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From: Adam.Frix@p2.f200.n226.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Adam Frix)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Low cost Mac's ?
Message-ID: <66968.26D14DFC@cmhgate.FIDONET.ORG>
Date: 18 Aug 90 22:32:15 GMT
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PK>  Take a Mac Classic at $2000, take off 30% and you have a $1400 
PK>  machine (if I can do math).  For $1300 you can get a 20Mhz 386 
PK>  with more slots, 1 meg of RAM, a drive, monochrome monitor, 
PK>  and keyboard.  That's enough to bury the Mac Classic.  If the 
PK>  Mac Classic is similar to the SE or Plus, the $500-$700 price range 
PK>  would be best.  After all, an IBM XT clone costs around $400 
PK>  and an AT clone is about $700. 


But why do you need more slots than a Classic?  To handle all the stuff that
any Mac has built-in--networking, serial ports, hard/floppy disk ports, sound
port, mouse port.  So saying that "a 20 MHz 386 machine has more capability
than a Mac" is faulty reasoning.  Just because you can stuff more into it, doesn't
mean it's better.  Quite to the contrary--that it needs all those slots simply
points out its shortcomings.

1 meg of RAM on that 386 machine?  Well, strong rumor has it the Classic will
be shipped from the factory with 2 megs.

Yes, in raw terms, a 20 MHz 386 machine is faster than an 8 MHz 68000 machine.
 Now, do this:  graft the holy grail of OS enhancements, Windows 3.0, onto that
386 machine.  Now, let's talk performance in terms of what the user can do and
how well/quickly he can do it.  We're probably at about the same level, comparing
your machine and the Classic.

Now, for an exercise, go ahead and install Windows 3.0 on that $700 (that's
without monitor and hard drive) 12 MHz 286 AT clone.

--Adam--
 

--  
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