Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!elroy!orion.cf.uci.edu!oberon!nunki.usc.edu!castor.usc.edu!rjung
From: rjung@castor.usc.edu (Robert  allen Jung)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: What an Atarian is
Message-ID: <3428@nunki.usc.edu>
Date: 8 Apr 89 02:39:54 GMT
References: <890405-104637-2664@Xerox>
Sender: news@nunki.usc.edu
Reply-To: rjung@castor.usc.edu (Robert  allen Jung)
Organization: O-Mayer V BBS, Los Angeles, CA  (213) 732-0229
Lines: 51

In article <890405-104637-2664@Xerox> Cooper.osbuNorth@Xerox.com.osbunorth writes:
>Unfortunately, you won't find the answer to this question here. What you
>might discover is what the average Atari ST user WHO HAS INTERNET ACCESS is
>like. It would be wrong to assume that the two averages are the same, or
>even similar

  That's unavoidable. Telephone polls discriminate against people without
phones. On-the-street polls discriminate based on location. Every system has
flaws.

>Another peculiarity which I haven't really figured out yet is why so many
>people seem to have an ST so that it can be something else. Run out and buy
>your ST. Then go off and get a copy of PC Ditto so that you can have a
>regular PC (which you could have got cheaper to start with). And then rush
>out to get a Magic Sac or Spectre so that you can have a Mac too. Do these
>people realise that they're killing the Atari themselves?

  Hey, don't look at me. I'm STILL looking for some PC/Mac software that will
make me say, "I *must* have that, and I'll buy an emulator for it!". However,
I doubt anyone buys an ST _only_ to run someone else's software. Most often,
it's probably just a matter of convience. "I'd rather run WordWriter ST, but
it makes my life easier if I can bring my IBM work home too."

>So, all of you out there who are doubtless denying all of the above - let's
>hear from you. What do you USE your ST for?

  Too many to name. Calling computer systems. Writing documents. Drawing
art. Playing games. Hacking. Anything and everything I need, and all without
any emulators or whatever. No MIDI though, I have a tin ear.  B-)

>And sure, I do a bit of hacking too (but NOT, NOT,
>NOT in that godawful language, C).

  What, C as godawful? Sacrildge! Who are YOU to talk???  B-) B-) B-) B-) B-)

  I think you're panicking a little bit; Maybe you should re-examine the ST
situation. There's a LOT more than games and utilities out there. Games
especially may appear to be dominant, but that's true for any computer system
(everybody has to have fun). Besides, the "Joe Users" who use ST's for
non-hacking tasks probably don't have Net access -- Which goes back to the
point at the beginning...

						--R.J.
						B-)

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