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From: mentat@ut-ngp.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Mac <-> Lisa Tradeoffs
Message-ID: <5370@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 9-Jun-87 18:35:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.5370
Posted: Tue Jun  9 18:35:10 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Jun-87 04:49:26 EDT
References: <3077@eagle.ukc.ac.uk> <947@apple.UUCP> <903@oakhill.UUCP>
Reply-To: mentat@ngp.UUCP (Robert Dorsett)
Distribution: world
Organization: UTexas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
Lines: 36
Keywords: Mac, Lisa, Tradeoffs

In article <903@oakhill.UUCP> russ@oakhill.UUCP (Russell Schwausch) writes:
> the Mac XL with an internal hard disk is 
>almost as slow as a Mac with floppies.  It is also a big pain in the posterior
>to use 400K floppies; some of the newer applications can barely be squeezed on
>one of these tiny floppies; and backups are a hassle.
>And furthermore, several applications I have used on the Mac XL (specifically
>Word 3.0, MacDraft 1.2a, & Cricket Graph 1.1) bomb frequently on a Mac XL
>but hardly ever on a Mac+.  The MFS file system on the Mac XL is also a hassle.
>I have been looking for a way to upgrade my XL to an 800K floppy and HFS but
>I am sure it would be cheaper to start with a Mac+. I didn't have a choice but
>you do.
>
I disagree with Russell.  The original question was about the Lisa 2/5, NOT
the Mac XL.  The XL ISquite slow; however, the 2/5 (external (and noisy)
5-meg Profile) runs about three times faster than a 400K Mac drive.  The Lisa
is a nice computer.  The speed penalties are tolerable if one is not used to,
say, a MacPlus with a hard disk.  The screen is a nice way of justifying it,
and the vertical distortion does nice things to text (the dots aren't quite
as apparent on text).  If it's a question of spending say, $3K for a MacPlus
or $1K for a used Lisa, I'd buy the Lisa any day.  The only reason I'm not
currently using one is that I need an easier computer to write and debug
software on (i.e., a Mac with an interrupt switch).

I haven't had any major problems with Word 3.0.  I have come to expect poor 
quality control from Microsoft products, at least on the first release.  As
for MacDraft, it bombedfrequently on my 512K Mac.  I haven't tried it since I 
upgraded the 512K to a Plus.  Probably won't...

I'll be playing with HFS on a Lisa, as well as modifying the internal 400K
drive, in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned...


-- 
Robert Dorsett   	          	ARPA: mentat@ngp.utexas.edu    
The University of Texas at Austin 	UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo,sally}!ngp!mentat
					UTAustin: mentat@walt.cc.utexas.edu