Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!allegra!eagle!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!Dreifus.UPenn@UDel-Relay 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 DreifusAhh, 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