Support "obsolete" technology!

[dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Dave Althoff)]

I realize I'm preaching to the choir here, but...

I now have five computers at home:
my ROM 01 Apple IIgs
my Apple ][e
my enhanced Apple //e
Mom's Apple ][e
Dad's Lisa 2/5

None of these computers has given me the more than the slightest bit of
trouble.  Okay, I need to replace a keyswitch on Mom's ][e.  But other
than that, these systems all purr along nicely, and provide us with more
computing power than we're ever going to need.

Meanwhile, at work today, an MS-DOS based 80386 tower mysteriously ceased
functioning.  I just spent 7.5 hours bumping boards, reformatting hard
drives, swapping jumper settings on the brand-new disk controller and
video display cards, restoring software, rebuilding system configuration,
and generally trying to get the machine working the way it worked a month
ago, before a mysterious glitch fried both serial ports.

Had the same glitch hit a ][, I'd replace the ACIA chips on the serial
cards, and be done with it.  But on the Pee Cee, I had to replace the
perfectly good disk controller (because the COM: ports are on the same
board and the chips are soldered).  When the CGA monitor went, I had to
replace the video card as well as the monitor.  And when the hard disk
failed, I had to do a low-level format, then restore all of the software. 
Because of the nature of the one package, I won't know for another day or
so whether it is working or not.  By the time I got home, I was very happy
that my home computers are Apple ]['s.

Yeesh!  I might consider buying a Macincrash someday, but the way things
look now, there is NO WAY I would ever consider buying an 80n86 based machine.

Then there was the incident last week-end in an electronics store.  I was
fiddling with a Pentium-75 running some idiot-proof shell of Windows
(imagine that...a shell for Windows!  Ick!)  (Of course, I don't have any
use for At Ease, either...).  Not quite understanding all the little
pictographs, I clicked on the little question-mark.  The Windows "help"
window appeared.  Then, the machine locked up, totally and completely. 
Only a power-cycle cleared the error, then the machine didn't come up
right.  And I thought it was bad when Hypercard-GS crashed with a simple
"boink".  At least I can clear that error with an Apple-RESET!

Apple ][ Forever!  Something tells me that the rest of the world still
hasn't figured out how to get it right!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
-- 
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