Re: Re. Sun-Apple

[rubywand@aol.com (RUBYWAND)]

In article <4f6a5m$6nb@acme.freenet.columbus.oh.us>,
mlamorte@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Mike LaMorte) writes:

> .....
>I don't know where you're getting those prices on the P133's, but they
>must be Packard-Bells. (Yes, I really wanna buy a computer with the worst
>customer service department and a dead-on-arrival rate of 10-20%) For a
>P133 with 16 megs, and a good company (Digital, HP, NEC, Acer, etc) with
>all the other goodies, STARTING price with a 4x CD-ROM and 14.4 modem is
>more like $2200 NO MONITOR. I oughta know... I sell computers all day
>long. 
>

    Nope; they are not Packard-Bells. They are machines slapped together
in shops all over Houston and other cities. Some of the bigger places,
like UBM, have lots of machines ready to go. Others, mainly, put together
the system 'while you wait'. Since they're always tested on the spot,
there are no DOA's. Also, service is better than at many plush emporiums--
you know, with fat carpets and fat prices-- because the guys on-site know
something about the machines. Often, they are the owners, too, and they
want to make sure you are satisfied.

    Can one pay $2200 for a '133 system with (ugh) a 4x CD-ROM and no
monitor? Sure; shop around a bit and you may luck into a $2800 offer. The
machine is no better; but, the HP, Digital, Compaq, etc. name tag looks
really great. (By the way, at $2200 you're solidly into the '166 or better
range, with 32MB RAM, ...)

 
>:  ...., nobody upgrades a '386-- not when '486 80MHz motherboards are
>: going for $85.

>Yeah, and most people who are afraid to change the batteries in their
>remote controls will be shelling out $25 an hour extra to the local
>computer shop to install it.
>

    Drat! You mean I can change the batteries myself?!


>:     As for CD-ROMs: Mac Zone's price for a 6 x CD-ROM is $480. PC 6x
IDE
>: CD-ROMs are currently selling for $125 and 8x IDE drives go for $249. I
>: recently installed a 6x IDE drive: just mount it in the tower, plug in
the
>: cables, and install the drivers.

>Again, TMZ is way overpriced. Besides, you'll notice such a small
>variation in speed it's not even worth it. The current data buses from
the
>CD-ROM drives aren't 64 bits wide, so therefore 90% of the data sits in a
>cache waiting its turn to get dumped over to the CPU. There aren't even
>that many software titles out that are optimized for 4x speed, let alone
6
>or 8. The only time you might notice a big difference is in CD database
>searches... MM encyclopedias, phone books on CD, etc.
>

    NON-GAME-PLAYER ERROR $0666 (Beep!)-- Try some of the new live-action
CD-ROM 'movie' games, like 'Killing Moon or Phantasmagoria. An upgrade
from x4 to x6 is VERY noticable.


>:.... You are, of course, kidding about a company being so successful
>: that it's about to go belly-up!? 

>It's happened in the past. .... What happens is the company
underestimates how
>successful something will be. All of a sudden, there's a HUGE demand for
>it .... But the company is unprepared for such a large scale production
because of its
>conservative estimates. .... What the company has to do is make some
major >changes to restore their stockholder's (and the public's) faith in
the company. 
>
>Look what happened when Apple introduced the first PowerMacs... the
>estimated 1 million sold in 1 year. They placed 1 million orders in 3
>months, but it took them 8 months to actually ship those units. 
>

    Certainly, if a company is going to sell VHS-compatible Betamax's at
Betamax prices, it cannot afford inefficiency, management errors, or bad
luck. The cheaper the VHS machines and the more new features competitors
add, the harder it becomes to convince stockholders (and the public) that
making VHS-compatible Betamax's is a really smart idea.


Rubywand