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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcvax!botter!ark!Patrick
From: Patrick@ark.cs.vu.nl (Patrick van Kleef)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: European Emulator (Rudeness??????)
Message-ID: <868@ark.cs.vu.nl>
Date: Fri, 19-Dec-86 09:40:49 EST
Article-I.D.: ark.868
Posted: Fri Dec 19 09:40:49 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Dec-86 02:09:13 EST
Organization: V.U. Informatica, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Lines: 54
Keywords: keep it cool

**** MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH ****

Posting for a friend:
---------------------

Hey, hey, hey,

I've only just recovered from this avalanche of people that -I got
the impression- are personally offended by my earlier posting. Although
I stick to the contents, I apollogize. I did en do not mean to offend 
people. What I write is my believe. And why it still is, I'll try to
explain in this posting.

I don't know why you people call the Magic Sac a software device. I can see it,
hold it, move it and therefore I call it a hardware device. And it's a hardware
device that's far from cheap here at the European continent. The prices range
between $300 and $400. And that's a price of a product *without* ROM's.
For that price you get Magic Box containing exactly two chips, one condensator
and two Rom sockets.

Considering this, I find it understandable that inventive guys go look for meansoof making their own emulator. And software only is -in my opinion- something
that entirely loads from disk, no hardware (sorry) device needed. I consider
the loss of 64 Kb of Ram a small loss, compared to the 'loss' of $300 to $400.
(Ok, ok, it's no loss, it's a repayment for Small's efforts in creating the
Magic Sac. Again, no offense meant. But for that kind of money, I expect a
product that runs more than the *very* limited amount of good Mac software
it runs now.)


And finding some way of putting your Mac Rom's on disk, is far easier than
obtaining them. In Europe, Apple took great care in getting all obsolete
Rom's back. Therefore there's hardly any place where you can buy them.
Considering this, I don't think the US situation can be compared to the
European market. If I could buy a Magic Sac for some $200, including Rom's
and software, I'd be in line to buy it. Even if it's only a gadget.
Don't get my wrong, I appreciate the way Small went about in making the Sac.
But I think you can understand now why Europeans prefer a software version.


Ok, end of the line for me. This is my last posting on this subject. I only
wanted to inform the world of some interesting developments here. And by the
way the mailbox is flooded with reactions (read:requests), I guess some
people were interested.  But I don't feel like these long discussions that
I feel are pointless. I does, however, discourage me from posting some real
nice Public Domain software (no, not a software Ma....) I collected especially
for the purpose of posting.....

-Paul Molenaar

------

End of posting for a friend. Please, no more mail. My mailbox can't handle
it!
(By the way, opinions expressed above are Paul's. I don't even have an Atari...)