Orionn 10xt inteligent scope?

Is this Orionn stuff okay? The 10xt intelligent scope looks like a great deal - the 8xt even better. The coworker who's house warmer party showed me the planets this weekend (he also informs me is not a member here anymore) said this orionn co is good for first time tellescopes, and he recomended this one in particular, saying it would be similar to his, a 10" Dubson, so this suitable for a nubie? The price looks good, but I won't be buying it right away. My 8yo and 10yo are excited about it now! Anybody in Phoenix using these? I trust my coworker, just want more opinions.

Gerry

There are a lot of great scopes out there that are often made at the same manufacturer. Check out Hardin Optical as well. These Dobsonians have nice optics, decent focusers, and will provide lots of fun.

I haven't used the intelliscope models. Are you interested in having the scope tell you where the objects are or do you want to find them yourself? Given that the "intelliscopes" controllers to make them intelligent aren't included in the price, that feature may be a complete waste of funds.

Matt