Is the 3b2 dead?

[20 James D. Corder]

In article <23609 at adm.BRL.MIL> abc at adm.BRL.MIL (Brinton Cooper) writes:
>The disturbing thing about this discussion is that nearly all of the
>responses are from AT&T.  Do they own this newsgroup?  Are  all AT&T 
>computer owners completely dependent upon the company for all hardware
>and software support? 
>
>There are many of these low-end machines (300/310, e.g.) lying around
>universities  that cannot afford to replace themwith 386 machines.  Is
>there NO third party hardware or software for this stuff?  Are there no
>hackers, in the finest sense of the term, who write improved software
>for these machines?  
>
>Folks who own IBM PC-class hardware certainly don't wait around for Big
>Blue to write the next $49 program and sell it for $1500.  They don't
>wait for the Company to produce a $75 peripheral with a $995 price tag.
>Why do AT&T maching owners?  
>
>The 3B2/300 and 310 may be slow machines and far behind the state of the
>art.  But they're good computers; with a decent C compiler even the
>bottom of the line 300 could do some scientific work.  Turbo C for PCs
>has sold for under $99 on occasion.  Why don't we create a demand for
>such a product on our machines?  Of whom are we afraid?
>
>B
>
>-- 
>_Brinton Cooper		BRL - Where "Research" is our Middle Name.

	I agree with what Brinton said.  As I stated earlyer, I love
my 3B2/300!!!  I too wish that I could find inexpensive software
for the 3B2 line of products.  As for people writting software for the
3B2, I bet that there are many programers out there that do.  But, that
no software companies will publish it.  Oh sure, large accounting packages
or data bases that are already working on another system.  However since
the 300/310/ and soon the 400 are old and not to be sold anymore, I ass/u/me
most of us have our MAJOR software for the system.  We purchased it when
we got our machines.  Therefore, most of us want the neet little programs
to add to our machines:  utilities...

	I agree that many scools have 3B2s.  However, I think that most
are sitting in some storage room.  I went to a Major university about a
month ago to help them set up there SUN network.  In one closet there was
4 3B2/300 and 2 3B2/310 stacked on the floor unpluged, unused:-(  Since
most systems donated to universities where 1meg ram and 30 meg disk they
are all but useless.  I know that I have a 2meg/80meg system and I have
many problems with disk space and speed.  The 3B2/300 system is my personal
machine.  However I have access to a 47mip Amdhal{sp} with gigs of disk space.
So most of my development is on it.  Then my 3B2 has SYSV2.x and the software
that I write on the Amdhal does not port very easy

	As for most people that respond being from AT&T:  I think that most
low end 3B2s where sold to companies wanting turn key point of sales or
accounting software.  Therefore, they would not be on the net.

Just my $.02
James D. Corder
...osu-cis!alix!jdc
...att!osu-cis!alix!jdc
alix!jdc at cis.ohio-state.edu