Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc:40221 comp.sys.mac:44580
Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!jarthur!wilkins
From: wilkins@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Mark Wilkins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: IBM vs. Mac - Long (was Re: Xerox sues Apple!!!)
Message-ID: <3660@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Date: 18 Dec 89 21:54:12 GMT
References: <6767@tank.uchicago.edu> <1989Dec17.112127.27333@me.toronto.edu> <14960@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <4574@ur-cc.UUCP> <18222@netnews.upenn.edu> <5107@skinner.nprdc.arpa>
Reply-To: wilkins@jarthur.UUCP (Mark Wilkins)
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA
Lines: 42

In article <5107@skinner.nprdc.arpa> malloy@nprdc.arpa (Sean Malloy) writes:
>In article <18222@netnews.upenn.edu> meuchen@grad2.cis.upenn.edu (Paul Eric Menchen) writes:
>>>Can you say "upgradable?"
>>Yes, that's why I bought a Mac II (further discussion on this note
>>will follow).
>
>>>Can you say "customization?"  Something else you can't do with a Mac.
>>Please explain.  I think I've explained above all the ways I can
>>customize my system.  What can't I do?  I can even make it IBM
>>compatible, hook up drive to read all formats of IBM disks (DaynaFile
>>makes the best drives for this purpose - they let you avoid dos by
>>presenting the disks in a Finder environment. A problem with IBM
>>customization follows below.
>
>You might want to pay a little closer attention to what the original
>poster was writing. He was talking about the Macintosh, not the Mac
>II. You know, the computer disguised as a toaster? They've managed to
>cram a hard disk, more memory, and a second floppy drive inside them,
>but that's about the limit of customization.


   The current standard for the "toaster Mac" is a Macintosh SE.  An SE has
an internal slot, and there are several products available which will add
more expansion slots.

   But you know what?  I've never, EVER seen an SE which had even that slot
filled!  Almost every peripheral I've ever seen on an SE has been quite
adequately handled by the serial port.

   If you should ever actually WANT an ethernet connection or perhaps an
accelerator board or more serial ports or something, you just plug it in or
have your dealer do so.  But so few SE owners take advantage of even this
that I suspect there is not much demand for the type of expansion which
you're talking about.

   Also, the only example the original poster mentioned was the DaynaFile
system for reading IBM disks, which works just as well on a Plus as on a II,
I believe.  And even if not, I have seen competing products which serve the
same function.

   -- Mark Wilkins
      wilkins@jarthur.claremont.edu