Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!lll-winken!decwrl!amdcad!pepsi!phil From: phil@pepsi.amd.com (Phil Ngai) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Brain-dead 286 - summary Message-ID: <29528@amdcad.AMD.COM> Date: 16 Mar 90 18:08:08 GMT References: <8681@rosevax.Rosemount.COM> <29405@amdcad.AMD.COM> <25F7F56B.11734@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> <29474@amdcad.AMD.COM> <29486@amdcad.AMD.COM> <1990Mar15.202659.4744@seri.gov> Sender: news@amdcad.AMD.COM Reply-To: phil@pepsi.AMD.COM (Phil Ngai) Distribution: usa Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Sunnyvale CA Lines: 98 In article <1990Mar15.202659.4744@seri.gov> marshall@wind55.seri.gov (Marshall L. Buhl) writes: |When I say ancient relic, I mean it was developed something like 7 to 10 |years ago. In the computer business, anything more than 5 years old is |ancient history. I don't care how many years something has been around, if it is still being used and its full potential hasn't been tapped yet, then it isn't an ancient relic. |You missed the point. The processor is a very minor part of the expense |of a TOTAL computer system. What would a cheaper 386 save - maybe $200? |That's nothing. Also, I'm not talking about home PCs. I'm talking about |those being used in business. Maybe you came in in the middle but I'm pretty sure the original poster (who has been overwhelmed by what he started) was asking for home use. Furthermore, he did decide to get a 286. Also your view of business use is quite narrow minded. It extends only to the tube in front of your face. If you ever looked at data on the software market, you'd find by far the biggest segments are things like Lotus 123 and Wordperfect, where 286s do just fine. For the manager with a room full of word processors or clerks, a savings of several hundred dollars per seat can be very important. |Also, you can wait forever for cheaper prices. That's a simplistic cliche from someone obviously uninterested in the details of the market he claims to dispense expert information on. |I see them as an investment in a tool that I need to get the job done |in a reasonable amount of time. I'm NOT recommending people go out Sorry Marshall, but the only ones who care about what you need to get your job done are you and your boss. As I understand your job, it's very unlikely that your recommendations are relevant to the entire PC market. |If the developers have to develop software for 16-bit computers along |with 32-bit, it will slow down development and add costs. I'm not I think your attitude about 16-bit processors is just like your attitude about guns. Idealistic and unrealistic. You think that if guns were illegal, then violence would be ended. You ignore the fact that there are hundreds of millions of guns out there and criminals won't stop using guns just because it's against the law. Do you really think you can stop developers from supporting 16-bit processors by telling everyone to buy a 386? Sorry, there's too many 286s out there already. Maybe we should make everyone register their "dangerous" 286s. Then next year, we could make them illegal and confiscate them. Save the world for 32-bit software. |Look |at all the problems Lotus is having because they had to make two versions |of 1-2-3. So who are you to tell Lotus what to do? If Lotus thinks they can make money this way, it's their business. If their customers think this is the best path for them, that's *their* business. Are you such an expert that you know better than everyone else the best way to do their job? |It's a hell of a lot cheaper to upgrade peripherals that systems. All you have to do is swap a motherboard. Even if you can't figure it out, you can pay someone a small amount of money to do it for you. |Whether you like it or not, the world is going GUI. ... |I have quit using Windows because my 386/25 isn't fast enough. I can |get more work done with PC Word than Word for Windows. I hope to buy a |486/33 around the end of the year. Maybe then, I'll be able to run Windows |without it holding me back. What are you saying here? That GUIs are too slow even for a 386 and that you need a 486 to use them? If the whole world is going GUI, then the whole world is getting 486s? You've fallen off the deep end. |As you can tell from my age, I'm an old mainframer. I used to complain to |my boss that having to wait 5 seconds for response was killing me. Then you better not use GUIs... Once again, you don't know what you're talking about if you think that your needs are typical or have anything to do with what's best for everyone else. Fortunately, you're not in the computer business or you'd go hungry very fast. -- Phil Ngai, phil@amd.com {uunet,decwrl,ucbvax}!amdcad!phil Boycott the census! With the history of abuse census data has, can you afford to trust the government?