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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!agate!shelby!rutgers!bpa!cbmvax!vu-vlsi!devon!ctdi!mikei
From: mikei@ctdi.UUCP (Mike Israel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Is there really no better value?
Keywords: TANDY PRICES
Message-ID: <443@ctdi.UUCP>
Date: 8 May 89 14:43:45 GMT
References: <1454@csm9a.UUCP>
Reply-To: mikei@ctdi.UUCP (Mike Israel)
Organization: Communications Test Design, Inc., West Chester, Pa.
Lines: 48

In article <193300123@trsvax> reyn@trsvax.UUCP writes:
>
>All in all, you seem to be about three years behind the times on your
>knowledge of Tandy products.  Judging by what I've seen since I've worked
>at Tandy, there has been a tremendous effort to rectify exactly the types
>of things you've been coplaining about.  Virtually every deficiency you
>have stated for your 1000A no longer exists on the 1000 SL or 1000 TL.

In article <1454@csm9a.UUCP> japplega@csm9a.UUCP (Joe Applegate) writes:
>Tandy's latest motto has been developed to give the illusion that the
>their computer products are the best value on the market... but is this
>truth in advertising or just marketing hype... Let us examine Tandy's 
>products in comparison to other vendors to determine if:
>
>		"Is there really no better value?"
>
 
>Tandy's peripherals are the most expensive in the industry... they sell their
>computers at Kmart prices (and with Kmart quality I might add) and sell their
>peripherals like they were Apple!
>

Exactly the point, Tandy is willing to make fixes only to insure that they
remain a feasable alternative for NEW customers.  They do not seem willing to 
support the machines they have already fielded with any form of upgrade
path.  When enhancements are offered they are sold at grossly over-inflated 
prices.

I bought a 1000A with 128k of memory.  Tandy wanted somewhere around $600
for a memory card which still would not give me 640k.  That was only $200
less than I paid for the computer itself.  Thank goodness for the folks at 
Zuckerboard.

Many of Tandy's designs seem intentionally designed to chain
Tandy owners to the doorway of their local Radio Shaft.  To add a
second floppy drive meant modifiying the cable so the connector would be
long enough to reach a standard, non-Tandy drive.  I had to actually solder
a hard disk controller to make it operational on a Tandy, my alternative 
was to pay twice as much for a Tandy 20 meg drive as I did for my 40 meg
drive.  The short slots are an issue all its own.

Tandy could afford to play these games when clones were still a risky 
business, at least they were a reputable vendor.  These days a company
like Dell is a MUCH better value.

						mikei@ctdi

				   -- I think therefore I am confused! --