Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!deimos!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!cs122aw From: cs122aw@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Scott Alfter) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: Macintoshes, and the GS Message-ID: <1990Feb7.072231.7946@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Date: 7 Feb 90 07:22:31 GMT References: Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 29 Yes, it is a bit unnerving that you can get a Mac for less than a GS, but let's think this thing through a little more carefully. OK, so the Mac Plus is a complete system, ready-to-go out of the box. What do you get, though? It has 1 megabyte of memory. The GS has that. Currently, an unaccelerated GS running System 5.0.2 is every bit as responsive as the Mac Plus. After taking these two facts into consideration, though, I see several factors that lie heavily in favor of the IIGS. First, the GS has color graphics--you may not have terribly high resolution, but that should be corrected in ROM 04. The Mac Plus has a diminuitive 9" screen built-in. With a GS, you can use just about any monitor--from the green screen left over from your upgrade from a IIe, to the AppleColor RGB monitor that's pretty much standard, to a 50" big-screen TV if you so desire! Do that with a Mac! Also, what about the Mac Plus's relative difficulty in handling upgrades? It's a closed system; there isn't much you can add to it. On the other hand, you could stuff a GS with megabytes of RAM, audio boards to further enhance the GS's already-terrific sound, modem cards to connect your computer to the outside world.... We have a bunch of Mac Pluses downstairs in the computer lab, and they don't impress me. They're some of the most lethargic computers ever made. A Transwarped GS would run rings around them! Try getting these features on a Mac Plus--some of them you can't buy at any price! Speaking of prices, though, Apple does need to reduce the price on the GS some--at the very least, the ROM 04 shouldn't cost more than current versions. Scott Alfter------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet: cs122aw@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu _/_ Apple IIe: the power to be your best! alfter@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu/ v \ saa33413@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu ( ( A keyboard--how quaint! free0066@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu \_^_/ --M. Scott, STIV