Re: And you thought Apple II users were screwed by Apple...

[salfter@chakotay.ncc74656.org (Scott Alfter)]

In article <david.936452627@wraith>, David Wilson <david@uow.edu.au> wrote:
>salfter@chakotay.ncc74656.org (Scott Alfter) writes:
>>Makes me glad I went with x86 boxen instead...
>>... A manufacturer in this field, such as IBM or Compaq, would never be
>>able to get away with this kind of nonsense because buyers would avoid them
>>like the plague if word ever got out about something like this.)
>
>You forget what IBM did with the IBM PC/AT. This ran at 6MHz but the crystal
>was socketed and people found it would run at 8MHz. IBM changed the BIOS to
>not boot if the clock speed was higher that standard. Then people came out
>with a new clock circuit that started out at 6MHz and ramped up to 8MHz after
>the BIOS code had been run.

Wasn't aware of that...but then I only got into "clones" in '91, and the
286-12 I started with was already old (some would've said "obsolete")
technology.  (Hell, the K6-200 I bought a little under two years ago was
probably the first processor I've ever bought that wasn't already
trailing-edge tech.)

On second thought, I suppose I also forgot about Micro Channel as a way to
screw customers.  Then again, the market mostly ignored Micro Channel.  It
was easy for people to do that; IBM wasn't the only game in town.

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