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From: phil@pepsi.amd.com (Phil Ngai)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Brain-dead 286 - summary
Message-ID: <29486@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: 13 Mar 90 23:47:12 GMT
References: <8681@rosevax.Rosemount.COM> <29405@amdcad.AMD.COM> <25F7F56B.11734@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> <29474@amdcad.AMD.COM>
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In article <1990Mar13.201259.11097@seri.gov> marshall@wind55.seri.gov (Marshall L. Buhl) writes:
|You're going to have to live with that ancient relic for at least 4
|years.  Just because there isn't that much 32-bit software today, doesn't

First of all, a 286 is not an ancient relic. Microsoft is only now
getting around to releasing a version of Windows which can take
full advantage of the 286's power.

I'm glad you admit there isn't much 32-bit software.

Second, I think your 4 year figure is off. If 386 prices went way down
next year, buying a 286 now and a 386 in 1991 could be cheaper than
buying a 386 now. Just imagine the price war that will break out when
a viable 386 second source comes along.

|Quit recommending that people invest
|in this old stuff.

I think this is the root of your problem. You see a computer as an
investment. I see them as a purchase to get a job done. An asset that
depreciates incredibly fast. Microprocessors make a lousy investment,
especially with the price war that will erupt when the 386 has a
second source.

|People who insist in investing in ancient technology are holding the
|rest of us back.

Now you're getting silly. You want the people who can least afford
a high end system, the people who are looking at 286s, to spend
more money for something that probably won't make much difference
to them, because you think it will somehow help you? Even if that
were true, which I doubt, it's a very selfish attitude.

|Remember folks.  The CPU is a very small part of the cost of a COMPLETE
|system.  When you pay more for a 386 system, you are getting faster
|memory, hard disks, etc. too - not just a faster processor.

And what if the customer doesn't need all this horsepower? The market is
made up of very different people. Not everyone is like you. It's not
much different than you telling everyone to get a 600 megabyte hard disk
because they might need it someday.


--
Phil Ngai, phil@amd.com		{uunet,decwrl,ucbvax}!amdcad!phil
The Microsoft Mouse is the only mouse worth having on a PC.