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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: Out on the bleeding edge
Message-ID: <4182@cbnewsj.ATT.COM>
Date: 14 Mar 90 14:49:16 GMT
References: <8681@rosevax.Rosemount.COM> <29405@amdcad.AMD.COM> <1990Mar13.201259.11097@seri.gov>
Distribution: usa
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 37

> Marshall L. Buhl writes:
> 
> ... The 286 is a very OLD
> architecture.  Look to the future.  Quit recommending that people invest
> in this old stuff.  I'm not saying to junk all those old systems, just
> don't buy any NEW 286s.  Use the old ones in non-critical situations.

and always pay more for bells and whistles that you don't need, whether it's
a car, a TV, a computer, or solar energy.

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

Then why don't we all have nuclear power plants -- seems to me that people said
this 20 years ago too. 

> 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.

My 286/20 is pretty fast. It has 80 ns interleaved memory and 0 wait states. It
is comparable in speed to a 386/20 if not faster. It will take the fastest disk
I want to pay for. I don't need a 386 to get either fast memory, fast disk 
or a faster processor. The 286/25 machines are available now.

> ...
> 16-bit computers are living on borrowed time.  32-bit is the way to go for 
> the near term.  Of course, the 64-bit CPU is not far off.  Maybe then, we
> will finally get the performance we need to run a GUI.

Smarter computers can be run more easily by dumber people -- agreed. Why don't
you learn to use what you have instead of complaining that others are holding
you back? Frankly, I wouldn't want to hold you back -- the faster you fall off
the edge, the less I have to hear you whining.

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