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From: jwi@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Jim Winer @ AT&T, Middletown, NJ)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Brain-dead 286 - summary
Summary: Hardware for hardware's sake
Message-ID: <4120@cbnewsj.ATT.COM>
Date: 9 Mar 90 14:48:13 GMT
References: <8681@rosevax.Rosemount.COM> <29405@amdcad.AMD.COM> <1990Mar8.182345.11823@seri.gov>
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 47

> Marshall L. Buhl writes:

> Once again we find ourselves on differing sides of an issue.  The 286
> is costing users and developers a fortune.  Trying to shoehorn modern
> applications into a 16-bit address space is very expensive.  This drives
> up software costs for users.  Developers have to develop for two platforms.
> One for people who have to get work done and one for people who don't
> value their time.

Developers don't have to do anything. But it seems to make sense to build
programs for the 20 million or so existing machines -- frankly, there aren't
enough 386 machines arond to make it a worthwhile market at this time.

> I run Windows on a 386/25.  It's a DOG!  I was a beta tester for WinWord.
> I own it, but don't use it.  My time is just too valuable to have to wait
> for graphics screen refreshes all the time.  I've gone back to using PC
> Word, because I don't have a PC powerful enough to run WinWord.  I just
> can't imagine how miserable this fantastic product would be on a 286.

I don't understand why you call it a fantastic product when you won't use
it because "it's a DOG!" I have done direct comparisons with AMI and 
WordPerfect and both of them are better products that run just fine on
a fast 286. Your problem isn't hardware, it's poor choice of software.

> Phil.  Please throw that old junker on the trash heap.  People like you
> are holding the rest of us back.  At least send it home with someone
> as I do with my old junkers.  Get it off you desk.  There is no place
> in corporate America for the 286.

Since most of what corporate America does (word processing, spread sheet,
data base, etc.) runs just fine on a 286 with a big enough and fast enough
disk, it seems rather dumb to make this statement.

> Marshall L. Buhl, Jr.                   EMAIL: marshall@wind55.seri.gov
> Solar Energy Research Institute         Solar - safe energy for a healthy future

Perhaps if we didn't waste so many things by insisting that they are obsolete
when they are not, we wouldn't have as much need for solar energy -- but then
that's another area where we can all get gung-ho for hardware for hardware's
sake. 

Jim Winer -- jwi@mtfme.att.com -- Opinions not represent employer.
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