[geeks] OSX is going to ruin my life

[Eric Dittman]

> > The Mac IIfx was what killed Apple for me.  The platform was
> > nice, but Apple lied about the SCSI in the IIfx being the
> > fastest available.  The IIci SCSI was much faster.  They also
> 
> I disagree, the IIfx SCSI is faster.  If you like, I'll benchmark both of
> them.

All the publications that benchmarked it showed the IIci (or
was it the IIsi?) was faster.  If you've got them both setup,
I'd be interested in seeing this.

> > never properly supported the serial ports, and the RAM used
> 
> This I agree with.  Since they had 6502's controlling the serial ports,
> the IIFx could've been been so much more.  Not to mention the improved
> ADB.

I really missed the ability to use GPi for CD for dialin with
A/UX.  The engineers wanted to support it, but management told
them no, since not all Macs had GPi.  The bad thing was, *ALL*
Macs that could run A/UX did have GPi.  There was no way someone
could run A/UX on a Mac 128K.

> > in the IIfx was supposed to be the RAM used in the follow-ons,
> > but Apple instead changed.  They also promised the follow-on
> > would be a IIfx-style chassis so the IIfx would be upgradeable
> > to the newer systems.  Instead, Apple went completely different,
> > making the IIfx an evolutionary dead-end and waste of money.
> 
> I wouldn't go that far.  I've got one running now that is great w/7.5.5
> and a 500M SCSI drive.

I'd say both an evolutionary dead-end and waste of money in terms of
being able to carry the investment forward, since the memory couldn't
be used in later Macs, and the promised logic board upgrade never
appeared.

> One of the differences you might see is if the IIfx had a 5.25" SCSI drive
> in it while the IIci had a 3.5" - the 3.5" drives had faster access.

I had a 5.25" SCSI internally, and a couple of 3.5" drives
externally.

Which brings up another oddity of the IIfx:  The internal SCSI
filter and the special external SCSI terminator.
-- 
Eric Dittman
dittman at dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/