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From: oster@ucblapis.berkeley.edu (David Phillip Oster)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: IBM vs. Mac debate
Message-ID: <600@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Tue, 22-Apr-86 19:40:58 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.600
Posted: Tue Apr 22 19:40:58 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Apr-86 06:24:36 EST
References: <2515@sdcc6.UUCP> <1019@runx.OZ> <13351@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: oster@ucblapis.UUCP (David Phillip Oster)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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In article <13351@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> mazlack@ernie.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Lawrence J. Mazlack) writes:
>One of IBM's real strengths in the business market is that application programs
>written 10 years ago still can be used today. They have achieved that through
>(a) stability in the software environment and (b) design consistency in the
>hardware environment. I know that you might find the idea of using 10 year old
>programs disgusting, but producton managers don't.  They get the job done.

This is simply not true.  The last software company I was with had a
product that ran on the IBM PC.  We had to re-write it to make it run on
the PC-XT also, when it came out.  We re-wrote it a second time when the
PC-jr. came out.  We had to re-write it a third time when the AT came out.
IBM could stand to learn from the clone makers about how to make
compatibles.  By comparison, our version of that same program for the 128k
Mac ran completely without problems on a 512k mac, a 1Meg Lisa-Mac-XL, and
the new MacPlus.  Sure, application programs written ten years ago can
stil be used today - just use ten year old hardware to run them. IBM has a
good reputation with their mainframes, but micros aren't their main
business.

Now, on the subject of hardware upgrades:  IBM replaced for free the lousy
original keyboard (with keys with bad feel that looked like Chiclets) with
a new lousy keyboard (the keys looked normal but still had a bad feel.)

By comparison, Apple for free replaced my twin double sided 5 inch 800k Lisa
twiggy drives with one 400k sony drive.  (They let me keep the old drives,
and the old driver roms, and I can re-install the old drives and read my
old twiggy disks whenever I want,  But nobody makes floppies to fit them
anymore.)

I am writing this on a Lisa running MacWorks.  The PCjr is gathering dust -
it is too small and slow to run modern PC software.
--- David Phillip Oster		-- "The goal of Computer Science is to
Arpa: oster@lapis.berkeley.edu  -- build something that will last at
Uucp: ucbvax!ucblapis!oster     -- least until we've finished building it."