Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!walt.cc.utexas.edu!readdm
From: readdm@walt.cc.utexas.edu (David M. Read)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Austin 386/25
Message-ID: <35026@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 2 Aug 90 21:15:00 GMT
References: <12610621184018@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu> <3870@bwdls58.UUCP>
Sender: news@ut-emx.UUCP
Reply-To: readdm@walt.cc.utexas.edu (David M. Read)
Organization: UT-Austin / Jerry's Kids
Lines: 33

In article [] BREESE-D@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (mr whoopie) writes:

>I just saw an ad for  a 386/25 with a 110 MB fixed disk, 2 MB RAM, a VGA
>Monitor and all kinds of other good stuff from Austin Computers for
>around $2900. This seems awfully cheap to me. Does anyone know anything
>

I've heard bad things about Austin computers from people who work in sales
or design teams in other Austin, TX computer manufacturors.  The bad things
include (but are not necessarily limited to):

     * extraordinairly unreliable service/support.  Good on some days, bad
       on others, but you can never count on getting any help.

     * Austin's 25-Mhz and 33-Mhz motherboards have problems with the
       non-CPU support chips...it seems that they didn't get highly-enough
       rated chips when they were designing the critters.

     * The machines are only FCC Class-A certified devices, and radiate
       an *ungodly* amount of RF interference.  The FCC apparently is
       pretty steamed about this, because Austin sells the machines to home
       consumers, which is a no-no for Class-A devices.  According to rumor,
       the FCC is about to fine Austin a bunch of cash and restrict their
       sales until the problem is corrected...

Clearly some of this is pure hearsay, but the talk of the town in Austin
is that Austin Computers probably won't be around for long.

If you're looking for cheap computers, contact Computek in Austin; they
have sold several 33-MHz machines to friends of mine at incredible prices, 
and nobody's complained a single word yet...

-Dave