Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!ge-dab!codas!killer!jonm From: jonm@killer.UUCP (Jon Meinecke) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: No problem AT clones (Flame on Compaq) Message-ID: <2415@killer.UUCP> Date: 10 Dec 87 16:42:36 GMT References: <2001@briar.Philips.Com> <3151@bnrmtv.UUCP> <636@qetzal.UUCP> <483@hscfvax.UUCP> Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas Lines: 56 Keywords: naive' expectations doom frustation, exasperation Summary: A grain of salt In article <483@hscfvax.UUCP>, pavlov@hscfvax.UUCP (G.Pavlov) writes: > In article <2363@killer.UUCP>, jonm@killer.UUCP (Jon Meinecke) writes: > > > > ...... long "defense" of his employer, Compaq ..... > ending with: > > ...[ quote from my posting ] ... > > greg pavlov, fstrf, amherst, ny If you've dismissed all my comments on this subject as merely partisanism by a Compaq employee, "hit 'n' now"!... My response to Mr. White's posting regarding problems that he had transferring data from a Compaq PC was not meant to be a "defense" of my employer, but rather a response to what I believed was a poorly formed assessment of a PC manufactuer's compatibility and corporate motives. I would have taken just as much exception, though perhaps not as much interest, to the "put-down" of any PC-compatible system on the basis of Mr. White's complaints. Examine my responses to the specific problems discussed by Mr. White and if the responses have no merit, dismiss them. You will get no argument from me that there are many excellent PC-compatible systems which cost less than a comparable Compaq system. If I were purchasing a system for my own use, I would probably buy the lowest cost system which met my performance, compatibility, and support requirements. Such a system might well *not* be a Compaq if I were buying an AT class desktop computer. There is intense price competition among the makers of such systems, with prices reducing some of the other concerns regarding long term support and service. If I needed a portable 386 or high-end desktop 386 system, then the story might be different... These systems won't be "obsolete" (hopefully) as soon as the PC and AT class machines and therefore comprise a longer term investment and a different set of puchasing criteria. Some of the largest rocks concerning compatibility and ease of service of Compaq systems are thrown (internally) by Compaq employees. When these stones hit their target, the problem is corrected, usually before the system "hits the street". Read my postings with appropriate skepticism, if you will, but hopefully I can contribute some perspective on PC issues. Compaq is not the first manufaturer of PC hardware for which I have worked and I believe that my background is broad enough to add to the "signal" rather than the "noise" component of this news group. I'm a software engineer, not a hardware designer or marketeer,-- primarily a "consumer" of PC hardware rather than a "supplier". Thanks for reading this response, JonM These are my own views (really!), and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.