Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!mbs110
From: MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: AMIGA
Message-ID: <91126.153504MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: 6 May 91 19:35:04 GMT
References: <1991Jan10.194127.20625@rice.edu> <17564@cbmvax.commodore.com>
 <1991Jan15.015644.24380@rice.edu> <1991Jan15.024807.25384@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>
 <=-bG-!+=1@cs.psu.edu> <5fDh02JY072Q01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com>
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In article <5fDh02JY072Q01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com>, kls30@duts.ccc.amdahl.com (Kent
L Shephard) says:
>
>Also for those of you talking about not being able to upgrade a NeXTslab;
>how many workstations are upgradeable?  Not SUN, ask people who bought
>SUN 4's, SPARC 1s, 1+s  they can't upgrade to a SPARC 2.Also you have

This really irritates me for somereason. Just because SUN sells non-
expandable workstations, does NOT automatically mean that non-expandable
workstations are a GOOD IDEA! If SPARCs delivered an electric shock
through the keyboard every time you hit RETURN, would that become
a desirable workstation feature too?

My feelings? If you were buying a PERSONAL workstation to use all by
yourself (as Melling & Co. are pushing) you'd have to be insane to
buy something nonexpandable.

>NO idea if NeXT will or will not upgrade the slabs if a new slab comes
>out.  They may or may not.  If they don't then they must keep making '040
>boards for a while for replacement.  If they do then they can dedicate new
>production to the latest machine.  This is what they did with the cube.
>They use trade-in boards to fix broken '030 cubes.

Well, that's our point. Slab owners have NO idea if they'll be left
behind when NeXT comes out with the Boulder, or whatever their spiffy
next machine is going to be. There's a very good chance they'll be
left in the lurch with no way to upgrade, since the Slab is unexpandable.
In contrast, Amiga owners do know that they WON'T be left out in the
cold when the next Amiga model comes out; there are plenty of expansion
slots to bring the computer up to state-of-the-art, no matter what the
state-of-the-art may happen to be.

>For those of you talking about executable bloat.  Look at a workstation
>like a SUN running X.  The executables are large.  If you have less than
>12-16meg of memory don't try to run much because it will crawl.  GUI code
>on UNIX takes memory both real to run and secondary (disk) to store.

Once again, just because SUN's executables are large and slow in
less than 12 MB of memory doesn't mean that it's a selling point to
have bloated, memory-hogging executables...

>BTW - For those of you who think that an '040 upgrade to the Amiga will
>be $800.  Don't count on it.  Motorola wants $700 a piece for the chip
>Qty 1000, paid in advance.  You add marketing, development, and manufact.
>cost and my guess is you will be well above $1400.  The cheapest Mac
>'040 board is above $2000.

Sorry. (I am making a superhuman effort not to type "BZZZT! Wrong!" here...)
Announced prices by the companies that are releasing '040 upgrade boards
average around $1000, and that's retail; "street" prices are always less
than that.

/ Mark "Remixed for Common Household Appliances" Sachs - MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu \
| DISCLAIMER: It's NOT MY FAULT. Kei and Yuri                 ||   //        ||
|             forced me to say it.                            || \X/  AMIGA  ||
\== "I think this calls for some diabolical laughter! RAAH HA HA HA HA HA!" ==/