On Thu, 25 Apr 2002, Richard Erlacher wrote:
> I don't know where you guys who keep harping on this think I said
> external "disk drive==toy." I did, however, say that if the disk
> INTERFACE is external, i.e. if the ability to interface to a disk
> drive is external to the unit, as is the case with the COCO, among
> many others, then until it has that interface, it's a toy. I doubt
> that anyone thinks a machine with 16KB of ram or less and no mass
> storage of any sort is capable of doing much computing. It's more like
> the early pocket caclulators, though it won't fit in a pocket. Even
> before microprocessors, there were calculators that would fit in your
> pocket that would do more useful work than some of those storage-less
> quasi-video games that were sold in the early '80's.
>
> What this implies about the mfg's attitude is that the mfg figured it
> would do its job without disk storage. If that's the case, and since
> this was before ethernet, then it's a toy.
Does this mean that a network-capable controllerless machine isn't a toy?
Peace... Sridhar
--
"How do you fight such a savage?"
"With heart, faith, and steel. There can be only one."
-MacLeod and Ramirez, "Highlander"
Received on Thu Apr 25 2002 - 16:13:50 BST