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From: en2j@vax1.UUCP (Thomas Purcell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.workstations
Subject: Hardware purchase advice request
Message-ID: <573@vax1.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Dec-87 03:44:38 EST
Article-I.D.: vax1.573
Posted: Wed Dec  2 03:44:38 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Dec-87 03:49:24 EST
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This is a request for advice: I'm trying to put together a very
respectable personal system for the next couple of years (till the
Super-engineering workstations come down to $5k.).  Its uses would
include some commercial applications (that is, business type stuff)
and software development.  Preferred characteristics are:

	o	Unix -- now or very soon (avail. within 1 yr.)

	o	desktop publishing at least up to mac quality level

	ooo	multiple operating system capability, even if this
		anticipates additional processor cards  (methinks
		this is better than buying 4 different machines.?.)
	
	o	speed.  don't want my hair to turn grey while I'm
		waiting for something running on a hardware simulator,
		for example, to execute a single instruction

	o	color graphics better than IBM cga, cheaper than a
		$50k Silicon Graphics workstation

	o	full-page display would be pretty handy.

	o	Big harddrive; ample memory
		(80 meg, 2 Meg is a nice starting point, bigger better)

	o	Don't need (right now) state of the art CAD/CAM
		facilities.  Can't go much over the $10k limit.
		Or, need to aim for near to $5k for a
		stripped machine if I'm to afford the bells
		& whistles.

Multiple OS support is a goody and a biggy that I'd really like.
(Seems like this would depend on architecture and vendor's
economics...)  Here's my reasoning:

	I can afford to buy ONE flexible machine, and equip it with
	some REALLY nice goodies: a very good display, a massive (for
	one user) hard drive, similarly generous RAM, a backup system,
	and so on.: All the goodies that make an environment more fun!
	But, once I've invested in all those nice things, I want to be
	able to work with (read/write) and write code for Unix,
	MS-DOS, and Mac's OS. (For starters.)  I CAN'T afford to buy
	three or four vendor's machines and equip each one of them as
	nicely as the single hypothetical machine above.

	So, even if I have to install some extra processor boards
	{which had better be REAL ones that are available or will 
	be -- hypothetical boards don't run real software }, AND
	suffer some slowdown, I think I'm much better off with one
	multifaceted machine.

If YOU can recommend (or sell to me) something that will approach my
Pipe-Dream as above, please let me know what it is and how much it'll
cost.  I welcome the suggestion of a machine which hasn't been
released yet, if it fits the bill, and WILL be released within 6 mos.
to a year.  Or, If you'd find my reasoning faulty, I invite
criticisms.

Please send a copy of your response directly to me.

-thomas
en2j@vax1.ccs.cornell.edu
en2j@crnlvax1.bitnet