Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tikal!hplsla!hpubvwa!umn-d-ub!dross
From: dross@umn-d-ub
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: AMSTRAD PC1512
Message-ID: <158@umn-d-ub>
Date: 4 Jan 88 13:50:00 GMT
References: <2322@ihuxv>
Lines: 27

In article <2322@ihuxv.ATT.COM> arb1@ihuxv.ATT.COM (Blackburn) writes:
>
>Has anyone heard anything good or bad about the Amstrad PC1512.

Amstrad is a big name in European (well, English) electronics; they may
even now be #2 in microcomputers there (after Olivetti).  They specialize
in low-cost Taiwan-built stuff, though much is designed in the U.K.

The PC1512 was the first really cheap clone to hit the English market, and
it took it by storm.  The impression of my colleagues at Hull University
(where the Amstrad is one of 4 officially sanctioned machines) is that it
is pretty reliable, a good buy, and nice to use. However,

WARNINGS: 1) The graphics is nonstandard.  Moreover, In the early days - they
    might have fixed this by now - the machine blew up when EGA cards were
    plugged in.
	  2) The machine is a bit plasticy, and may not stand up to hard 
   (i.e., office) use.

On the plus side, it is cheap, comes with lots of software, and the BASIC
that comes with it (not Microsoft! - but largely compatible) is very fast and
powerful.

In Europe it would be a safe buy.  In the U.S.?  Who knows; it depends on
whether enough people buy them so that Amstrad becomes a presence here.

Hope this helps!