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From: Dreifus.UPenn%UDel-Relay@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.works
Subject: LISA
Message-ID: <1628@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 29-May-83 19:47:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.1628
Posted: Sun May 29 19:47:00 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 5-Jul-83 19:37:41 EDT
Lines: 90

From:  Henry Dreifus 

Ahh, LISA:

I've had her in my office now approximately 1 1/2 weeks. She's cute, but
I'd never be found in public with her. She makes a good 1 week stand.

1: She unpacks in about 15 minutes. That's from taking my hunting knife
   to the package to turning on the Winchester ProFile disk to boot-strap
   the LISA operating system.  That's not bad. The only bad comment is
   I found the "setup and unpackaging" instructions with the keyboard and
   mouse. (Within a box, within a box again!) -- catch22

2: Mice'are'nice. Having used just about everything ever invented, I have
   to admit the LISA mouse is good.  I found it a bit confusing coming from
   a three-button world to a 1 button world.  The "Click-Click" does not
   yet work for me.

3: Leave your LISA "on".  She takes about 3.5 mins to come "on", another
   2 to 4 to come down.  (Depending on how much stuff you have "out" at
   that time -- it all gets put back into the ProFile).

4: Icons are cool: They did that right. The individual icons could have
   conveyed more information however -- oh well.

5. Don't try and do anything serious: I am in the process of composing
   a very large paper (oddly enough an invited paper discussing the
   Apollo workstation), and find the word processor a bit difficult
   when your file gets large.

6: Inconsistent: She's a bit schiozoid.   Sometimes you've got to press
   the mouse twice or type a command -- I'm still not used to it.

7: Hope you aren't into Color. Lisa is strictly BW, like the olde movies.
   Apple Computer has no plans for a colour Lisa. Too bad.

8: Aside from simple letter/document preparation, some simple graphics,
   and some cumbersome Visi-Clone models, I've been disappointed with
   her performance. Its a TOY. An EXPENSIVE Toy.

USES FOR LISA:

   Marketing people.  (They generate mostly useless stuff anyway)

   Casual Word Processing people.  (That "occasional" document can
                      be made very professionally. I can also get
                      from my IBM salesman an IBM selectric for 1/10
                      the cost...but money's no object.. right??)

   It ain't no CAD/CAM machine. The draw software is too simple -- not
                      quite like an Apolloid or drafting computer..
                      but .. for simple stuff - it works ..ok..

   Middle management.  There's nothing I hate more than useless MM. This
                      machine dont work for the c.e.o. and its too expensive
                      for the grunts... leaving the paper pusher/makers with
                      yet another thing to-do. ..enjoy..

PROBLEMS;

 Overpriced.  Sage/Fortune/mumble do 90% at 50% the cost.

 Undersoftwared. No-one is writing sw - and there is little push
   to do so.

 No developed nitches -- yet... If, however you were dumb enough
   to buy lots of Xerox *'s, then this may be a face-saving machine;
   after your fired.

FUTURE;

 clouded. This machine has lots of "good ideas" inside. The major problem
 is -- as with all things at some point -- its applicability. At 1/2 the
 cost -- it becomes economically useful (at par with a PC/XT), but it aint
 there yet.

 GRiD is profitable -- I guess Lisa can be too.

 I don't mean to sound too negative, but I personally cannot see a
justifiable use/need for this machine - at this time.  The basic
pieces are there to make something nice. I am sure that there will
be a few winning software packages developed on this machine which
will make it successful.  Apple-I's and II's made it on software
(cite: Personal Software's marketing of Software Arts VISICALC); it
transformed the toy into a machine. Lisa -- its your turn to take the
same road.

Comments welcomed.

Henry Dreifus