Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!math.lsa.umich.edu!hyc From: hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: The TT is finally there! Keywords: TT Message-ID: <1990Sep16.044645.21751@math.lsa.umich.edu> Date: 16 Sep 90 04:46:45 GMT References: <1990Sep12.190508.3153@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <1990Sep13.172935.1342@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> <1990Sep13.185245.15406@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> Sender: usenet@math.lsa.umich.edu Organization: University of Michigan Math Dept., Ann Arbor Lines: 74 In article <1990Sep13.185245.15406@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Christopher M Mauritz) writes: >speculation on prices that we see now. Sure, there may be some >margin of error, but the alternative is to just not talk about >the system at all. That would be no fun, eh? Oh well. But what good has speculation done in the past, particularly in *this* newsgroup? }-) >I don't get it. The machine's architecture is too closed to be of >any use as a workstation. The price is too high for a home computer. Too closed? I don't understand. Sun 3/50s and 3/60s are pretty closed systems, (particularly 3/50s!) but nobody bats an eye when you point to them and say "workstation!". The 3/50 is just a fixed board in a sealed box, no expansion options whatsoever. (No, you say, you can expand the memory in a 3/50 with 3rd party expansions! How is this any different than the ST?) Price is certainly an issue for personal systems, but I've seen a lot of pricey home computers these days. I think the world has seen enough ZX80s and VIC20s and PCJrs by now to realize that computers for the home should not be stripped down to the level of toys. If you want it to be useful, and have a serious purpose in mind, you will get a "serious" machine. >There is no unix available to entice educational institutions to >buy them. There is scant network support. The company has a history >of leaving user support up to everyone else except Atari Corp so >businesses certainly won't give it a shot either. I am at a loss >to explain who they think will buy these hot rod STs. Other than >ST developers who would like a fast platform to write software on, >who would want one? I'm not trying to put the machine down mind you. >I wouldn't mind having one myself. I'm just trying to ask some >real world questions. They've done a smart thing, they've contracted another company to port Unix to their platform. (Unisoft.) I don't think lack of unix or networking will be a problem for long, especially given Unisoft's rep. Who wants 386s? Who wants Mac IIfx's? People like speed. For the most part they don't care about the other features of the architecture, like the cache operation, bus cycle times, memory management, pipelining, etc., but they can see the speed difference. If Intel made a 40MHz 8086, they could probably sell millions. Nobody cares about the majority of the improvements of a 386 over an 8086, they just like speed. (And of course, the large fraction of those who *do* care care for the wrong reasons. So it goes...) >Also, one other observation...Any other company who had a new >product like this on store shelves would be promoting the >damn thing. Am I to gather that I have to hear 2nd or 3rd hand >reports on Usenet to know that the machine is for sale at stores >in Europe?? Apple,IBM,SUN, usually has a big >media splash to announce new products like this so that people >become aware of that new product. Actually, they usually do >this BEFORE the product is available. How does Atari Corp. >expect to sell these things if only a handful of net.hackers >even knows of its existence? Again, I'm not trying to be >cynical here. This is a real world (TM) question that begs >for an answer. It is just such a damn shame to see such >products relegated to the computing basement because of the >bungling of the people producing the machines. Good points. I wonder why none of these big guys have trouble with the FCC and pre-announcing new systems. Perhaps because they don't target the home market, and it's easier to get class A certification than B or C. But Atari hasn't done any serious advertising in a long time, why would you expect that to change now? Especially with their current anti-vaporware policy? -- -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip if one of those data bits happens to flip, one million data bits stored on the chip...