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From: dave@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Dave Hayes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Open Letter to an MS-DOS User
Message-ID: <1991Mar27.201319.4604@jato.jpl.nasa.gov>
Date: 27 Mar 91 20:13:19 GMT
References: <6078@crystal9.UUCP> <1991Mar27.030224.20622@news.iastate.edu> <1991Mar27.061608.23203@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <1991Mar27.091029.18566@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU>
Reply-To: dave@elxr.jpl.nasa.gov
Distribution: comp
Organization: Jet Propulsion Lab - Pasadena, CA
Lines: 40

mcgredo@prism.cs.orst.edu (Don McGregor) writes:
>  A Mac LC can be had for $2,000.  That includes a _color_ monitor
>  that has onboard video support for 256 colors, 2 MB RAM, and a
>  40 MB SCSI HD along with the keyboard.  Its rough analog in the
>  PC world would be a 16 MhZ 386SX.  A Dell 316SX (to take a fairly
>  reputable clone maker as an example) has 40 MB, VGA Color Plus 
>  (16 colors at full 640 x 480 resolution) and 2 MB of RAM, all
>  for $2,099 (March 4 PC week prices).

Gee...for that price I had a 386/33 with 128K cache, 8MB of memory,
110MB hard disk, a 2400 baud modem, 2 serial ports/1 parallel port,
and 1024x768x256 VGA.

I don't buy clones from Dell. I go direct to the clone suppliers. 
<big shit-eating grin>

>  For all their "Windows-is-just-as-good-as-Mac" rhetoric, the 
>  PC folks are still being dragged kicking and screaming into
>  the GUI world. 

With good reason. GUIs interfere with throughput for us real professionals.
I can do things at least 4 to 5 times faster without a GUI in the way.

>  They grump about using it, call into doubt
>  the manhood/womanhood of anyone who does, and generally long
>  for the good 'ol days when they could explain to a befuddled
>  user the difference between COPY and XCOPY--don't forget, you
>  need the /S switch for XCOPY to work on subdirectores.

Now wait...I don't recommend non-GUI for anyone but us pros. Let those
who want GUI have GUI...but why force those that don't want GUI to have
GUI?

Wouldn't that be like me forcing you to use an IBM? 8)

-- 
Dave Hayes -  dave@elxr.jpl.nasa.gov - ames!elroy!dxh

You need not wonder whether you should have a reliable person as a friend. 
An unreliable person is nobody's friend.