Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!umix!umich!mibte!gamma!ulysses!thumper!faline!bellcore!tness7!tness1!sugar!peter
From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga as workstation
Message-ID: <1939@sugar.UUCP>
Date: 6 May 88 09:33:39 GMT
References: <466@mailrus.cc.umich.edu> <863@gethen.UUCP> <391@brambo.UUCP> <492@sas.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 49

In article <492@sas.UUCP>, bts@sas.UUCP (Brian T. Schellenberger) writes:
> In article <1903@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:
> |Personally I'd be happy to give up my parallel port for another serial port.
> |Parallel printers are a historical dreg that has no technical justification.

> What, huh??  I've never seen anything shove bits as fast over a serial line
> as you can over a parallel line.

And for most printers this extra bandwidth is completely wasted: they can't
even keep up with 1200 baud.

> Try comparing the time to download fonts
> to LaserJet II on parallel vs. serial (even at 19.2Kbaud) sometime, and see
> if you don't want to keep your parallel port around when you get a laser 
> printer.

If I could afford a laser printer I think I could afford a parallel port card.
I mean, what's another couple of hundred bucks out of a couple of grand? In
the meantime I can't:

	1) Put two modems on my Amiga.

	2) Put a modem and a terminal on my Amiga.

	3) Put a cheap EPROM burner and a modem on my Amiga.

	4) Put a Midi port and a modem on my Amiga.

	... and any combination thereof.

Proposition 1: the more ports your computer has, the better.

Proposition 2: the more versatile the ports on your computer, the better.

Claim: Serial ports are more versatile than parallel ports, because there
	is a greater variety of serial devices out there.

Side issue: If there were multiple serial ports, the whole "serial device
	debate" would be a non-issue. Personally, I think it is anyway. We
	already have a perfectly good namespace for devices.

Conclusion: For me, at least, serial ports are better than parallel ports.

Totally unjustified flame: I have 4 serial ports on my Atari 800, via my 850.
	I have 4 joystick ports on it as well. Why does the Amiga have less?
-- 
-- Peter da Silva      `-_-'      ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter
-- "Have you hugged your U wolf today?" ...!bellcore!tness1!sugar!peter
-- Disclaimer: These aren't mere opinions, these are *values*.