Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!decwrl!granite.pa.dec.com!mwm From: mwm@raven.pa.dec.com (Mike (Real Amigas have keyboard garages) Meyer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Amiga outclassed Message-ID: Date: 29 Mar 90 21:01:00 GMT References: <90078.164636JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu> <1990Mar29.050339.15964@uunet!unhd> Sender: news@decwrl.dec.com Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica Lines: 44 In-reply-to: jwn712@uunet!unhd's message of 29 Mar 90 05:03:39 GMT In article <1990Mar29.050339.15964@uunet!unhd> jwn712@uunet!unhd (Jason W Nyberg) writes: In article Michael.Witbrock@CS.CMU.EDU writes: >If I had 12 000 dollars to spend on a macintosh, I'd spend it on one of >the IBM power 6000 series >workstations instead. Why? (not sarcasm, just curiosity) With the student discount, I could get 4 '030 A2500's with that money. You should compare apples to apples. Not everybody can get the student discount, so what you'd do with it doesn't matter much to someone who can't get it (I left the academic environment just a few months before CBM woke up and started those discounts; to bad for me, but I'm glad they did it). After all, I could by significantly better hardware (by my criteria, which may not be yours!) than either of those two alternatives using my DEC employee discount. Likewise, you can probably get a nice discount on the RIOS box (or a DEC box). The net result is about the same - you only get three 2500/30's for the cost of the RIOS. With only one machine, you only have to buy 1/3rd the support hardware (monitors, disks, keyboard, etc), but the cheap (NTSC) options aren't available for the RIOS box, so that may not be such a win. The RIOS box comes with an ethernet, which you may or may not want. Of course, that RIOS is also twice as fast as the Amiga (27 MIPS vs. 13 give or take a little from both sides), which can go a long way towards not having three machines. if i had $12,000 i'd get an '030 Amiga with a transputer board, and learn to program it myself (depending on how much software is available. I have no idea how much is out for it/them.) Sounds like an interesting idea - but I'm not that interested in the transputer. Me, i'd either use that DEC discount to wind up with [CENSORED] and a 2500/30, or wait until the A3000 shows up. I've heard good things about it.