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From: starpath@athena.mit.edu (David E Hollingsworth)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: My next personal computer will be a PC
Keywords: PC
Message-ID: <1990May4.055855.23151@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 4 May 90 05:58:55 GMT
References: <2968@sactoh0.UUCP>
Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system)
Reply-To: starpath@athena.mit.edu (David E Hollingsworth)
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Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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>	MY NEXT COMPUTER PURCHASE WILL BE A IBM-PC.

>It is going to be awfully hard to convince me that my next purchase
>ought to be a Apple //-gs. Why?

Perhaps a more reasonable question is: why change?

You probably already have a great deal of Apple equipment, software, etc...
I suppose you could sell it all & use the cash help out with the PC, or
you could
keep two computers around.  (Or three, or four...)

But it might not be a bad idea to have two Apples around either.

The question is though, what do you hope to gain by buying an IBM-type?


For what MOST people do, Appleworks can handle MOST of your computing
needs.  Yes there are limitations.  Yes, it is sometimes painfully slow.
But it is NOT just a clear cut case of "this is better than that."  You
should decide if the extra expense is worth less than the extra gains by
having a PC.

And I don't just mean potential gains.  As someone thoughtfully pointed
out in a previous posting, there is no need for computer overkill when
buying a machine.  You have to realize that the market is providing
machines faster than MOST people's needs are expanding.

Having twice as many titles for a machine can be extremely useless.  I
bet there are more programs for the Commodore systems than for Apple ][s
right now, but that's only good if you want 85% games.  There may be a
much wider selection of PC titles out, but are there more titles that
would be USEFUL to YOU?  I'm sure that having several hundred 1-2-3
clones would be of very little use to you at all.

I could see someone saying: "But I want the extra power that the PC can
give me.  Lots of small businesses have this machine, so that means that
I would be able to do the same kinds of things that they need to do."

Yep.  Of course small businesses will be buying NeXTs or Suns or VAXen
or RISC machines or SPARCstations or CRAYS (used? Ok...so that is a
little crazy :-), but that does not mean that the needs of the average
USER.  By the time you NEED the power of those machines, something else
will likely be in their place.

Do you WANT 800x600 color graphics?  Why?  Sure, you can get all kinds
of neat demo programs, and maybe play some really amazing games, but you
can buy an Amiga for a lot less than $3000!  65MB hard drive?  Are you
sure that's enough...not at all enough?

The point is that it's all well and good to upgrade, but over-upgrading
is a waste of resources.  I'm using a Laser 128 with two 1.25s, one 3.5,
1/3 meg, monochrome, a joystick, a modom and an 9 pin dot matrix
printer. That's all I need because I have access to a Vax.  I don't NEED
more power because I wouldn't
utilize it.

If you DO need the extra power, then why are you waiting to buy one?

   --D. Hollingsworth
   starpath@athena.mit.edu