Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!roberts From: roberts@cognos.uucp (Robert Stanley) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Mac <-> Lisa Tradeoffs Message-ID: <855@cognos.UUCP> Date: Tue, 9-Jun-87 15:46:24 EDT Article-I.D.: cognos.855 Posted: Tue Jun 9 15:46:24 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 13-Jun-87 09:55:45 EDT References: <3077@eagle.ukc.ac.uk> <947@apple.UUCP> Reply-To: roberts@cognos.UUCP (Robert Stanley) Distribution: world Organization: Cognos Incorporated, Ottawa, Canada Lines: 45 Summary: Lisa not a cheap alternative In article <947@apple.UUCP> han@apple.UUCP writes: >In article <3077@eagle.ukc.ac.uk>, jg@eagle.ukc.ac.uk (J.Grant) writes: >> >> I have been offered a Lisa (Mac XL) 2/5 at what seems a reasonable >> price, before I take the plunge is there anything that I should know? > >Buying a Mac XL would probably lead to disappointment and disillusionment. >You would be far better off (in this humble poster's opinion) to save your >moullah and buy a Mac Plus, SE, or Mac II. > The Lisa is a super, super machine, beautifully engineered, utterly reliable, and loaded with nice features. It is N O T a Macintosh of any kind. It can sort of be used as a Mac via a set of ROM upgrades and the MacWorks software, but be prepared to accept an arbitrary list of non-runners, and to put up with endless idiosyncrasies. If you are a serious hacker, prepared to get inside system code and patch, you can actually make almost everything Macish work, but this is a very expensive (of time) option. If you start playing with the hardware configuration, be prepared to create your own versions of almost all key system software. Also, hardware expansions are not cheap, and lead you into the world of who is responsible for maintaining what. I have one Lisa officially AppleCared as a Mac/XL (costs more than a Lisa), but I also have a very friendly local Mac dealer who turns a relatively blind eye to one or two "minor" hardware hacks. Memory beyond 2 meg, internal disk > 10 meg, double-sided floppy, co-processor boards, video-tap for extended screen all have to be separately maintained, and necessitate fairly intimate hardware knowledge. I run a fair amount of Mac software simply for compatibility with some of my working environments, but all serious work I do via either the Lisa workshop and home-grown software, or under a proprietary OS to access auxilliary hardware functions. If you want a Mac, buy a Mac. Robert Stanley <> -- Robert Stanley decvax!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!roberts Voice: (613) 738-1440 (on EST) Tuesdays only don't ask-----' Cognos Inc., 3755 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 3N3 CANADA