TO BJ MAJOR

["Davide Frada" <davidef@dove.net.au>]

Was unable to send reply via e-mail (incorrect address) so I am posting it.

I am in Australia, therefore, the price that I quoted was in AUS$. When the
3400 first arrived in Australia, it cost $12,000 so I am not exaggerating.
The reason that I use a powerbook is because I am required to do so by the
company that I am employed with. I find that the powerbook is always
crashing and is always unstable (I've tried OS 7.5.3, 7.6.1 and 8). I have
never used such an unreliable computer. In fact, I've had three screens,
one motherboard, one HDD and one trackpad replaced in the first five
months.
	Of course a Mac is more useful, but I still prefer using an VIC 20 because
it is far more stable than what a Mac is. Would you rather spend $1100 on a
200mhz IBM compatible (with monitor), or $2200 on a 166mhz MMX notebook
rather than the astronomical prices that Apple charge. At least if an IBM
breaks, you can replace the part that breaks rather than having to replace
huge bits of a Mac. 
	And as for your compatibility argument, the IBM too has strengths. I
connect my Commodore 1541 drive via a parallel cable to transfer files from
the Internet to the Commodore and I run Commodore disk programs with an
emulator on the PC. I also connect an Amstrad 3" drive so that I can
transfer files between that and my old Amstrad CPC.  
	Mac networking is a joke as well. It may be easy, but the blistering speed
(not) leaves something to be desired. When Apple introduced the PB 1400,
they did include IR but not he industry standard. Instead, Apple had to
implement their own silly system.
	In the end, there will be people who swear by Macs simply because of their
reputation of being user friendly (something which is not true after you
lose hours of work) or because it was  the first computer that they have
used. Then there will always be the IBM users who despise macs for the
worthless pile of shit that they are. I think that Apple will go broke (or
monopolize the education sector) because soon people will realize that they
are rubbish and that they are over-priced.  
	By the way, have you seen Win'98. I have got the beta version and it is
fantastic. Even running on a Pentium 75 (my testing system), it opens Word
up just as soon as you click the mouse (a two button mouse not an awful one
buttoned mouse).
	
	Regards

	Davide Frada