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From: wmf@chinet.chi.il.us (Bill Fischer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy,comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: Tandy 1500 HD (WAIT! DON'T DO IT!)
Message-ID: <1990Nov25.203037.3881@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 25 Nov 90 20:30:37 GMT
References: <1990Nov24.223734.9245@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: Omega Electronics, USA
Lines: 50

In article <1990Nov24.223734.9245@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu> smsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Stephen M. Smith) writes:
=>wmf@chinet.chi.il.us (Bill Fischer) writes:
=>
=>>[my favorable comments of the 1500HD deleted]
=>>At 1699, seems like a pretty good buy. 
=>
=>I don't know why people insist on paying $1000 more than they
=>have to when they can get a better product for much less money.
=>
=>Let me compare Tandy's 286 laptop (2800 HD) with Packard Bell's

We are not talking about a this level of machine.

=>But let's suppose you don't have this much money, and you want
=>to spend $1699 for a laptop (as one of you unfortunate souls just
=>did).  What then?
=>
=>Well, first of all you could have bought it for $1599 if you had
=>ordered it from Fort Worth Computers (1-800-433-7283).  According
=>to their ad in the Computer Shopper they are selling the Tandy 
=>1500HD for *at least* $400 less than the list price.  

I agree that the few "grandfathered" Tandy approved mail order houses can save
you some significant money. Perry Computers of Perry, MI also offers roughly
the same deal.

=>Or if you want to buy another company's laptop for the same price,
=>compare the following:
=>
=>  TANDY-1500HD          COMPUTREND              TOSHIBA-T1200XE
=>
=>The main difference between these computers is that the Tandy
=>is built on the 8088 CPU (can you say "slow"?).  The other two
=>will not only fly right by the Tandy, but their floppy drives
=>will hold twice the info and they have nearly twice the RAM.
=>

I don't have the specs for any of these machines in front of me, but I think
you miss the main advantage of the 1500HD... IT'S SIZE and WEIGHT. I have to
lug a laptop all over the country, work on it in airplanes and set it up in a
customer's office. I don't need blinding speed or megs of memory. Just give me
a modem and enough horsepower to run PROCOMM and MS WORKS and I am a happy guy.
I currently use a 1400HD, which has roughly the same performance specs of the
1500HD, and have never suffered for lack of power. My arms and shoulders have
complained loudly after traversing an airport to catch a plane, however.  
-- 
| Bill Fischer                | US Agent for Omega Electronics & Swiss Timing |
| wmf@chinet.chi.il.us        |  Sports Timing and Display Systems Worldwide  |
|           "Timing the significant moments in sports since 1936"             |
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