🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <947@apple.UUCP> han@apple.UUCP (Byron Han) writes:
>In article <3077@eagle.ukc.ac.uk>, jg@eagle.ukc.ac.uk (J.Grant) writes:
>> 
>> I have been offered a Lisa (Mac XL) 2/5 at what seems a reasonable
>> price, before I take the plunge is there anything that I should know?
>> 
>> I was told that most software was compatible (all but those that
>> directly address the sound & the screen), but that could mean anything !...
>> ...  Mention was also made that various cards
>> have been/are produced that fit the Lisa (esp. processor upgrades
>> that would put the machine on a similar footing to the MAC II, although
>> I have taken this with a copious amont of salt, is it actually true ?).
>
>Most of the new software coming out will only support the 128K ROM's and
>above.  
>
>I personally would not recommend buying a used Mac XL (Lisa) because it is far
>slower than even a vanilla Macintosh.  Large screens can be had for the
>Macintosh family either real screens or screen extenders like Stepping Out(tm)
>which creates a virtual screen with the Mac screen being a window onto it.  
>There is also a shareware? BigScreen Init which does something similar
>albeit without as many features.
>
>Buying a Mac XL would probably lead to disappointment and disillusionment.
>You would be far better off (in this humble poster's opinion) to save your
>moullah and buy a Mac Plus, SE, or Mac II.
>
>Byron Han            |   UUCP:  {sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual}!apple!han
>Apple Computer, Inc. |  CSNET: han@apple.csnet 

I concur completely with Byron's recommendation. Speaking from experience
(I have been trying to use a Mac XL for several months; my boss's boss is
to cheap to buy me a Mac SE [|-) ) the Mac XL with an internal hard disk is 
almost as slow as a Mac with floppies.  It is also a big pain in the posterior
to use 400K floppies; some of the newer applications can barely be squeezed on
one of these tiny floppies; and backups are a hassle.
And furthermore, several applications I have used on the Mac XL (specifically
Word 3.0, MacDraft 1.2a, & Cricket Graph 1.1) bomb frequently on a Mac XL
but hardly ever on a Mac+.  The MFS file system on the Mac XL is also a hassle.
I have been looking for a way to upgrade my XL to an 800K floppy and HFS but
I am sure it would be cheaper to start with a Mac+. I didn't have a choice but
you do.

-- 
Russell Schwausch, Motorola Inc., OakHill, Tx. (A suburb of Austin)
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