OT: New G3 Mac Tower (was: Re: Instant classic)

From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh_at_aracnet.com>
Date: Sun Jan 31 17:56:24 1999

John Ruschmeyer wrote:
>Nope, ADB was an afterthought to support one or more of the monitors. Use
>of an ADB KB and/or mouse is apparently not recommended and there have
>been stories of problems related to the use of same.

Oh. Well, I think you just helped me to make up my mind. Looks like my
8500/180 will be getting a accelerator card, instead of being replaced. If
they think I'll give up a "Apple Extended Keyboard II" for a crappy USB
keyboard they're CRAZY!

I still need to consider how long the OS will continue to support my
system. MacOS X Server only supports G3 systems (not upgraded ones), the
question is what will MacOS X itself support.

>Probably less of a deal than it was with the iMac (a home machine).
>Pro users were already long past the point when the minimum usable
>removable storage was a Zip-100.

True, a floppy isn't really the right answer, but a LS120 would be better
than a ZIP drive as it would allow the reading of those old floppies.

>Personally, I'm not as worried about periphs like tablets, but ones like
>modems. (Modem option for G3 has not shipped yet)

Well, I've got 3 serial devices; Modem, HP 5MP, and Tablet. I had to move
the printer to a Ethernet-to-Localtalk converter when I got the tablet.
I'm not worried about the lack of Modem, I only use the one on the Mac for
emergencies when my normal link to the net is down or if I need to dial
into work and my main UNIX box isn't up.

>> Undecided:
>> Firewire
>
>New standard... same thing people said about SCSI and USB.

USB yes, EIDE yes, but Mac's have traditionally been SCSI. I'm undecided
because I've yet to see any use for it. However, when the iMac came out
there wasn't much use for USB, now look at the Market.

>Clearly, the designers assume that the target audience "thinks different"
>and does not need to worry about fitting in to an office, etc.

I'm more worried about it clashing with my PDP-11's, OpenVMS systems, and
UNIX systems :^) Of course I am crazy enough to consider using a iMac for
a System Console for a PDP-11/44 :^)

                        Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh_at_aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh_at_holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
Received on Sun Jan 31 1999 - 17:56:24 GMT

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