Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!XEROX.COM!"Martin_Cooper.osbunorth"
From: "Martin_Cooper.osbunorth"@XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Looking for an Evangelist
Message-ID: <890108-112711-3226@Xerox>
Date: 8 Jan 89 19:26:49 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: Cooper.osbuNorth@Xerox.com.osbunorth
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 60


I recently purchased a Mega 2 after doing a lot of comparison with
alternatives, including the Mac, the Amiga and various flavours of PC. The
Atari came out tops for a number of reasons, most of which I've not yet
seen mentioned by anyone else.

First I should say what I was looking for. First, I wanted something that
could handle high-end MIDI applications. Second, I wanted something I could
use for relatively high-end word processing. And third, I wanted something
that could give me a run for my money as a software development base.

For MIDI, the Atari stands head and shoulders above anything else. The
closest rival, not surprisingly, is the Mac, but it loses for a couple of
reasons. The most obvious is the price of the Mega 2 vs. a Mac. Also, don't
forget that you have to buy a MIDI interface in addition to a Mac in the
first place, which pushes the price even higher. The second reason is a
little more subtle. All the best MIDI software is available for either the
Mac or the Atari, and in many cases both. What's interesting is that where
the same software is available for both, the Atari version is ALWAYS
cheaper. (By the way, this is not limited to MIDI software.) My guess is
that companies find they can jack the prices up on the Mac and get away
with it, so they do.

Why would I buy an Atari for word processing? Because of a remarkable
degree of compatibility with laptop PC's, which I also use. Not only is the
disk format compatible (at least if IBM-formatted), but I can also get
WordPerfect for the Atari (for much less money than an IBM version,
incidentally), so I can use the same WP software on both systems, and
freely interchange the data disks.

Then there's software development. The Atari has system software designed
in such a way the you can plug in at any level, including right at the
bottom. So you can write software for it on top of GEM or right down in the
guts, ignoring all the top level stuff. Then of course, there aren't many
Unix-compatible systems available for under $1000, either (1040ST + Minix <
$1000).

Oh, and of course, there's the display. Personally, I have a great aversion
to the pokey little screen on the Mac, which, being built in, you can't do
a whole lot about. And if you want a colour display, well, you're kinda
stuck.

I've had my Mega for about two months, and I have no complaints. There's a
ton of software out there for it, a huge amount of it public domain or
shareware. I keep hearing about how bad Atari's support is, although I have
no personal experience of this, but from what I see on this list, I'm not
sure that matters. If Atari can't help, the net probably can anyway.

Go for it!

	Martin.


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-- Martin Cooper, Xerox Corporation     | Long live Mesa, the Pilot cried.
--
-- Internet: Cooper.osbuNorth@Xerox.com | The usual disclaimers apply.
--

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