Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!unisoft!bdt!david From: david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: TT vs 386 boxes and Apples Message-ID: <162@bdt.UUCP> Date: 23 Oct 89 20:01:41 GMT References: <46587ca5.14a1f@force.UUCP> <1049@cc.helsinki.fi> <3364@nmtsun.nmt.edu> <2156@hudson.acc.virginia.edu> <89295.220554SML108@PSUVM.BITNET> Reply-To: david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) Organization: Beckemeyer Development Tools, Oakland, CA Lines: 42 [ It's probably stupid to get in the middle of this but, oh well, here I go again. :-) ] One thing I haven't seen brought up in this debate yet is the idea of "shrink-wrapped configuration". What I mean by that is the way somebody can buy a 386 box and the necessary boards and software to set it up in a certain configuration using "over the counter" stuff that is easy to get from a wide assortment of vendors and is generally well supported. I go into a lot of companies to do consulting where there are a bunch of different types of computers, mostly running Unix. The thing about PC-type 386 boxes is that you can get almost ANYTHING for the damned things. Buy a box, somebody's Unix, an ethernet card, a SCSI card, a graphics card, a scanner card, etc. etc. and you've got a usable workstation - all with "plug-and-go" stuff, in a usable package. You've got your PC on your net with your Suns etc. all with relatively inexpensive and well supported products - and you have a wide choice of vendors - and it actually works. From the Atari die-hards in the peanut gallery, you'll hear "yea but you can do that with the Atari too!". No way. I don't ever see Atari getting the kind of 3rd party software/hardware support we have here in the USA (maybe none of this applies to Europe, I don't know) for the PC-type 386 boxes. As much as I *hate* the Intel junk and PC's in general, I have to admit that there's no beating them in this area. A TT with some limited connectivity and 3rd party support will sell to a limited audience. There's a lot of catching up to do and I just don't see Atari spending the resources to do it here in the USA. Every year Sig says "I'm sorry for the poor support in the USA last year... This year we are Really going after the US market." Hasn't anyone tired of this yet? Does anybody still believe Atari gives a damn about the US market? Why should they? The US market couldn't give a damn about them. -- David Beckemeyer (david@bdt.UUCP) | "Lester Moore - Four slugs from a .44 Beckemeyer Development Tools | no Les, no more." 478 Santa Clara Ave. Oakland, CA 94610 | - Headstone at Boot Hill UUCP: {uunet,ucbvax}!unisoft!bdt!david | Tombstone, AZ