[WinMac] Re: Floppyless iMac (WinMac Digest #221 - 02/08/99)

David McKnight(dmcknight[at]fleetwood.com)
Tue, 09 Feb 1999 08:49:30 -0800

DAN:

A couple of comments within the text of your response...

----------
>From: "The Windows-MacOS cooperation list" <winmac@xerxes.frit.utexas.edu>
>To: "The Windows-MacOS cooperation list" <winmac@xerxes.frit.utexas.edu>
>Subject: WinMac Digest #221 - 02/08/99
>Date: Mon, Feb 8, 1999, 5:00 PM
>

> Subject: Re: Floppyless iMac (WinMac Digest #219 - 02/06/99)
> From: Dan Schwartz <expresso@snip.net>
> Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 12:43:54 -0500
> Mime-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
> Dear David:
>
> You see my point precisely... But what happens if you want to use a
> utility that is *not* on a bootable CD? With a floppy drive, you can still
> run it by booting from the MacOS Installer CD and running the utility from
> the copy on the floppy.

You're right, but like I said I have yet to use a utility recently that was NOT
on a bootable CD. It's unlikely that a first time user is going to use something
other that Apple Utilities (as you pointed out, likely with the assistance of
someone pointing the way to them), or Norton or something on a bootable CD.

BUT if they pulled down some shareware utilities or something like that, and
assuming they opted for SOME kind of removable media (which if they're
downloading and using shareware utilities to any great extent, they're probably
a little more advanced than a beginner who can't even find Disk First Aid, and
probably more likely to invest in a Zip or Jaz or something). The Mac OS CD
includes the Iomega driver, so it would recognize your ZIP or Jaz if you booted
from the CD; or you could put a system onto the ZIP or Jaz and boot from that --
just like you had a floppy.

NOW having said that, I *completely* agree with your point about running the OS
from ROM. But I still don't see the floppy as an issue. I'm sure one of us will
be proved wrong sometime over the next 12 - 18 months. Of course, I'm betting it
will be you...
>
> -----------
>
> Rather than just complain, here is my solution:
>
> Let's roll back the clock to about 1985 or so... Remember the Tandy x86
> machines that had DOS 3.2 (or so) in ROM? The selling feature was that
> instead of booting from the floppy slowly, the machine would boot very
> quickly from the copy of DOS in ROM.
>
> Now picture an iMac (or other new G3 Mac) booting directly from ROM: This
> way, you could either go to a later version of the MacOS on the hard drive;
> or run a program (such as a disk repair or defragger) "as-is" from the
> CD-ROM drive.

Again, you're assuming the utility won't have a bootable system on it. I think
for Joe Average User, they will use a utility on a bootable CD. Non-issue.
STILL, booting from ROM is an added convenience that sounds good to me.
>
> ----------
>
> These are the reasons why I don't favor an iMac for either a first-time
> user, nor a user where the iMac is the only machine they have. Yes, the
> iMac is a nice machine WHEN IT IS RUNNING. But when it goes haywire -- And
> eventually it WILL due to crashes corrupting the file system -- it takes
> more experience than previous floppy Macs to get it running again. An
> experienced "Mac head," or corporate support technician -- like most all of
> us on this list -- can get an iMac running again with dispatch.
>
> But first-time users are a different story altogether. How many times have
> we all helped a friend or neighbor who doesn't even know what Disk First
> Aid is, let alone how to use it?!

Naturally, they'll call tech support, who should be able to assist -- if they
don't mind it much when they hear the recording that says, "the average wait
time on hold is 42 minutes..."
>
> -> And this is the very market -- The unsophisticated user -- that Apple is
> aiming for with those Jeff Goldblum ads...

Not to mention HAL.
>
> And let's not forget Apple's poor quality "Dial-A-Prayer" support... So
> bad (and expensive) that Apple was "spanked" by the FTC (Federal Trade
> Commission) because of it. And tech support is needed the most when things
> go haywire.

No question. Apple HAD the best consumer tech support. They dumped it to lower
their costs. They could have had a simple option at purchase with a priority
800#. They still could. Muzak on hold sucks.
>
> Just my 2 cents...
> Dan

* Windows-MacOS Cooperation List *
* FAQ: <http://www.darryl.com/winmacfaq/> *
* Archives: <http://www.darryl.com/winmac/> *
* Subscribe: <mailto:winmac-on@xerxes.frit.utexas.edu> *
* Subscribe Digest: <mailto:winmac-digest@xerxes.frit.utexas.edu> *
* Unsubscribe: <mailto:winmac-off@xerxes.frit.utexas.edu> *

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Tue Feb 09 1999 - 09:14:36 PST