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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
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Posted: Tue Jan 15 22:44:06 1985
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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.