Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!tank!shamash!pwp
From: pwp@shamash.cdc.com ( HOUFAC)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Computer Care SoftStep and Rescue
Summary: SoftStep works fine, good tech support too.
Message-ID: <14125@shamash.cdc.com>
Date: 28 Sep 89 15:58:50 GMT
References: <919@dutrun.UUCP>
Reply-To: pwp@shamash.UUCP (Pete Poorman)
Organization: Control Data Corp., Houston, Texas
Lines: 32

In article <919@dutrun.UUCP> johan@dutnak2.UUCP (Johan de Haas) writes:
>According to a leaflet of Computer Care Inc., their SoftStep
>modules allow you to build 1M SIMMs from leftover 256k SIMMs.
>If you buy four, they go for $50 a piece. It is more or less indicated
>that the resulting SIMM only fits in MacII's.
>
>They also have a product called "Rescue" ($330), that adds a
>SCSI port and six! SIMM slots to a Mac 512KE.
>
>Does anyone out there have experience with these products?

I can't speak about "Rescue", but I do have an SE here with a set of SoftStep
adapters installed.  The version I have allows you to construct 1/2 Meg SIMMs
from the 256K'ers, giving you 2 Megabytes in an SE.

Installation went fairly smoothly.  I got a little concerned because the 
bottom of the chip leads from the top 256K SIMM were touching the tops of
the chips on the bottom one, so I called their 800 number.  They were 
very polite, knowledgeable and helpful.  (F.Y.I. -- on some models of SE
the leads do touch the chips, and it isn't a problem.)
 
It works fine.


I'm suprised, however, that anyone is still considering using these.  At $50
each, they're hardly cheaper than buying real one Meg SIMMs.  Given the
potential for future incompatiblity and the greater number of connections
(points of possible failure) I'd probably spend the extra $$.  (At the time
I did it,  one Meg SIMMs were both hard to get and extremely expensive.)

--Pete Poorman
  pwp@shamash.cdc.com