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From: zrm@eddie.MIT.EDU (Zigurd R. Mednieks)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Upgrade your Mac 512 now!
Message-ID: <5563@eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: Tue, 21-Apr-87 12:15:07 EST
Article-I.D.: eddie.5563
Posted: Tue Apr 21 12:15:07 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 22-Apr-87 03:44:29 EST
References: <3022@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU>
Reply-To: zrm@eddie.UUCP (Zigurd R. Mednieks)
Organization: MIT, EE/CS Computer Facilities, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 44

In article <3022@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> jww@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU (Joel West) writes:
>From previous discussions, it's clear that there are some owners of
>stock Macintosh 512's on the net.  I would like to suggest that if
>you plan to keep and continue to use your Macintosh 512, you
>should now order a Level-1 upgrade to the 128K ROM.  

I wholeheartedly agree that those of you out there with original
Macintosh 512k machines with teh old 64k ROMs should upgrade. I bought
a pair of 512k Macs when I started writing a book. Later, I
transferred them to a consulting firm. To keep them useful, the firm
upgraded these machines using  the MacMemories 2Mb upgrades after
having a local computer store upgrade the ROMs and internal drives.
One has an aftermarket SCSI port and a SCSI disk, the other has a Hard
Disk 20. Both systems work very well, and they can be upgraded to 4Mb
whenever that might make sense. The useful lifespan of these machines
should be at least as long as that of a new SE

In a way, this is very good news for 128k Mac owners: If they can find
a dealer willing to perform the strange operation of adding the 128k
ROMs and 800k drive to a 128k machine, they can then upgrade it to 2Mb
with an aftermarket upgrade. People hunting for Mac bargains might be
able to pick up 128k machines for a song and upgrade them. So while
Apple has not provided a comprehensive upgrade path, it is possible to
keep even the very first Macintosh useful.

Apple should keep the ROM/disk upgrades plentiful or they will
cultivate a black market in copied ROMs. The companies that do
aftermarket upgrades are certainly savvy enough to buy PROM blasters
and compatible 800k drives, and their customers come way ahead of
copyright laws and Apples's interest in this matter. I'm certain Apple
wants to make that practice as unattractive as possible. An active black
market in ROMs would only lead to such unappealing outcomes as illegal
clones from the Far East.

A shortage of ROM/disk upgrades is bad for Apple, bad for software
companies that want to make use of the new ROMs, and bad for users who
might feel that they are stuck with obsolete machines. The upgrades
were always in short supply in Boston -- I had to go all they way to
New Hampshire for mine. I knew not to take the BS from dealers who
wanted to sell me the full Mac+ upgrade, but the less sophisticated
users might not know what to do. They will take it out on Apple if
they feel ripped off.

-Zigurd