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From: frank@dvnspc1.Dev.Unisys.COM (Frank Piper)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Mac IISi vs. HP DeskWriter = Fried Mac??
Keywords: Mac II, DeskWriter, serial port
Message-ID: <989@dvnspc1.Dev.Unisys.COM>
Date: 4 Dec 90 14:47:24 GMT
Organization: Unisys Corporation, Devon, PA
Lines: 30

I'm considering buying a IISi & DeskWriter, and heard scary things about
the combination on AOL.  Apparently newer Mac IIs have a problem with
resistance degradation (?) in their serial ports: over time resistance
decreases.  The (AppleTalk-capable) DeskWriter sees this and goes into
AppleTalk mode, which means it can't talk (directly) to the Mac any
more.  HP & Apple have discussed the problem; a letter from HP was
posted on AOL which said that Apple had agreed it was their problem.

Now for the scary part.  Someone on AOL claimed that Apple's fix for this
problem involved a new motherboard, and that Apple would not fix it
unless you bought AppleCare.  SO: I have a bunch of questions.

- Has anyone seen this problem firsthand?  If so, how did you fix it?
- Has anyone had problems getting their Mac fixed because they hadn't
bought Applecare?
- A possible workaround might be to run the DeskWriter via AppleTalk
from day one.  I understand this would involve two AppleTalk boxes and a
cable between them; total cost ~$100.  Question is: would this run
faster or slower than a straight serial port?
- Unrelated question: the DeskWriter comes with a bunch of Compugraphic
outline fonts, or so I hear.  How useful are those fonts?  Can you use
them with Adobe Type Manager?
- General question:  Are DeskWriter owners happy with their machines? 

Please post responses; mail to me is flaky at best.

TIA (Thanks In Advance)...
Frank Piper
(215)341-4644
frank@dev.unisys.com