[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] The comp.sys.ibm.pc mail server

t-rayc@microsoft.UUCP (Raymond CHEN) (07/29/90)

As many of you may have noticed, the mail servers are acting up.
I have a good idea of what is wrong, but since I am not at Berkeley 
right now, I can't do any repairs until September.  
My apologies to everyone who's been having trouble.  
(Mail sent to raymond@math.berkeley.edu is processed fine.
It's just the server commands that don't work.)

So I figure I'd post a copy of the "products" file that the server
would be dispensing if it were working.  This is a condensed index
of articles posted to comp.sys.ibm.pc.* which have to do with product
recommendations.  For example, there are over 20 opinions of Gateway
brand computers cataloged here.

If you find this useful, drop me a piece of email so I can decide whether
I should continue keeping this index up to date.

Of course, all opinions expressed below are those of the original
authors.

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Last update: 27 Jul 90
|
| File format is like this:
|
| S: Subject
| Q: userid (name) date                 person who asked the questions
| R: userid (name) [summary] date       person who replied, with brief summary
| >Other comments                       additional stuff
|
| Table of contents:
|
|       386, upgrading from 286
|       Card, Paradise
|       Computer
|           ACMA
|           ALR EISA
|           Altec
|           Amstrad
|           Austin
|           Black Ship
|           Bondwell laptops
|           CompuAdd
|           Computer Terminal International
|           DTK
|           Excell
|           FastMicro
|           Fresh Data
|           Gateway 2000
|           Homesmart Computing
|           Hornet 386
|           Hyundai 386C
|           IBM Convertible
|           Jeppsen
|           Leading Edge PC
|           Micro Express
|           Microlab
|           Mitsubishi
|           Northgate
|               486 i25
|               Elegance 386
|               Slimline 386/20 PC
|           Packard-Bell
|           PC Brand
|           Premier
|           Q-Tek
|           Swan
|           Top Gun
|           Tri-Star
|           Tri-State in New York
|           USA-Flex
|           Zenith Turbosport
|           Zenith Turbosport 386
|           Zeos
|           choosing a laptop/portable
|           Jade
|           general
|           laptop
|       Excelan Exos 205 Ethernet card
|       Hard disk card
|       Hard disk cards for PS/2 30-286
|       Hard disk controller, Perstor vs WD1006 RLL
|       Hard disk controller, two in one machine
|       Hard disk controllers, which work with what drives?
|       Hard disk, Conner
|       Hard disk/floppy disk RLL 1:1 16-bit controller
|       Hard disk, SyQuest 44MB removable
|       Hard disk, general
|       Hard drives in old PCs
|       Mail order companies, PC Connection
|       Mail-order discount houses for 386s (general comments)
|       Monitor
|           EGA
|           Gateway VGA
|           NEC 3D
|           Paradise
|           VGA
|           Zenith Z-1492 FTM
|           Dell
|           Goldstar
|           Mitsubishi DiamondScan
|           Multisync
|           NANAO FlexScan 9070U
|           NEC
|           Princeton
|       Motherboard, 386
|       Motherboard, 386 or 386SX, with 287 coprocessor socket
|       Motherboard, 386SX
|       Motherboard, 486 EISA
|       Motherboard, EVEREX Revision E 386
|       Motherboard, Intel 386/PC Inboard
|       Motherboard, Jameco 386
|       Motherboard, Mylex vs Micronics (request)
|       Motherboard, upgrading 286 to 386
|       SCSI board for PS2 MOD 80-071
|       SCSI controller IN2000 by Always Inc
|       Santa Clara diskless workstations
|       Scanners/OCR
|       Sequa Chameleon PC
|       Sony 1304HG
|       Sony CPD-1304
|       Sota 286i and 386i Accelerator Cards for PCs
|       Sound boards
|       Tape backup
|       Tandy 4016SX
|       Trackball
|       Trackball, Logitech Trackman
|       VGA & Composite Video in one monitor
|       VGA Wonder Card (ATI), hooking up to BNC high res color monitor
|       VGA card, 1024x748 non-interlaced
|       VGA card, ATI VGA Wonder
|       VGA card, Genoa
|       VGA card, Suntek
|       VGA card, general
|       i860 and i960 board for AT-bus
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------

S: 386, upgrading from 286
Q: cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!lcra!mike (Mike O'Donnell) D: 23 Apr 90

S: Card, Paradise
Q: besner@watserv1.waterloo.edu (lc) 8 May 90

S: Computer, ACMA
Q: att!oktnnsa!luis (Luis F. Albisu) 4 Apr 90

S: Computer, ALR EISA
Q: talvola@janus.Berkeley.EDU (Erik Talvola) 18 Jun 90

S: Computer, Altec
Q: feg@clyde.ATT.COM (Forrest Gehrke) 3 Apr 90
Q: barkdoll@cattell.psych.upenn.edu (Edwin Barkdoll) 10 May 90

S: Computer, Amstrad
R: jagrogan@vax1.tcd.ie (John Grogan) [negative] 3 Jul 90
>STOP, think first!!  I'm working for a company who used to deal
>a lot with Amstrads. We were experiencing a 200% failure rate (on average).
>No matter how good a deal you are getting it is not worth it.  The problems
>are usually not simple, and often require spare parts or a new unit - both
>of which are difficult to get from Amstrad.
R: motcid!smithju@chg.mcd.mot.com (Justin A. Smith) 3 Jul 90
>[re their 8086 machines] Overall i think they were reasonably good value.
R: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck) 3 Jul 90
>In Europe & the U.K. they provide the most performance for the money, but
>that is because all the other clones are outrageously expensive.  In general
>the Amstrads are not completely compatible with "standard" PC clones,
>because there were design tradeoffs made to cut manufacturing costs.
>However, my impression is that any incompatibilities are in the
>areas that are very obscure and not used by 99+ percent of all software.
>
>My recommendation: If you find a bargain-basement price on an Amstrad,
>if you don't require mechanical robustness, and if you are willing to take
>a chance on hardware compatibility, then go ahead.
R: ma87rcs@cct.brunel.ac.uk (Liz Kimber) [positive] 4 Jul 90
>From my own experience (I have always had AMSTRADS) they are very good.
R: alun@ibmpcug.co.uk (Alun Jenkins) [strongly negative] 6 Jul 90
>Don't don't don't don't buy Amstrad.  I used to work for an Amstrad super
>dealer we used to do repairs etc. Just try getting parts. They don't come,
>they send the wrong thing, we even received a board with chips missing.
>Get real; just say no to Amstrad!
R: emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) [strongly negative] 7 Jul 90
>If you GAVE me one, I wouldn't even unpack it!
R: clear@bearcave.actrix.co.nz (Charlie Lear) [positive] 3 Jul 90
>They are very good machines with a high level of standard hardware.
R: ss2@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Shyam Subramanyan) [summary] 9 Jul 90

S: Computer, Austin
Q: ames!pacbell!sactoh0!mholtz (Mark A. Holtz) 2 Apr 90
Q: jolly@ferrari.ece.cmu.edu (John Lee) 28 Jun 90
R: kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) 29 Jun 90
>About a year and a half ago I had a horrible experience.

S: Computer, Black Ship
Q: cracraft@wheaties.ai.mit.edu (Stuart Cracraft) 23 Mar 90
Q: MJB@cup.portal.com (Martin J Brown-Jr) [386/25] 20 Jun 90

S: Computer, Bondwell laptops
Q: uhr@thor.cs.wisc.edu (Leonard Uhr) 6 Apr 90
Q: lenhert@eecea.eece.ksu.edu (Donald Lenhert) 14 May 90

S: Computer, CompuAdd
Q: ames!pacbell!sactoh0!mholtz (Mark A. Holtz) 2 Apr 90
R: jfm@cs.odu.edu (John F. Mclaurin) 8 Apr 90
>I would only recommend a Compuadd 316s if you are a business user and
>are within 5 minutes of a Super-Store.
Q: lai@cs.arizona.edu (C. Patrick Lai) [316SX] 31 May 90
R: reyn@trsvax.UUCP [316SX, positive] 5 Jun 90
R: russell@ALF.UNOMAHA.EDU ("Tim Russell") [316SX, positive] 10 Jun 90
Q: andyc@sunra.Eng.Sun.COM (Andy Charnas) [12MHz 286] 16 Jun 90
R: rwp@cup.portal.com (Roger William Preisendefer) 21 Jun 90
>My company just bought 15 Compuadd computers recently ...
>They seem pretty decent.
R: texsun!texbell!merch!cpe!hal6000!trsvax!reyn (John Reynolds) [316S] Jun 90
>I have had no complaints. ... Highly recommended.
R: petrilli@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Chris Petrilli) 21 Jun 90
>If you get a system that works, no problem, it's as reliable as anything
>else.  However, there seems to be a large fraction that don't work (my
>estimates are around 20%).

S: Computer, Computer Terminal International
Q: mpatel@enprt.Wichita.NCR.COM (Madhu Patel) 2 May 90

S: Computer, DTK
Q: besner@watserv1.waterloo.edu (lc) 8 May 90
Q: nrd@cray.com (Neal Dalton) 11 May 90

S: Computer, EPS
Q: fad3@cbnewsj.att.com (frank.decosta) [EPS 386-33] 27 Jun 90
Q: akcs.gregc@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Greg) [EPI 25 mhz] 17 Jul 90

S: Computer, Excell
Q: bhughes@secola.Columbia.NCR.COM (Bill Hughes) 6 Jun 90

S: Computer, FastMicro
Q: johnob@tekigm2.MEN.TEK.COM (John J Obendorfer) 8 May 90

S: Computer, Fresh Data
Q: ucoerp@swuts.swbt.com (Robert B. Paster) 29 Mar 90
R: gatech!stiatl!mnopltd!neal 30 Mar 90
>You can call the Atlanta Better Business Bureau at 404-688-4910
>There are three different addresses with that name, none of which
>have contacted the BBB.

S: Computer, Gateway 2000
Q: simmonds@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Ed Simmonds) 22 Apr 90
Q: EMH101@psuvm.psu.edu (Ed Hankinson) 2 Apr 90
Q: andyb@locus.com (Andy Brager) 3 Apr 90
Q: passt1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Philip A. Sircely) 9 May 90
>Call them at 800-523-2000 or 1-605-232-2000
R: ins_arm@jhuvms.bitnet (Roslan MdZaki) 30 Mar 90
R: webb@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Thomas Webb) [negative] 10 Apr 90
R: MHS108@psuvm.psu.edu (Mark Solsman) 9 Apr 90
>There [sic] salespeople are fantastic!
R: gerry@cive.ri.cmu.edu (Gerry Roston) [positive] 11 Apr 90
R: GOLDSTN@MAINE.BITNET (Michael E. Goldstein) 7 Apr 90
R: yjkim@milton.acs.washington.edu (Yong Kim) 7 Apr 90
>Their salespeople don't seem to be great, but their computers are good.
R: keegan-edward@cs.yale.edu (Edward Keegan) 9 May 90
>PC Resource magazine rates the Gateway as a best buy in the May 1990 issue.
R: ucoerp@swuts.swbt.com (Robert B. Paster) [uneventful story] 25 May 90
R: cohend@dg-rtp.dg.com [positive] (Dave Cohen) 31 May 90
R: landry@csgrad.cs.vt.edu (Kenneth Landry) [recently purchased] 20 Jun 90
Q: jbjones@marlin.NOSC.MIL (John B. Jones) 26 Jun 90
Q: fad3@cbnewsj.att.com (frank.decosta) 27 Jun 90
R: kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) 27 Jun 90
>about a gazillion people have bought Gateways and 99.9153% of them are
>happy customers.  I am included in this group.
R: ucoerp@swuts.swbt.com (Robert B. Paster) [highly recommend] 28 Jun 90
R: kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) [very happy] 29 Jun 90
R: torkil@psivax.UUCP (Torkil Hammer) 20 Jul 90
>It is great.  Telephone service is difficult to get, like with all mail
>order places.
R: verket@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM (Paul Verket) 24 Jul 90
>We bought a 33MHz 386 ... and it has worked very well. My only complaints
>were a case that was sloppily put together and an off brand of hard disk.
R: fs@uwasa.fi (Filip Sawicki LAKE) [summary] 24 Jul 90
>In all of [the replies] opinions were absolutely positive.
>[Though a common complaint was that some troubleshooting was necessary,
> but technical support was very helpful.]
R: jsims@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (J. Robert Sims)
R: Edward_Engler@transarc.com
R: goldston@med.unc.edu (David Goldston)
R: hargrove@cbnewsj.att.com
R: RPI360@MAINE.BITNET

Q: ibanez@linc.cis.upenn.edu (Maria Ibanez) 10 Jul 90
R: fad3@cbnewsj.att.com (frank.decosta) [summary] 11 Jul 90

S: Computer, Homesmart Computing
R: markg@cbnewsk.ATT.COM (mark.r.gibaldi) [positive] 3 May 90

S: Computer, Hornet 386
Q: rutgers!soleil!gendel (Gary Gendel) 5 Mar 90

S: Computer, Hyundai 386C
Q: qiming@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Qiming Huang) 17 Mar 90
R: NETOPRWA@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu (Wayne Aiken) [very strongly negative] 20 Jul 90
>FORGET HYUNDAI!  At one time, my company bought several ... we will never
>do business with them again.  Even if you are lucky enough to ever get a
>computer back from being serviced, chances are good that it still won't work.
>Hyundai is definitely one to avoid like the plague.

S: Computer, IBM Convertible
Q: williams@cs.umass.edu (Leo Pinard) 25 Mar 90

S: Computer, Jeppsen
Q: jackin@vehka.uta.fi (Markku M{enp{{) 8 May 90

S: Computer, Leading Edge PC
Q: pricked@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (Jenn-Ming Yang) 7 Mar 90

S: Computer, Micro Express
Q: cbishop@zeus.dnet.ge.com (Chuck Bishop) 19 Jul 90

S: Computer, MicroGeneration
Q: peck@ral.rpi.edu (Joseph Peck) 29 Jun 90
R: uunet!bnrgate!bmerh614!mlord (Mark Lord) [negative] 6 Jul 90
>Avoid them like the plague..
R: uunet!math.lsa.umich.edu!sharkey!msuinfo!cpsin3!draper (Patrick J Draper) [positive] 6 Jul 90
>I bought a 12Mhz AT from them a year ago, and I am very happy with it.

S: Computer, Microlab
Q: cg108fep@icogsci1.ucsd.edu (Dennis Lou) 7 May 90
R: herrj@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Jonathan R. Herr) [positive] 7 May 90
R: uunet!tronsbox!dsoft!bbs.whizzie (Mauro Quaglia) [positive] 9 May 90
R: m9tx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (John Sequeira) [negative] 10 May 90
>MicroLab's support is terrible.  Read their fine print - 're-stocking fee'
>and 'prices quoted are for cash sales only'.
R: alf@edstip.EDS.COM (John Hamill) [negative] 9 May 90
R: scherer@dtrc.dt.navy.mil (Doug Scherer) [negative] 16 May 90

S: Computer, Mitsubishi MP286L
Q: gm17+@andrew.cmu.edu (Glenn C. Meter) 5 Jun 90

S: Computer, Northgate
Q: uunet!motcid!molesb (Bryan Moles) 10 Apr 90
R: jps@msc.umn.edu (Jeff P. Sorvik) [positive] 10 Apr 90
R: tmyers@athena.mit.edu (Tracy S Myers) [negative] 12 Apr 90
R: wang@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Eric Wang) [positive] 11 Apr 90
R: jsulliva@cvbnet.prime.com (Jeff Sullivan) [positive] 13 Apr 90
R: iuvax!ndmath!nstar!larry (Larry Snyder) [somewhat negative] 22 Apr 90
R: wag1@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (d.wagley) [positive] 27 Apr 90
R: tmyers@athena.mit.edu (Tracy S Myers) [long story] 5 May 90
>Overall, I am satisfied with Northgate.
R: cjp@beartrk.beartrack.com (CJ Pilzer) [486 i25] 24 Jun 90
>I like it very much.  The company support has been excellent.

S: Computer, Northgate Elegance 386
R: geiser@apollo.HP.COM (Wayne Geiser) [positive] 13 Apr 90
>I'll be happy to answer any more specific questions you might have.

S: Computer, Northgate Slimline 386/20 PC
Q: rao@ka.excelan.com (Viswanath Rao) 21 Mar 90
R: hollyr@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Holly Raab) [has one] 23 Mar 90

S: Computer, Northgate 486 i25
R: cjp@beartrk.beartrack.com (CJ Pilzer) [positive] 17 Jun 90

S: Computer, Packard-Bell
Q: scott@Futures.COM (Scott Boyd) 19 Jul 90

S: Computer, PC Brand
Q: joec@Morgan.COM (Joe Collins) 16 Mar 90
R: fish@gemed.com (Mark Fisher) [negative] 1 Apr 90
R: nigel@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Nigel Sharples) [negative] 2 Apr 90
R: kt4@prism.gatech.EDU (Ken Thompson) [positive] 2 Apr 90
R: dorsai@pawl.rpi.edu (Gregory D. Moncreaff) [negative] 2 Apr 90
>unless you're feeling your luck is just about to turn or you have
>a streak of masochism a mile wide you should seriously consider
>dumping PC Brand and go with another 'reputable' mailorder such as Zeos
R: sheinfel@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Aviad Sheinfeld) [negative] 6 Apr 90
R: dorsai@pawl.rpi.edu (G. Donald Moncreaff) 6 Apr 90
>NEVER call customer service, use the tech line 1-800-541-TECH instead.
>these people are much more knowlagable than the service people
R: dsew@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (David R. Sewell) [negative] 7 Apr 90
R: eddjp@althea.UUCP (Dewey Paciaffi) [positive] 5 Apr 90
R: gregj@microsoft.UUCP (Greg JONES) 7 Apr 90
R: wordproc@ucf-cs.UCF.EDU (Marcus Clenney) [positive] 12 Apr 90
Q: jay@umd5.umd.edu (Jay Elvove) 21 May 90
Q: ylee@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Raymond Lee) 6 Jun 90
R: elh@caen.engin.umich.edu (Ed_Han) [negative] 10 Jun 90
R: rschmidt@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (roy schmidt) [20MHz 386, negative] 14 Jun 90
R: dag@persoft.com (Daniel A. Glasser) [negative story] 19 Jun 90

S: Computer, Premier
Q: blair@entec.Wichita.NCR.COM (Brian Lair) 18 Jul 90

S: Computer, Q-Tek
Q: scs2635@cec2.wustl.edu (Sean Cronin Starkey) 2 Apr 90
R: wang@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Eric Wang) [positive] 11 Apr 90

S: Computer, Swan
Q: ames!pacbell!sactoh0!mholtz (Mark A. Holtz) 2 Apr 90
Q: gt0159a@prism.gatech.EDU (LEVINSON,MARC LOUIS) 14 Jun 90
R: jla@hiway.scol.pa.us (Jim Anderson) 19 Jun 90
>I have had no bad expierences with SWAN.  But I live 3 miles from them.

S: Computer, Top Gun
Q: rlp@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Ralph L. Place) 7 Jun 90

S: Computer, Tri-Star
Q: uunet!ccicpg!cci632!gude (Atish Gude) 5 Mar 90
Q: cjeffery@cs.arizona.edu (Clinton Jeffery) 24 Apr 90

S: Computer, Tri-State in New York 
R: princeton!idacrd!gmk (Gary M. Kuhn) [negative] 23 Apr 90
>But let's face it, I expect to be treated rough by cut-rate business in NY.
R: scherer@dtrc.dt.navy.mil (Scherer) [negative] 23 Apr 90

S: Computer, USA-Flex
R: MHS108@psuvm.psu.edu (Mark Solsman) [negative] 12 Apr 90
R: dlucy@tropez.UUCP (Doug Lucy) [negative] 12 Apr 90
R: zentner@cn.ecn.purdue.edu (Michael Zentner) [negative] 12 Apr 90
>I found USA flex to have a very good sales staff ...
>but when it came to service, that was another story.

S: Computer, Zenith Turbosport 386
R: uunet!cbmvax!cgh!paul (Paul Homchick) [mixed review] 21 Apr 90
Q: lchen@cs.ubc.ca (Lee Li-Jen Chen) 15 Jun 90
R: russ@prism.gatech.EDU (Russell Shackelford) [mixed review] 15 Jun 90
>Good machine, but with its problems...

S: Computer, Zeos
Q: krisb@masscomp.ccur.com (Kris Beatty) 19 Mar 90
Q: uunet!motcid!molesb (Bryan Moles) 10 Apr 90
Q: ames!pacbell!sactoh0!mholtz (Mark A. Holtz) 2 Apr 90
Q: harris@umiacs.umd.edu (Michael Harris) 7 Jun 90
Q: peck@ral.rpi.edu (Joseph Peck) [20MHz 386] 13 Jun 90
Q: gt0159a@prism.gatech.EDU (LEVINSON,MARC LOUIS) 14 Jun 90
Q: gp0@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Guenther) [laptop 386SX] 21 Jun 90

S: Computer, choosing a laptop/portable
Q: teach@tc.fluke.COM (Dick Beier) 13 Mar 90
>PC Magazine, March 13 1990.

S: Computer, Jade
Q: pete@bally.Bally.COM (Pete "The Invisible Man" Gregory) 10 May 90

S: Computer, general
Q: terence@ttidca.TTI.COM (Terence Davis) 26 Mar 90
Q: ajayshah@usc.edu (Ajay Shah) 23 Apr 90
Q: cof@pandora.cs.wayne.edu (Colleen Farrell) 14 Apr 90
Q: silver@suna2.cs.uiuc.edu (Edward A. Silverstein) 9 May 90

S: Computer, laptop
Q: attmail!drutx!druks!lyn (Lynelle Schneeberg) 23 Apr 90

S: Excelan Exos 205 Ethernet card
Q: jtliu@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (James T. Liu) 26 Mar 90

S: Hard disk card
Q: furlong@tdoc9.mdcbbs.com (Carey M. Furlong) 14 Mar 90

S: Hard disk cards for PS/2 30-286
Q: zhang@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Hong Zhang) 23 Mar 90

S: Hard disk controller, Perstor vs WD1006 RLL
Q: kgreen@dukeac.ac.duke.edu (Kendall B Green) 20 Mar 90

S: Hard disk controller, two in one machine
Q: gb7@prism.gatech.EDU (Joe Bradley) 15 Mar 90
Q: smithju@cell.mot.COM (Justin A. Smith) 15 Mar 90

S: Hard disk controllers, which work with what drives?
Q: drich@dialogic.dialogic.com (Dan Rich) 22 Mar 90

S: Hard disk, Conner
Q: weisen@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Neil Weisenfeld) 15 Apr 90
R: feustel@well.sf.ca.us (David Alan Feustel) [positive] 17 Apr 90
R: ucbvax!van-bc!oneb!kmcvay (Ken McVay) [positive] 17 Apr 90
R: uunet!cpqhou!scottn (Scott Nesbitt) [positive] 16 Apr 90

S: Hard disk/floppy disk RLL 1:1 16-bit controller
Q: wdarden@nrtc.nrtc.northrop.com (Bill Darden) 26 Mar 90

S: Hard disk, SyQuest 44MB removable
Q: pnl@hpfinote.HP.COM (Peter Lim) 12 Apr 90

S: Hard disk, general
Q: wngai@ics.uci.edu (Wayne Ngai) 11 May 90

S: Hard drives in old PCs
Q: dvlsan@apollon.cs.umu.se (Stefan Anderson) 19 Apr 90

S: Mail order companies, PC Connection
R: uw-beaver!sumax!ole!ray (Ray Berry) [positive] 4 May 90
R: beekun@unssun.nevada.edu (R. I. Beekun) [positive] 5 May 90
>PC Connection is the absolutely best. [sic]
R: groupe@mips2.cr.bull.com (Alan Groupe) [positive] 8 May 90
>It really doesn't get any better than this.

S: Mail-order discount houses for 386s (general comments)
R: gatec!stiatl!mnopltd!neal (Neal Rhodes) 12 Apr 90
>What do you expect when you go for the lowest price?
>I await the day when America realizes that you gotta pay a little above
>dealer cost if ya want the dealer to survive and stand behind their products.
R: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger) 12 Apr 90
>You can't expect excellent service from a mailorder place if you want the
>rock-bottom price.  The people who shop on price alone are inevitably going
>to get hurt, sooner or later.
R: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) 20 Apr 90
>There is a simple rule of thumb to follow when buying PC products.  If you
>know EXACTLY what you want, and it will fit your needs, then by all means
>order from a mail-order house. Just be sure it isn't a scam. The ONLY thing
>you should ever have to deal with them on the order would be DOA or wrong
>merchandise. If it doesn't exactly fit your needs, you are the only one to
>blame.
>
>On the other hand, if you are unsure, or feel you will need help in
>choosing the correct brand or product, or help in installing or setting it
>up the product, buy from a company that is sure to offer good support. I
>try to buy from local places that are within driving distance. That way, I
>don't have to sit on the phone trying to get action, I can go there in
>person.
>
>Sure I may pay a little more, but I have had to return a couple of
>items, and have had minor problems, but they were quickly and easily
>cleared up by a visit in person to the store.

S: Monitor, COMPEQ LOOP SVGA
Q: nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) 6 Jun 90
>I've got one and I wouldn't part with it.

S: Monitor, EGA
Q: DWONG@vm.ucs.UAlberta.CA (Debbie Wong) 25 Apr 90
>The May 1990 issue of PC Magazine reviews 24 monitors.

S: Monitor, Gateway VGA
Q: tom@dvnspc1.Dev.Unisys.COM (Tom Albrecht) 26 Mar 90

S: Monitor, NEC 3D
R: burton@mitisft.Convergent.COM (Philip Burton) 24 Apr 90
R: gpatel@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Gautam Patel) 24 Apr 90
>I have an NEC 3D and I have nothing but praise for it.
R: dmurdoch@watstat.waterloo.edu (Duncan Murdoch)
>I like it, but want to warn you:  it can only do 1024x768 interlaced.
R: tpf@jdyx.atlanta.ga.us (Tom Friedel)
>one of the cheapest monitors that will do 1024x768


S: Monitor, Paradise
Q: uunet!bartek1!norm (Norm Bartek) 6 May 90

S: Monitor, SVGA
Q: peter@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Peter Wu) [summary] 5 Jun 90
R: troby@diana.cair.du.edu (THORNTON ROBY)
>See PC Magazine, 15 May 1990 and 10 Apr 1990 for reviews.

S: Monitor, VGA
Q: cs163wbf@icse2.ucsd.edu (RICHARD WUN) 8 May 90
R:  eggbert@bucsf.bu.edu (Eugene Wang) 9 May 90
>April 10, 1990 PC Magazine reviews 1024x768 noninterlaced monitors.
>May 15, 1990 PC Magazine reviews Super VGA monitors (800x600)
>  but some go to 1024x768.
>May 1990 PC World tries to find the "best value" among multiscan monitors.

S: Monitor, Zenith Z-1492 FTM
Q: dd2x+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Dwiggins) 9 Apr 90

S: Monitor, Dell
R: marshall@wind55.seri.gov (Marshall L. Buhl) [positive] 24 Apr 90

S: Monitor, Goldstar
Q: uunet!sequent!kevinr (Kevin W. Rudd) 24 Apr 90
R: cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!xroads!beagle!chandler (Jim Chandler) 25 Apr 90

S: Monitor, Maatsushita View Perfect 3
R: rama@andy.bgsu.edu (Sub Ramakrishnan)
>Same features as NEC 3D but costs a lot less.  Works just fine.

S: Monitor, Mitsubishi DiamondScan
R: cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!xroads!beagle!chandler (Jim Chandler) 25 Apr 90

S: Monitor, Multisync
Q: gsgi_cif@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Gregory Gibson) 8 Mar 90

S: Monitor, NANAO FlexScan 9070U
R: cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!xroads!beagle!chandler (Jim Chandler) 25 Apr 90

S: Monitor, NEC
R: cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!xroads!beagle!chandler (Jim Chandler) 25 Apr 90

S: Monitor, Princeton
Q: uunet!sequent!kevinr (Kevin W. Rudd) 24 Apr 90
R: marshall@wind55.seri.gov (Marshall L. Buhl) [negative] 24 Apr 90
R: cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!xroads!beagle!chandler (Jim Chandler) 25 Apr 90
R: mjw06513@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Mary Winters)
>The Princeton Ultrasync is an excellent monitor.

S: Motherboard, 386
Q: acero@tank.uchicago.edu (Anibal Acero) [summary] 6 Mar 90
Q: tett@cbnewse.ATT.COM (chad.a.hoffstetter) 22 Mar 90
Q: bjb@hubcap.clemson.edu (BJ Backitis) 14 Mar 90

S: Motherboard, 386 or 386SX, with 287 coprocessor socket
Q: acero@tank.uchicago.edu (Anibal Acero) [summary] 2 Apr 90
R: dmurdoch@watstat.waterloo.edu (Duncan Murdoch)
>I'm using an old 386 with a 287, and don't recommend it.
R: chao@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Chia-Chi)
>I doubt very much that you will find a 386SX board which supports 287.
>JDR Microdevices has a 386 board (no cache) that does support 287.
R: jt19840@tutor.tut.fi (Jyrki Tuomi)
>Addresses taken from advertisements in Microcornucopia magazine:
>JDR Microdevices, 2233 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95124,
>      Orders: 1-800-538-5000, Tech: (408) 559-1200
>Microsphere Computers, 855 N.W. Wall, Bend, OR 97701
>      Orders: 1-800-234-8086, Tech: (503) 388-1194
R: srhqla!demott!kdq (Kevin D. Quitt)
>Twinhead makes a 386 mother board that will accept either the 387 or 287
R: uw-beaver!sumax!polari!kentkar (Kent Karrer)
>Very satisfied with a 386dx motherboard from Babtech Enterprise Company Inc.

S: Motherboard, 386SX
Q: jbaker@gmuvax.gmu.edu (jbaker) 30 Mar 90

S: Motherboard, 486 EISA
Q: talvola@janus.berkeley.edu (Erik Talvola) 12 Mar 90

S: Motherboard, EVEREX Revision E 386
Q: root@Comsys.COM (Alex Huppenthal) 10 Mar 90

S: Motherboard, Intel 386/PC Inboard
R: gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu (Errol Casey) [summary] 23 Mar 90
R: 870646c%AcadiaU.CA@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu (Barry)
R: larson@nprdc.navy.mil (Orvin Larson)
R: nghiem@ut-emx.UUCP (Alex Nghiem)
R: skl@wimsey.bc.ca (Samuel Lam)
R: straussr@acf1.nyu.edu (Rosemary Strauss)
R: pault@hp-ptp.HP.COM (Paul_Taira)

S: Motherboard, Jameco 386
R: bbesler@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Brent Besler) 23 Mar 90

S: Motherboard, Mylex vs Micronics (request)
Q: brh@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Bobby R. Harris) 12 Mar 90

S: Motherboard, upgrading 286 to 386
Q: dmaster@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (D. R. Wojciechowski) 2 Apr 90

S: SCSI board for PS2 MOD 80-071
Q: purdue!haven!uvaarpa!mcnc!rti!sas!jwd (John W. DeBoskey) 12 Apr 90

S: SCSI controller IN2000 by Always Inc
Q: uunet!stsabq!pcarew (Paul Carew) 10 Apr 90

S: Santa Clara diskless workstations
Q: RBAUER@oregon.uoregon.edu (Robert Bauer) 14 Mar 90

S: Scanners/OCR
Q: svirsky@ttidcc.tti.com (Bill Svirsky) [400dpi hand-held] 17 Mar 90
Q: scream@sun.acs.udel.edu (Darren R Amato) [full-page] 25 Apr 90
Q: scott@spectra.com (Tim Scott) 2 May 90
Q: scherer@dtrc.dt.navy.mil (Scherer) [full-page] 3 May 90
R: nelson_p@apollo.HP.COM (Peter Nelson) [review of Scanman-Plus] 16 Apr 90
Q: chow@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Jonathan Chow) [Canon page scanner] 3 May 90
Q: glenn@welch.jhu.edu (Glenn M. Mason) [full page] 31 May 90
Q: yoon@aludra.usc.edu (Dae-Kyun Yoon) [hand-held] 2 Jun 90
Q: uw-beaver!ssc-vax!bcsaic!paula (Paul Allen) [hand-held] 5 Jun 90
Q: Classic_-_Concepts@cup.portal.com [Mirror 300DPI] 2 Jun 90

S: Sequa Chameleon PC
Q: lloyd@ficc.uu.net (greg lloyd) 30 Mar 90

S: Sony 1304HG
Q: cyamamot@aludra.usc.edu (Cliff Yamamoto) 17 Apr 90
R: phil@pepsi.amd.com (Phil Ngai) 18 Apr 90

S: Sony CPD-1304
Q: alf@edstip.EDS.COM (John Hamill) 12 Mar 90

S: Sota 286i and 386i Accelerator Cards for PCs
R: gec@cscosl.ncsu.edu (Errol Casey) [summary] 25 Mar 90
R: nghiem@emx.utexas.edu (Alex Nghiem)
R: RFM@psuvm.psu.edu (Bob Munzenrider)
R: granoff@vaxwrk.enet.dec.com (Mark H. Granoff)
R: homerun@portia.Stanford.EDU (Matt Watson)
R: baer@uwovax.uwo.ca (Douglas Baer) (willing to discuss further)
R: sigma@pawl.rpi.edu (Kevin J Martin)
R: leadsv!zech@gatech.edu (Bill Zech)

S: Sound boars
R: brian@leah.Albany.Edu (Brian King) [summary] 27 Jun 90

S: Tape backup
Q: baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) 19 Jul 90
> [asks many detailed questions]
R: harper@convex.com (David Harper) 19 Jul 90
Q: stephen@hantsq.enet.dec.com (Stephen Wong) [summary] 19 Jul 90
R: mehtash@clutx.clarkson.edu (Amanda Sutton)
R: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com
R: malloy@nprdc.navy.mil (Sean Malloy)
R: pjd@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Peter J. Dotzauer)
R: segpc!seg@vicom.com
R: beareq!fx4!thieb@ai.mit.edu (Thieb)
R: boulder!iscden!jbev@boulder.Colorado.EDU
R: cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us (Gordon Hlavenka)
R: carlg@rosevax.rosemount.com (Carl Gansen)
R: jpd@pc.usl.edu (Dugal James P.)

S: Tandy 4016SX
Q: dd2x+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Eugene Dwiggins) 14 Apr 90

S: Trackball
Q: pkim@skat.usc.edu (Philip Kim) 3 Mar 90
Q: ted@helios.ucsc.edu (Ted Cantrall) 11 Apr 90

S: Trackball, Logitech Trackman
Q: elund@pro-graphics.cts.com (Eric Lund) 25 Mar 90
R: fredb@llama.rtech.com (Fred Buechler), willing to discuss.
>Been using one for about 2 weeks, and I just love the thing.
R: arritt@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Ray Arritt)
>I have one and greatly prefer it to a mouse.  My only complaint is that the
>overall "feel" of the construction is rather cheesy.
R: dlow%hpspcoi@hplabs.hp.com (Danny Low)
>Although it doesn't feel quite as "right", it's very handy.  A real winner.
R: leoh@hardy.hdw.csd.harris.com (Leo Hinds)
>The layout is excellent, much superior to the "real inverted mouse"
>trackball others make.
R: elund@pro-graphics.cts.com (Eric Lund) 26 Apr 90
>I love it.
Q: det@hawkmoon.MN.ORG (Derek E. Terveer) 20 May 90


S: VGA & Composite Video in one monitor
Q: b2wild@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (-b2wild-) 21 Apr 90
R: uunet!dev!vrdxhq!pbs!pstinson 24 Apr 90
>Check out the Commodore 1084 monitor.

S: VGA Wonder Card (ATI), hooking up to BNC high res color monitor
Q: ubbs-nh!lemuria!darryl (Darryl P. Wagoner) 18 Mar 90

S: VGA card, 1024x748 non-interlaced
Q: gatech!kd4nc!km4ba!alan (Alan Barrow) 18 Mar 90

S: VGA card, ATI VGA Wonder
Q: stephen@hantsq.dec.com (Stephen Wong) 30 Apr 90

S: VGA card, Genoa
Q: shedevil@portia.Stanford.EDU (Anne Prisk) [positive] 13 Jun 90
R: rama@andy.bgsu.edu (Sub Ramakrishnan) [Genoa 6400]
>Satisfied with its price and performance.
R: rdt155r@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Ron van Schyndel) 14 Jun 90
>I've used the Model 5300 and 5400 card and am satisfied with their overall
>performance.

S: VGA card, Paradise 1024
R: drp@vpnet.chi.il.us (Douglas Pokorny) 24 Jun 90

S: VGA card, Suntek
Q: chaim@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Chaim Dworkin) 27 Apr 90

S: VGA card, general
Q: peter@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Peter J Diaz de Leon) 13 Mar 90
Q: uunet!unhd!stm (Steven T Mcclure) 23 Apr 90
>See Info World, 11 December 1989; PC Magazine, 10 April 1990

S: i860 and i960 board for AT-bus
Q: rutgers!mcnc!ecsgate!ecsvax!dukeac!don (Don Mullen) 16 Apr 90