Xref: utzoo comp.misc:6316 talk.politics.soviet:1145
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!bu-cs!gene
From: gene@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Yevgeny Y. Itkis)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,talk.politics.soviet
Subject: Re: Computers in the Eastern Bloc
Message-ID: <32926@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: 13 Jun 89 20:40:53 GMT
References: <2717@ndsuvax.UUCP> <3583@viscous.sco.COM>
Reply-To: gene@bucsd.bu.edu (Yevgeny Y. Itkis)
Followup-To: comp.misc
Organization: Boston University
Lines: 29

In article <3583@viscous.sco.COM> jamesm@sco.COM (James M. Moore) writes:
>In article <2717@ndsuvax.UUCP> nubartho@plains.nodak.edu (Bruce Bartholomew) writes:
>>I'm really curious as to the state of the art in personal computers in
>>the Eastern bloc (I've read about them in Russia) and how prevelant
>>they are in the "average" home.  Anybody that can answer this one for
>>me?
>>Bruce Bartholomew  715 South 4th Street Moorhead, MN 56560  218-233-2534
>>INTERNET: nubartho@plains.nodak.edu *or* nu034421@vm1.nodak.edu
>>UUCP: uunet!ndsuvax!nubartho     BITNET: nu034421@ndsuvm1
>>      "Some days are diamonds, some days are stones" - Charley Johnson
>
>You might want to check out a copy of "V mire personal'nikh komp'juterov," 
>published by IDG Communication and Radio i Svjaz'.  The first copy was
>published in August 88.  Even if you don't read Russian looking at the
>advertisements is interesting.  (IMHO, Apple's add is the most impressive -
>two page spread about the IIGS).
>
>About half of the magazine is Russian translations of Western articles, mostly
>from PC World (the English title of the magazine is "PC World - USSR,"
>and IDG is a part of the organization that puts out PCW).  

I am surprised no one with the fresh direct sources didn't publish a responce
to this. But the last I heard (pretty recent though not the most direct source)
even the cheapest PC's run 40-50K roubles and up. Considering that a 200
roubles/month is a good salary (a *real* big shot may get 500-600, and recent
grads get usually under 150) you can judge for yourself how prevalent they are
in an average soviet home. Btw, I think they are not available in stores - only
in the good old black market. How are things in other Eastern bloc countries I
don't know.