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From: fhwri%CONNCOLL.BITNET@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: Amiga vs. Mac -- convince me...
Message-ID: <47386@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 12 Mar 91 22:31:15 GMT
Sender: mmdf@ee.udel.edu
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> Since I'm talking to Amiga fanatics here, let me tell you my reservations
> about the Amiga (since the amiga system is probably cheaper...)
>
> 1.  Will Commodore survive in the US?
It's a company in pretty good shape these days; its stock did VERY well
this winter, and worldwide sales are excellent (which cannot but help US
sales and support).
> 2.  If the system breaks, can I get it fixed?
You certainly can. You get a year warranty and free UPS pickup/delivery
for machines under warranty.
> 3.  Is my selection of "canned" software too limited?  I've
> followed the recent discussion about Amiga wordprocessors, for
> example, with some concern; Although I use TeX, my wife and kids
> are happy with something like Microsoft Word for letters and school
> papers.
I too wish that MS Word was available, but WordPerfect is available, and
rumor has it that a big upgrade is coming for this workhorse. For DTP,
Professional Page or Pagestream would be hard to beat, and Amiga TeX is
super, from what the users say.
> 4.  Is the Amiga a hacker's machine, which needs a lot of fiddling
> to get it to do stuff?  I spend many hours at work administering a
> substantial UNIX network; I don't need a computer at home that has
> to be tinkered with endlessly.
It's a hacker's delight, in that the operating system can be reconfigured,
and new commands inserted at will, but it's not that hard for a novice. You'd
like it...
> 5.  What is the overall hardware quality like?  Do the keyboards,
> mice, etc.  hold up over time?

I find the hardware quality to be very good indeed; mice do wear out, of
course, but it's no worse than other manufacturers, IMHO.


                                                --Rick Wrigley
                                                fhwri@conncoll.bitnet
                                ~~~second-hand smoke is THEFT~~~