Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!bagate!dsinc!unix.cis.pitt.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!bruce!roddi From: roddi@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU (Roddi Walker) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: Amiga vs. Mac Message-ID: <3823@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> Date: 14 Mar 91 03:35:00 GMT References: <1991Mar10.192823.30103@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <1991Mar10.204119.22113@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <4210.27db9aac@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> <1131@caslon.cs.arizona.edu> <4232.27de369d@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> Organization: Monash Uni. Computer Science, Australia Lines: 58 In <4232.27de369d@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> rlcollins@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu (Ryan 'Gozar' Collins) writes: >But people buying a Classic or A500 are not going to be doing to much CPU >extensive tasks. Rubbish. This is like saying "No-one with a 68000/XT has a C compiler because they don't do any demanding work on their machine". If a person writes a C program, the ARE interested in getting it to run FAST - either from an efficient algorithm or fast hardware - or, optimally, BOTH. >The user will probably use his computer more for >wordprocessing or telecommunicating than anything else. Most people I know >haven't begun to use all the power in a 4.77MHz originaly PC, let alone all >the power in a 7MHz 68000. DTP programs are painful to use on a 68000, and probably fatal on a 4.77 PC (which can't even use a harddrive, if memory serves). I'd say the vast majority of home computer users do eventually end up delving into the guts of their machine, at least in a software sense. When you write a program, you are normally concerned about it running too slow rather than too fast. Saying people don't use their machine for more than WP and telecommunication is ridiculous - both applications run quite well on a 1 MB system with floppy drives - ask youself, "How many users out there have a harddrive on their Amiga/XT/AT/ST/Mac Plus" - why would they need a HD if all they do is the odd bit of WP etc. I've got a 68000 A2000 with 5MB RAM and a 40MB Quantum (fast drive, BTW). Admittedly, 5MB is overkill for a home user - I could live with 3 :-) (only because the Amiga is efficient with its memory). >> If someone tells you the speed of his computer is not an issue, he is either >> such a neophyte user that he has yet to tax the CPU of his computer, or he >> is lying. The wonderful thing about computers is that they give you the >> ability to do amazing things. The other side of the coin is thatthey also >> reveal to you the things you could do if you had just a few more megs of ram, >> or a slightly faster CPU. sounds reasonable. >Of course I would love to have 16MHz 68000 and 4 megs in my ST, but I can't >afford it right now that I'm still in colege. (Well, I would really love to >have a 32MHz 68030 with 8 megs of RAM in my ST, but I REALLY can't afford >that right now!!! :*) Why? An 8 MHz ST is quite capable of running a respectable WP and a good telecom program. >The only people I would recommend something other than a Mac or IBM clone >are people that use computers a lot, and can figure out how to get things >done. Unfortunately, these people already know what they want, so they >don't even ask others. This is true, unfortunately. A lot of people are only interested in running the big packages - Word etc. But for dBase, Lotus, Windows (if you wanna run Word on an IBM) you NEED a fast cpu. Roddi (who doesn't OFTEN indulge in flaming people :-)