🚀 go-pugleaf

Original to: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
In a message of <24 Dec 1992 03:53:4>, Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
(3:713/602) writes:

 BB> The point that michael.smith seems to be trying to avoid is that
 BB> PC based computers CAN be upgraded, no matter what the "little"
 BB> hassles may be, while ANY Atari computer CANNOT be upgraded without
 BB> doing a lot of "hacking and slashing"...

I'm not 'avoiding' anything, Bob, that's one of your favorite tactics...

I'd say the level of 'hassles' involved would generally be about the same
for adding things : mew drives are easy - overscan costs less in time than a
video board does in money, and soforth.

 BB> If you need to take an hour to install a '386 board into a '286
 BB> computer, then maybe the girls in the Terminals department could
 BB> help.. they do it all the time.  Upgrading computers is one of the EASY
 BB> things to do, IF the computer is designed for it..

Hmm. You rely too much on your terminal girls Bobby - let me introduce you
to the fact that only _some_ PC's are well-designed for upgrading.

You remember those popular PC-XT cases? You remember how you have to take
all of the interface cards out, then the whole front off, to get the drive
frame free? and even then, it's impossible to support the inner side of one
pair of drives? great stuff...

Or the Baby-AT cases where you have to remove the power supply, then hold
your heart in your mouth as you unscrew the drive frame from the bottom of
the case with the unit upside down and 2 inches of air between the frame and
the bench?

Not to mention the fact that you're _real_ lucky if all the screws go back
in where they came from.

 BB> So what's your point..?
 BB> 
 BB> Are you trying to say that "all PCs suck and we all know it" and
 BB> Atari rulez..?

No : I am simply putting the lie to you saying 'upgrading a PC is easy'.

It's not.  Small things, yeah sure, but doing anything major to a PC is just
as bad as any other system : atari, mac, amiga, sun, cray, you name it.

 BB> Sure there are compatibility problems in a platform that allows
 BB> expansion.. but are you trying to say that the ST platform doesn't
 BB> have compatibility problems BECAUSE IT IS NOT EXPANDABLE..?

No, however I'm a bit subscriber to the LCD argument - having a functional
LCD makes life much easier from a programmer's point of view.

 BB> Sounds pretty silly, Michael...

Just gotta learn to read what I write, not what you want to see.

 BB> BobR

\`miff`                                                       /|\

--- ScanMail 0.68 X0501
 * Origin: That Which Is Not, ST in SA. 61-8-276-4415 (3:800/842)