Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Path: utzoo!utstat!philip
From: philip@utstat.uucp (Philip McDunnough)
Subject: Re: Suggestion for Scientific package
Message-ID: <1990Jul23.003208.27074@utstat.uucp>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 90 00:32:08 GMT
References: <46200104@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Statistics, U. of Toronto

In article <46200104@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> ragg0270@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>
>I just finished lobbying for an Amiga to be included in a grant proposal with
>no success. The end result was a request for a Mac IIfx. Of course the biggest
>complaint people had with the Amiga was "it has no software". Please don't
>start a flame war over this, whether it's true or not, it is the perception
>most people have.
>So I'd like to offer a suggestion for a package I think would make the Amiga
>much more attractive:
>
>Bundle together:
>
>Amiga 3000 @ 25 MHz w/ 100 MB HD
>Ethernet hardware w/ TCP/IP software and X-Windows
>WordPerfect
>Maple
>AmigaTEX
>Absoft Fortran Compiler
>Lattice C
>Some resonable upgrade path for UNIX when available
>
>Price: somewhere around $5,000 or less. I think this would really sell to us
>academic types.
>
>COmpare to the IIfx system (prices approx.)
>Mac IIfx, 4 MB Ram, 160 MB HD:  $6800
>13" RGB Monitor			$ 655
>Keyboard			$ 150
>Ethernet Card			$ 500
>Video Card			$ 600
>Fortran	+ C Compilers 	 	$ 500 (?)
>TOTAL				$8700
>Add TEX, Word and Mathematica:  $10,000 or so.
>
>The hardware and software listing above is approx. equivalent. 

Well, the Amiga bundling is certainly a good idea, and Maple and
AmigaTex are excellent choices. The platform to compare the A3000
to would be a MacIIci, unless you have a need for the extra slots.
Maple is available on the Mac( and Waterloo is currently upgrading
it-not clear if they are on top of the Amiga situation). But more
importantly, FrameMaker2.0 is available for the Mac, and soon a
technical WYSIWYG technical word processor(less expensive than 
FrameMaker which is only $500 for academics-FrameMaker that is)
will be on the market. It will read/write TeX files. The prices
you are quoting for some of the Mac items are not academic ones. I
agree that the multitasking capabilities of the Amiga(although tasks
are not protected via hardware) is an advantage, but A/UX 2.0 is 
really quite nice. In order to convince me to buy the Amiga bundle
over the MacIIci, you would have to divide that $5000 by 2. What
service contracts are available for the Amiga? 

Philip McDunnough
University of Toronto
philip@utstat.toronto.edu
[my opinions]