Re: IIGS for sale

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Jason Whorton wrote:

>sheercon@earthlink.net wrote:
>
>>Jason Whorton wrote:
>>
>>> Supertimer wrote in message
>>> <19990715003857.12882.00000517@ng-fr1.aol.com>...
>>> >andsand@infoave.net (James + Susan Sandlin) wrote:
>>> >
>>> >>For sale: IIGS with a 3.5 and 5.25 and stylewriter printer and many, many
>>> >>different programs (too varied to mention) for $500.  Everything works
>>> >>perfectly fine, I just no longer need an outdated computer.  Will even
pay
>>> >>shipping fee.  Email back if interested.
>>> >
>>> >I'm not in the market for one, but just like to add that that price would
>>> >be much more reasonable if it also came with a monitor, a large hard
>>> >drive (say 500MB or more), an upgraded accelerator (say at least
>>> >12.5Mhz) TWGS or ZipGS, and a large memory card (preferably 6MB
>>> >or 8MB).  A good speed modem would also help.
>>> >
>>> >For example, a system with 300MB hard disk, monitor and drives,
>>> >memory, and a 10Mhz TransWarp GS went for $350 recently.  Now
>>> >if your system has much more software and better hardware than
>>> >this, it would certainly be worth $500.  Sadly, it may be that you
>>> >have to break up the system to get the full value.
>>>
>>> Please allow me to chime in with... for that price, one could buy a slow
>>> Pentium PC with fairly modern everything that would be much more capable of
>>> doing modern computing tasks.  If it had rare hardware or software, it
might
>>> be worth that, but I didn't see mention of it.  If anyone cares, ask me
>>> about my theory on what I call "the gold plated Pinto".
>>>
>>> Thank you,
>>> Jason Whorton
>>> http://www.microxl.com/oldcomputers/main.html
>>
>>Tell us your gold plated Pinto theory...
>
>"Jason Whorton" <jason@microxl.com> wrote:
>
>Hello.  Thank you for your interest in my "gold plated Pinto" theory.
>WARNING:  To anyone who reads this, please note that I LOVE Apple II's and
>currently own ten Apple II's and plan on hopping up my IIgs as time/money
>allow.
>     I will try to explain it as it applies to the Apple IIgs.  In short, if
>you had an unlimited budget and went out and built the world's greatest IIgs
>ever, it would still JUST be a IIgs.  No matter how much money you spend on
>dream hardware (insert your favorites here), it would still be JUST a IIgs.
>We all know what a IIgs CAN do, but we also know what a IIgs can NOT do,
>bringing us to the main point of what the same amount of cash would buy if
>spent on a used, modern computer (can I say clone PC?, looks around).
>    The gold plated Pinto is basically the same thing, except no matter what
>you do to a Pinto (my parents used to own one, so I speak from experience),
>it's still JUST a Pinto.  Even gold plating it won't change it from what it
>really is, an old, slow, loved by some, collection of metal, plastic, and
>glass that does what it was designed to do.
>    Hopefully, this explains my theory.  I had to consider it back in '96
>when I chose buying a used PC instead of spending the same amount of cash on
>my IIe.
>
>Thank you,
>Jason Whorton
>http://www.microxl.com/oldcomputers/main.html

You are comparing Apples and Lemons.  Your comparison is only valid if
the only reason for owning a IIGS is the same as that of your PC.  However,
let me ask you a question.  Why do Volkswagen and Mustang owners
persist in their STUPID attempts to keep driving their OLD cars?  Why do
they put new engines, fancy tires, all kinds of additions to these OBSOLETE
vehicles?  I mean, WHY?  A Mustang may have been cool in its day, but
the fact of the matter is that even a family sedan of the modern era blows
the doors off this once sporty car (heck, even the GM EV1, that electric car,
can get 0-60 in 8 seconds flat).  And what about all those Beetle fans (not
the new one, the old one)?

The fact of the matter is, there is pride, joy, and fun in getting one of these
CLASSIC vehicles and BUILDING them up to be the ultimate vehicles of
that era.

Getting back to your Pinto analogy, the Apple IIGS is not a Pinto.  It is a
Mustang.  Old, yes, but classic.  Once an awesome computer in its own
right with sound capabilities unmatched for years and the legend of Woz
in its blood.  This machine is a classic.

People web browse, fax, word process, email, ftp, telnet, desktop publish,
CD-ROM reference, and compose music with the IIGS not because they
are under any mistaken impression that it can still flat out beat an AMD
K6-III in pure 0-60 acceleration, but because that such stuff CAN be done
on the IIGS is a tribute to how ahead of its time the IIGS was in 1986.

Another factor: the dream machine of yesteryear.

How many of use wanted to build the super-decked out IIGS in 1986?
But it was too expensive.  Only now is it possible for us to provide the
IIGS with the peripherals it deserves (ink jet printers, large hard drives,
lots of fonts, peripherals, graphics cards, memory, and what not).  Just
like your current PC.  If you are a REAL fan of your current PC, you may
wonder what it would be like to max out its 128MB memory potential
and add a 64GB hard drive to it!  Such decked-outness is too expensive
today, but 10 years from now, who knows.

And that is why we do it.

As for the peripherals, obviously the rarer the peripheral, the more the
value.  It is a fact that people still pay $350 for a decked out IIGS
system with an upgraded (say 15Mhz) TransWarp GS or Zip GS in
the system.  This has more to do with the rare peripherals than the
IIGS unit (the worth of a decked out IIGS system is determined almost
entirely by the peripherals).  Still, there is no denying that the
peripherals are worth something if people are willing to pay more than
$100 for a SuperDrive card or a souped up TWGS or Zip GS card.

But one should not think fans of souped up classics crazy.  That's
like rolling your eyes at the Mustang or Volkswagen Beetle fan who
lavishes time, money, and attention on their classic vehicle and puts
a turbocharged engine into their car.  That engine is worth more than
the car!

I'm not crazy.  Even by your definition because I do have a modern
Win 95 unit with 32MB of RAM and 11GB of storage.  However, even
though I have a PC, I will never give up on the IIGS.  I've continued
adding to it until it has become a kick but (1986 era) system in its own
right.  8MB of RAM, accelerated over four times, 1GB hard disk drive,
200+ TrueType fonts, high resolution ink-jet printer, fast modem, SVGA
card, etc.  Also, the PC runs through hardware so quickly that I get
to put what the PC finishes using on the IIGS, thus souping it up
even more.  That's how the IIGS got its SVGA monitor and Zip drive. ;-)

Besides, after the IIGS is decked out, it actually becomes useful
even by today's standards.  For word processing documents up to
around 10 pages, I use my IIGS over my PC.  It has the same
TrueType fonts and outputs to the same ink-jet printer, so the output
of a word processed document is identical to that one one done on
the PC.  More than that, because the IIGS OS and software is smaller
in size, by the time Windows 95 has finished booting, I have already
booted my IIGS, launched AppleWorks GS, AND started a new word
processing document!  Looking at it another way, once the Mustang
or Beetle owner finishes adding that turbocharged engine, the classic
car actually becomes a useful vehicle that's pleasure to drive.  Yes,
it got to be this way because of a labor of love (not because decking
out a IIGS or Mustag is more cost effective than buying a slow PC or
an old Toyota Corolla) but after that, it is still fun to use.