Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!mit-vax!jdm From: jdm@mit-vax.LCS.MIT.EDU (Joseph D. Morrison) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Hardware purchase advice request Message-ID: <3293@mit-vax.LCS.MIT.EDU> Date: 15 Dec 87 06:11:55 GMT References: <570@vax1.UUCP> Reply-To: jdm@mit-vax.UUCP (Joseph D. Morrison) Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, Cambridge Lines: 66 In article <570@vax1.UUCP> en2j@vax1.ccs.cornell.edu writes: >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. Sounds like you want a Mac II! Let's go through your requirements... > o Unix -- now or very soon (avail. within 1 yr.) Check! You can run "A/UX", which is Apple's Unix offering for the Mac II. > o desktop publishing at least up to mac quality level Check! By definition... > ooo multiple operating system capability, even if this > anticipates additional processor cards (methinks > this is better than buying 4 different machines.?.) Right now, you can get the Multi-finder with a Mac, which offers primitive multi-tasking facilities. However, I believe Apple is planning to come out with a better Multi-finder soon. Also, I should think the NuBus used in the Mac II would make it trivial to add additional processors, but I don't know the details... > 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 The Mac II uses a 68020; I'm not sure what clock speed. But the one I played with seemed very crisp... I think you won't get much more speed than this at your price range. > o color graphics better than IBM cga, cheaper than a > $50k Silicon Graphics workstation Check! (This criterion isn't hard to meet -- I think my old CoCo 2 might give the CGA a run for its money!) Actually, the colour graphics on the Mac II are very impressive. > o full-page display would be pretty handy. Several vendors sell oversize high-resolution displays for the Mac II. > o Big harddrive; ample memory > (80 meg, 2 Meg is a nice starting point, bigger better) Check. > 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. A stripped Mac II is in the 5k range... I don't work for Apple, I just love this machine!! Joe Morrison -- MIT Laboratory for Computer Science UUCP: ...!mit-eddie!mit-vax!jdm 545 Technology Square, NE43-425 ARPA: jdm@mit-vax.lcs.mit.edu Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 253-5881 -- "The first fifteen million years -- they were the worst..."