CompuServe Thread

#SALE

8 messages in this thread
#20954From: RAY KARCHER JRJul 6, 1990 10:03 PM
FOR SALE Digital Professional 350 Computer Complete in excellent condition. Also have a DEC LA75 printer, and a DEC LA50 printer. Both need ribbons and use the same one as Apple's imagewriter and C. Itoh's 8510. Also have two Epson RX-80 parallel printers for sale. The DEC printers are serial, but can be used with IBM PC if you are a bit imaginative. I am willing to part out this stuff and sell just a monitor or just a keyboard if the offer is right. Otherwise I would prefer to sell a complete system to a person who will get good use from it. Get in touch with me through this forum or send e-mail to user 72010,2347 in Compuserve. There is 1 Reply. Read action !
#20956From: Bill Mayhew [VAX/DECPC]Jul 6, 1990 10:18 PM
Since the Professional 350 is a PDP-11 computer, you might do better by posting your ad on the PDP-11 Forum (GO PDP11). Also, you might expand on what you mean by "complete". Does it have a hard disk, and if so, what size? Does it have the extended bitmap graphics option, the telephone management system option, the IVIS option, or any of the other options that were available on the Pro 350? -Bill There is 1 Reply. Read action !
#21065From: RAY KARCHER JRJul 20, 1990 2:45 AM
Ear Bill, thanks for the feedback on the DEC items I have for sale. Regarcing the options on the system on the system– hell if I know . I bought the whole deal (a DEC 350 and two printers for inters for 15$ . As far as I'm concerned the first person witha spare twenty and the willingness to the willingness to pay shipping can have it. Where I used to work we dumpster three or four DEC PCs a month because no one wants them here in St. Louis. It has a hard drive, but I don't know sixze or type. I will probably quit ci$ soon and start on prodigy so it is really a moot point but I do appreciate your help. There are 2 Replies. Read action !
#21067From: Bill Mayhew [VAX/DECPC]Jul 20, 1990 9:03 AM
Ray, At that price, I'm sorely tempted. If I didn't already have two Pro 350s, and no physical space for a third, I'd take you up on it. Tell you what, though, I'll gladly take the LA75 … see the Mail message I'm sending you for particulars. Sorry we're losing you to Prodigy. I haven't used that system personally, but from all reports I've heard, its primary advantage is its perceived low cost. It has a bunch of disadvantages too, though, including (a) extreme slowness, (b) excessive advertising content, and (c) lack of any "open" Forum-like functionality. Now since I'm a sysop here you might assume that the above paragraph is a "company man" defense of CIS… but you'd be VERY wrong. I'm among the first to recognize (and criticize) CIS' weaknesses. To the extent that Prodigy can get CIS to wake up and smell the coffee, and realize where its weak points are — price and user-interface, primarily — I'm all for it. -Bill There is 1 Reply. Read action !
#21069From: Roy PasiniJul 20, 1990 5:30 PM
I believe Prodigy does have something like SIGs. I've exchanged messages with people about Ami Professional in the past. But it *is* v e r y s l o w . That's because it's sending pixels, not characters over the line. And it also updates the software on the user's end whenever you logon and a new version is available. I find it too slow to use. I just can't stand waiting and waiting for the screen to display so I can escape back to previous menu. But even worse, as you mentioned, is the blatant commercial nature of the beast. Not a single screen is drawn without an ad across the bottom. It's kind of like listening to your favorite CD on one speaker and non-stop advertising on the other. And while I'm at it, GEnie ain't too hot either (though nothing is quite so poorly done as Prodigy). I can never seem to navigate GEnie as easily as CIS. There is 1 Reply. Read action !
#21070From: Bill Mayhew [VAX/DECPC]Jul 20, 1990 9:51 PM
The story I heard about SIGs on Prodigy is that they are all, uh, "pro-actively moderated"… you cannot post a message without it being reviewed and blessed by the equivalent of a sysop, first. Yes? No? (Hence my comment about lack of "open" Forum functionality.) -Bill There is 1 Reply. Read action !
#21083From: Roy PasiniJul 23, 1990 2:46 PM
I've certainly had that experience on GEnie where the sysop for the ReadySetGo forum is/was also an employee of LetraSet and a rather pompous one at that. He never seemed to post my specific complaints about the product. I don't use Prodigy enough to comment. The messages I've posted have been replies, and they've all been rather benign. Of course, to the extent censorship exists, the usefulness of the service is devalued. It becomes, like GEnie, a way to advertise the product rather than support it. Potential users never got my criticisms, assumed there was nothing wrong with the product, ordered it, and clogged the help line. My criticisms and those of others, I should say. Read action !
#21081From: Sysop Bill LeemanJul 23, 1990 1:38 AM
Ray, As Bill M. said, I'm sorry to hear we may lose you to Prodigy. Just out of curiousity do you now have an IBM PC or clone? If so you may want to check out the TAPCIS forum here on CompuServe before switching services. If you're concerned about $'s this might save you some if you have an IBM PC or clone. I recently added a 386 clone to my computer collection for my wife's work. Last week I downloaded TAPCIS and installed it on the machine. At the moment, I'm still "learning the ropes", but I'll admit that if you have some time to "fine tune" it for your preferences it can make using CIS a lot nicer, and potentially cheaper. The TAPCIS forum also offers a lot of GREAT help as you're getting up to speed. Now I h ave never actually used Prodigy, but I have heard the same comments made by several people as Roy/Mike Pasini mentioned in a message here. And although I'm a Sysop here too, I don't have anything to gain if you decide to stay with CIS and participate in the IBM-related forums. I just wanted to make you aware of the possibility of tools available that may help you decide whether to switch services or not. Bill Read action !