Date   : Sat, 02 Jun 1984 00:09:00-EDT
From   : ABN.ISCAMS@Usc-Isid.ARPA
Subject: Re: Wnat is a good CP/M computer to buy?

John,

One of the systems you mentioned considering was the Morrow Decision.  Do you
mean the big Decision I (S100 buss Z80 model) or the MicroDecision with the
single motherboard?

I've owned the Decision I for 1 1/2 years now (but not with additional
memory - mine's the single-user 64KB version), and can give you feedback on
what it's like to live with the Toad (as I fondly call it).  I have the
model with a nice fast 5 Megger Winchester and 8" floppy disk drive.
Have NOT, repeat, NOT gotten the necessary fixes from my Morrow vendor (they
said only a new EPROM was needed) to replace the supplied North Star hard
sector 5 1/4" floppy drivers/controller with soft-sector - so still dead in
the water there.  Have NOT, rpt, NOT gotten any guarantees from anyone that
I can easily add more memory.  Documentation SAYS the Toad can switch back
and forth, but no one's guaranteed it yet!  So donno if you can pack in a
nice banked memory.

Have NOT tried a RAM Disk yet, though recent articles (especially one in
Dr. Dobbs latest) seem encouraging that it'll be a drop-in fit.

Hope this is useful.  Get back to me if in fact you mean the Decision I,
and I can say more.

Personally, if I were buying today and wanted power, flexibility, upgrade,
"kind-of" IBM PC family compatibility/similarity, plus access to all the
wonders of CP/M Public Domain, etc. -- I'd buy the Zenith Z100/120/etc
family - maybe the nice one with the 10 Meg hard disk.  If you're a Govt
employee, Government Employees Association (GEA) has such a deal!
And the software costs (Condor, Lotus 123, etc.) are very cheap.  And the
documentation is great!

Plus - who can argue with $20,000,000 worth of systems in the Navy/USAF
plus other colleges pumping out Public Domain goodies?

Regards,
David Kirschbaum
Toad Hall
(ABN.ISCAMS@USC-ISID)