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From: minich@d.cs.okstate.edu (Robert Minich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: System in Classic ROM?
Message-ID: <1991Jan4.055534.6124@d.cs.okstate.edu>
Date: 4 Jan 91 05:55:34 GMT
References: <5128@optilink.UUCP>
Organization: Oklahoma State University
Lines: 35

by witkowsk@optilink.UUCP (Dave Witkowski):
| Sounds wierd to me.  The number of changes that Apple makes to
| the Mac OS, plus the pending upgrade to system 7.0 makes
| having a ROM OS a waste of time and material.  You *might* get
| six months max use out of the ROM version, then it would be
| obsolete.  
| 
| Apple may be confused at times but they don't make
| more work or expense for themselves than they have to.  A ROM
| large enough to hold the OS would be much more expensive than
| the 256K version used on the SE.
| 
| David Witkowski
| optilink!witkowsk@uunet.uu.net

  I don't think anyone would claim that the ROM drive in the Classic
(it's there, I've used it) is useful by itself. It's about as stripped
as a system couldbe, in fact. If you think about the very few files
included on that ROM disk, you'll see what _I_ think is a clue of things
to come... the AppleShare chooser panel is there and sure enough you
can have it boot off the ROM disk and mount the fileserver of your
choice. Now if sometime in the near (relatively) future, AppleShare
supported some sort of switchlaunching or remote booting, then you COULD
have a fully functional system. It is my belief that this is what Apple
is planning. I suspect, but have not proven, the existence of similar
ROM disk in the other new Macs. If I were trying to decide whether to
buy a bunch of SE's or Classics for a generic computer lab, I think I'd
choose the Classics given reasonably similar pricing.
  Keep your fingers crossed and Apple may again do something that
everyone will appreciate rather than curse. 1/2 :-)
-- 
|_    /| | Robert Minich            |
|\'o.O'  | Oklahoma State University| "I'm a newcomer here, but does the
|=(___)= | minich@d.cs.okstate.edu  |  net ever lay any argument to rest?"
|   U    | - Ackphtth               |                    -- dan herrick