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From: mchin@homxc.UUCP (M.CHIN)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Is there really no better value?
Message-ID: <6464@homxc.UUCP>
Date: 25 Apr 89 15:16:18 GMT
References: <281@ncelvax.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel
Lines: 67

From article <281@ncelvax.UUCP>, by greg@ncelvax.UUCP (Greg Ramsey):
> In article <1454@csm9a.UUCP>, japplega@csm9a.UUCP (Joe Applegate) writes:
>> For aproximently $900 the Tandy SL

Just checked with Marymac Industries Inc.  The Tandy SL can be bought for
$560 delivered to your door.

> 
>> To make this a usable computer one needs:
>> CM-11 CGA Monitor - $399
>> upgade to 640K - $189
>> 20 Meg HardDisk - $599
At least you don't need to buy the keyboard like Apple makes you do :-)

Anyone who is stupid enough to buy their peripherals through Tandy deserves
what they get.  I don't know if the SL has a PC compatible bus, but anyone
who buys a non compatible also deserves what they get.  And for all those
flamers out there, yes Tandy does sell true AT compatible bus as well as
MicroChannel and they are working on an EISA machine and a 386 SX machine.
So, you can buy a 20 Meg drive for only $280 and a CGA monitor for $280.

> 
>> Total System: ~ $2100

If you shop intelligently.  Total System ~ $ 1310.

> 
>> Compare this with:
>> IBM PS/2 model 30 package:

>> Cost: $1800
> 
> This price can often be beat though by watching for sales.
> Plus I believe IBM is being much more aggresive wit it's
> academic pricing on the model 30, wheras Tandy will probably
> give you pretty much the same price in the stores.

Not really.  Going by mail order prices, I could maybe come down to $1600
for the machine plus harddisk.  Adding the monitor and software brings the
price to ~$2100.  IBM's educational discount is below the price that they
sell to wholesalers.  No sale ever comes down below the wholesaler's price.
Going out of business sales are an exception.  So, for about $700 less, I
can get a comparable system with lower quality graphics.  Getting a better
monitor costs ~$220 more and a super-EGA/VGA card is only 300.  I still save
some $300 from IBM's price for those of us who DON'T qualify for the
educational discount.  But I wouldn't buy the BS/2-30 in the first place.

> As the husband of a Tandy dealer, we go around and around on just this
> point.  Plus they like to go around putting little changes in their
> hardware and software so you have to buy ther peripheals and can't use
> their software on other machines.  As an example I tried to
> boot my true blue with a copy of Tandy's version of MS-DOS and
> it came up with the error message "Disk bootable only on Tandy
> 1000 computer"
> 

Again, buying a non-compatible computer is a big mistake.  My version of DOS
3.30 boots up just fine on my IBM PC-1.  And all my peripherals are non
Tandy products.  It works just fine.  A lot easier than my IBM PC-1 I might
add.  Also, the PS/2-30 is a MicroChannel machine I believe.  Making it also
somewhat non-compatible.  There are pitifully few MicroChannel VGA cards and
Modems are also in scarce supply.  

Michael Chin			|  It could probably be shown by facts
AT&T Bell Laboratories		|  and figures that there is no distinctly
att!homxc!mchin 		|  native American criminal class
Arpa:  mchin@homxc.ATT.COM	|  except Congress. - Mark Twain