Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcmi!hdr!unocss!mlewis
From: mlewis@unocss.UUCP (Marcus S. Lewis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.nsc.32k
Subject: Re: 32K "do-it-yourself" kits...
Summary: cheap systems
Keywords: The Ultimate Scrooge...
Message-ID: <480@unocss.UUCP>
Date: 8 Nov 88 03:45:48 GMT
References: <2613@sultra.UUCP> <7532@nsc.nsc.com>
Organization: U. of Nebraska at Omaha
Lines: 39

Preface: If my previous response to this actually made it, I don't know,
and I apologize for cluttering things up.  I just can't let this go by:

In article <7532@nsc.nsc.com>, grenley@nsc.nsc.com (George Grenley) writes:
> In article <2613@sultra.UUCP> dtynan@sultra.UUCP (Der Tynan) writes:
> >Well, so far, 'ultra-cheap' has been
> >open to varied interpretation.  
> 
> ... if cheap is your primary goal, you can't beat the 532DK,
> at a whopping $532.  

yup.  Add oh, $250 for a decent box and PS, minimum $300 for a terminal,
let's guesstimate $800 for a relatively capacious, fast disk drive, and
about $1K for an OS that makes it all go.  Cheap at any price. 
 
> Starting with 016/032 based hardware means, when you're all done, it will be
> out of date.
> 
> Would you build an 8088 based box?  No.

If that's what I can afford, you betcha.  Prove to me that a hobbyist
needs 15 MIPs, whatever the heck that means, to tinker with.  If you are
marketing a commercial cruncher, with 16M color palette, etc, ad
expensive nauseum, you need that power, but when you are paying your own
bills, the 32016 is quite adequate, Thank you.  This is especially true
when you remember that NSC thoughtfully *committed* to binary
compatibility across the whole family.  So you build the '016, get it
running the Hacker's Dream OS, then find out, maybe you do need that
extra oomph, then pop for the $2K for the bigger machine. 

> So, if you want to have fun building a machine you'll find useful when
> you're done, buy a 532DK. 

Sorry George, I have an original Poly-88 (1.8 MHz 8080) that I still use
because it has a BASIC interpreter with 36-digit precision.  Slow it may
be, but deny it is useful, especially for math classes.  Besides I have
source for the OS.

Marc Lewis