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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site wateng.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!wateng!broehl
From: broehl@wateng.UUCP (Bernie Roehl)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Atari 520ST
Message-ID: <2376@wateng.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-May-85 11:27:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: wateng.2376
Posted: Mon May 13 11:27:06 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 14-May-85 00:04:20 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 33

Yes, I also saw the ST at the show in Toronto, and yes, I was also very
impressed.

Some things not mentioned before:

  The machine is cool.  Not in the '50s sense (although I think that applies
as well), but in terms of temperature.  The power supply is external, and
the package count is low; you can put your hand on the "cooling vents" and
barely feel the warmth.  It's also very low-power, and needs no fan (peace
and quiet at last!).

  The keyboard feel is not bad; it's a little different than what I'm used
to, but quite acceptable.

  I think the guy's observation that they would expand to 4 meg eventually
is interesting; I can see 2 Meg easily enough (just replace the 256k dynamics
with 1 megabit chips), but 4 meg would require 2 meg chips, which won't be
state of the art for a while.  I suspect the chips are soldered in (sigh)
so the upgrade will be a replacement of the whole keyboard unit (or at least
the processor board).  Still, when the entire system costs less than Apple's
memory upgrade for the Mac, who cares?

  By the way, has anyone got any ideas why it's being released in Canada
more than a month before the US release?  Has Canada been particularly good
to Atari in the past?  Did Jack Tramiel have a thorn pulled out of his foot
by a Canadian when he was but a youth?  Or is Canada just one big beta test
site?

  Who knows...

-- 
        -Bernie Roehl    (University of Waterloo)
	...decvax!watmath!wateng!broehl