has been reported in various trade magazines. As for my personal opinions. 1. The Isopoint, initially is awkward to use. However, after a day of practice, you get pretty much used to it ( I used it on a shakey Shinkansen ride for two hours.) Of course, on a desktop you can always attach a mouse to the infra-red cordless keyboard. 2. The screen, which is backlit, is one of the best on a portable machine I have seen so far, in comparison to the portable MS-DOS machines. In a connected configuration with a Mac Plus, you get two adjacent screens, one on the Outbound and one on the Plus; in that situation, the Outbound screen gives as much clarity and contrast as the Plus screen. Furthermore, I made the measurements and I assume that the resolution to be 75 to 80 dpi; the small shrink factor is much less than what the Radius FPD-SE/30 combination our secretary is now using. 3. I have not used the HD model yet; rather, I have opted for the FD model, and loaded the machine with 16 Mb (4 Mb SIMM x 4) of silicone disk. Although 16Mb is not big, I can fit most of my daily applications into it. At work I immediately connect it to an Appleshare and AUFS fileserver. The manual says that the silicone disk lasts for a month under a fully charged battery; even if the machine automatically shuts-off under a empty-battery condition, the remaining charge in the battery will keep the disk alive for 24 hours. After that, there is a small lithium battery which lasts for 24hours as a last resort (it is also used in the event of battery swaps.) What have impressed me is that the silicone disk is almost crash-free. I first experienced several system errors due to misbehaving INITs, but even after a VERY bad crash, the disk remained OK. (This is not the case for normal Mac HDs as all we know.) Overall, they do a very good job of managing power. 4. The performance of the system is quite acceptable, compared to 68020/30 Macs. Although it is half as fast compared to a Mac II, in practice it is very usable. This is partially due to the fact that silicone disk access is blindingly fast, and compensates for the CPU speed. In the years I have used Macs, I never realized I had been losing so much of the time reading/writing disks. 5. Under the connected mode, all the devices on Outbound except the CPU, ROM/RAM, screen, HD, Silicone disk, and the floppy goes inactive. The devices on the Mac Plus or SE is used instead. This includes the Keyboard, Mouse, Appletalk, etc. In this situation, the Outbound becomes essentially a very compact accelerator+screen extender+2nd storage. Of course, once you detach it, they become active again. 6. There are minor incompatibilities for applications that seem to access the devices directly. For those applications, they tend to work under the connected mode. For most everyday applications, everything seems to work fine. (including MS-Word, MacDrawII, Canvas, HyperCard, NCSA Telnet, eXodus, Allegro Common LISP, etc. Most INITs run fine, too.) 7. The size is A4, although it is a little thick. The weight is just about the level where it is not a torture to carry around on a crowded train. I would very much recommend getting the very-nicely desinged optional carrying case, though (I am talking about the engineering, not its looks; after all, it is not a Hermes or Fendi!). The tilting base is very well designed, too; it sort of pops out of the bottom 1/3 of the case. In conclusion, I would highly recommend the Outbound as a very well-built extension to Mac Plus/SE, giving you an accelerator, 2nd screen, ultra-fast external drive, and an almost FDHD compatible floppy in a nice small package, for an affordable price. Here in Japan, it costs just about the same as an SE/30; so for a person who already owns a Plus/SE, it is a good option to buying a new Mac. As a matter of a fact, a colleague of mine bought one along with me, and he says that it was a very good decision to buy it instead of a SE/30. Everyone else I had the opportunity to demonstrate sayid that they were impressed, and they would like to obtain it if possible. In addition, you get a Macintosh portable for free! What more can you ask? (OK, I admit this is the best part.) -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- -+- / \ +-------+ -+-+- / \ Satoshi Matsuoka /|\ / \ | \ / | +-+ / Research Faculty | | --+-- | +-+ /__\ Dept. of Information Science | / | |_|_| | -+-+- The University of Tokyo | /___\ | | | / \_/ \ E-mail: matsu@is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp Physical mail: 7-3-1 Bunkyo-ku, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan 113 Office: +81-3-812-2111 ex. 4108 (8:30-18:00 JST) Direct line to lab., automatically switches audio/fax: +81-3-5689-4365