1980 all over again
I nearly bought a Cosmac ELF computer in 1980, you could get the base model and then add all kinds of stuff to it as you could afford it. And then it was one of the Ohio Scientific systems, but instead I chose the Radio Shack, TRS-80 Model 1 (I was making about 12 K) $600 computer (computer was in keyboard and had BASIC in ROM), level 2, 4K RAM, 1. something Mhz cpu. Added 12 K RAM ($45) expansion interface ($400) with 32 K RAM, serial port, Centronics printer port, joystick port. 1982, added two BASF 5.25 disc drives (each was bigger than the Mac Mini and cost $200 each) for single sided, single density 180 K diskettes. My first floppy disk cost $4.95 at Radio Shack. My first OS was TRSDOS 2.3 which cost $14.95. Games were $10-15. Computer magazines were fun and I sold a bunch of game reviews to 80-Micro and one article about word processors to Popular Computing for $150. First printer was LP-2 (7 pin dot matrix) for $799. When my manuscripts were rejected for lousy print quality, I wrote to Tandy in Texas and got the OK to trade in my LP-2 for a $999 LP-4 (9 pin dot matrix)
If you've been adding up the numbers, you'll see I spent nearly 2K on a original $600 system. What I really wanted was an Apple 2, which I think were going for $12-1500 back then. But I couldn't afford it.
I got a Franklin IBM clone next, and when the video board died, it cost $300 for a new one. There was no mother board per se, all the cards including the motherboard plugged into a bus. They also made IBM clones and I think they got sued by Apple and ultimately got out of the computer business. Next I got a 12 Mhz Turbo IBM clone from Sears for $999 with 512 K RAM, 2 floppies and a monochrome monitor. It cost $300 to get a color VGA monitor a few months later. I became an expert in DOS and could configure the auto exec bat files with ease and fly through the config sys thing and became adept at putting things like mouse drivers into upper memory to have more memory for programs. But then along came Windows, and now anyone can use a computer.
Next came the 486 DX, puchased for $2800 CDN ( I was living in Toronto at the time). That one is in my closet along with the AMD full tower K2 450 MHZ system I built some years back. With that system I got an ergonomic keyboard and a $300 NEC 15" LCD. Then I saw this great deal on a Compaq 2.4 gig a couple of years ago, and that's what I have today. Piece of feltercarb! And Windows too. I gave the Compaq monitor and keyboard away and still have the speakers.
Had I saved a little more, I could have acquired that Apple 2. It was such a good computer compared to the dreck available in 1980. In view of what I've spent on computer systems over the years, a $12-1400 IMAC is a good deal.The Mac Mini is a cute little gadget. All of a sudden we have a "cheap" Apple, and everyone is crowding around the crib to admire the little fella.
With the Mac Mini, as with my old TRS-80, you'll spend a little now to get it, but perhaps a lot more later to upgrade. As has been hinted in the forum, who knows what needed upgrades Apple will make available. In view of what Apple computers used to cost and what current PC systems cost, operating systems and applications not withstanding, the IMAC, G5 Power MAC, and now the Mac Mini are all excellent bargains. I configured my dream G5 Power Mac a while ago and it cost the same as an Alienware super system, and a Dell super system, and etc. From what I've seen, the current crop of Apples are competive and in line with comparable PCs. I spent $1400 on the IBM clone from Sears and I can get an IMAC for the same price today. But it is no longer just computers, it is what computers have become in our lives and the applications they can run.
Yes, I was blinded by the light. I even put a Mac Mini in my shopping cart at the Apple Store. But after I added up the numbers, an IMAC makes more sense. Spend a little now, spend a little more later. Spend a little more now, spend nothing later. But, I think the Mac Mini is a great little sytem for some people. It's about time Apple had something in the low priced niche to compete with the $500 Dells (like the two my housemates just bought) As with the Trash-80, it's 1980 all over again.
