Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site aluxe.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!aluxe!2141smh From: 2141smh@aluxe.UUCP (S. M. Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA) Newsgroups: net.micro.mac Subject: Re: Biased report on unbiased Reports on Mac Message-ID: <621@aluxe.UUCP> Date: Tue, 15-Jan-85 22:44:06 EST Article-I.D.: aluxe.621 Posted: Tue Jan 15 22:44:06 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 16-Jan-85 05:46:58 EST References: <2190@nsc.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Allentown, PA Lines: 30 **** **** From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA aluxe!2141smh > relatively unbiased report on the Mac ...(in Consumer Reports) To be fair, here are some of the shortcomings pointed out by Consumers review of an otherwise well recommended machine (appliance): 1) Although the Mac...comes with 128k of RAM -- not much of that is left for actual data processing after the operating system and a program are loaded. 2) It's offering a memory upgrade to 512k. But the upgrade costs $995. 3) The Mac has a standard 58-key keyboard with very few extra keys for computing. An optional numeric key-pad is $99. 4) The Mac comes with a single built-in disk drive--and therein lies another shortcoming. 5) When you load a program such as Macwrite, you must leave that program disk in the drive. 6) The system files alone take up 212k of disk space. An applications program like Macwrite takes up about 55k more. That leaves only 146k of space on the disk for saving documents. 7) A second disk drive is a $495 option. 8) The monitor measures nine inches diagonally, compared with 11 inches for the typical computer monitor. 9) You need a graphics printer specially adapted to the Mac. You must take the $595 cost of the Imagewriter or similar printer into account. 10) A basic system lists for $2800 but the memory upgrade, printer, extra disk drive, and key-pad bring the total to $4984. Let's hope next week's announcement will eliminate all of these shortcomings.