Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!van-bc! From: lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Info on new low-end Mac Message-ID: <1816@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> Date: 23 Jul 90 22:01:42 GMT Lines: 70 Return-Path: To: van-bc!rnews In <13035@yunexus.YorkU.CA>, pmcd@yunexus.yorku.ca (Phil McDunnough) writes: >In article <1810@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) writes: >>In <1119@cs.nps.navy.mil>, schweige@cs.nps.navy.mil (Jeffrey M. Schweiger) writes: >>>A 12.5 mips (MIPS - sometimes referred to as 'meaningless indicator of processor >>>speed' :-) ) Sparcstation 1 for less than $3039 (US) (price of A3000/25-40 >>>package on the US educational purchase program), this sounds interesting... >>>I know that the lower end Sparcstations (and Sparcstation clones) are getting >>>less expensive, but I hadn't heard it was that cheap. >> >>Well, they aren't, yet, that low cost, unless he's talking LIST for the 3000 >>and some educational pricing for the SLC. He would also be talking about a >>diskless desktopper. > >Well I suggest you talk to Sun. I do talk to Sun, fairly often in fact, since I work for them. > They are that low. No they aren't. List price of an SLC in Canada (in Cdn dollars) is over $7000. List price of a 3000 is about $5500 (with 40 meg HD). > Yes I am talking about >a SLC without a HD, but with the SunOS,SCSI,serial,Ethernet,large monitor. >SCSI hards disks are relatively cheap, and we have a source licence for >UNIX, as you do. I don't, personally, have a source licence for Unix (or SunOS), though it makes no difference to the matter at hand, which is price. Yes, if you want the source, it's going to cost, and cost plenty, whether it's SunOS or CBM's Unix. > Since we are talking educational pricing here, the Sun >will turn out to be less than an Amiga 3000 with a 100meg HD(that's not >large by the way). Sun's discounts to educational _institutions_ is indeed attractive, though that discount is not necessarily available to students. > Moreover you will have to add Ethernet, Unix( will you >get only the binaries?),etc...to the A3000. An Ethernet card and software to run it will cost in the order of $500 US. Brings the cost of the 3000 up to about $6000 list. If CBM's Unix comes in at over $1000, they will be about the same price. > In the end you end up with a >computer which may be more "fun" than a Sparc but one which doesn't >compare with the Sun powerwise. Try looking at the Mflops' rating. The >68882 is not the greatest floating point coprocessor around. In any case >it is an issue of software. The Amiga just doesn't have that at the moment, >except for very specialized cases. Yes, I have looked at performance. Sure, the SLC is a fast machine. It is also more expensive than the 3000. Period. This is what I was commenting on, not the relative value of the two machines in terms of price/performance, or how many packages are available for it. You say the Amiga just doesn't have the software available for it at the moment, yet you compare the Amiga with the SPARC as if they were both running Unix, and both needed to be networked. Make up your mind. CBM's Unix will be ABI compliant. Think about what that means in terms of software availability. -larry -- Sex is better than logic, but I can't prove it. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+