Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!imagen!atari!kbad
From: kbad@atari.UUCP (Ken Badertscher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Duesseldorf: personal impression of the TT(T)
Message-ID: <1662@atari.UUCP>
Date: 28 Aug 89 17:18:43 GMT
References: <8908251936.AA19454@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 59

V61@DHDURZ1.BITNET (Ronald Lamprecht) writes:

| Just returned from the Atari fair at Duesseldorf. Several working TTs that have
| been definitly faster than a ST (Atari says by a factor of 4):

Atari GERMANY says by a factor of 4.  They misinterpreted the
announcement flyer which we sent them (and which I helped edit).  The
fact is that the _raw memory bandwidth_ for _dual purpose RAM_ is 4
times greater on the TT.  Actual program execution can be TEN TIMES
faster (MUCH more for FP intensive programs, with a math coprocessor and
software that supports it).  Also, an option for RAM which is not shared
by video will be available, so you can expect even faster program
execution from that memory.

| - tiny ugly box

Well, that's been a point of some contention here at Sunnyvale, too ;-)
Some people don't like the new look.  I find it very attractive.

| (They said it wouldn't be sold without the Harddisk or the color monitor --
|  no chance for a cheap upgrade)

If Atari Germany is doing that, I agree, they're being silly.  I have heard
that we will, in fact, be selling "base model" TTs with no monitor or HD.

| Seeing this I called it a TTT --- namely a Tic Tac Toe machine: You will never
| loose something with respect to the old ST, but you have no chance to win
| a jackpot with it.

Never win WRT the ST???  Yeah, well, my ST has been getting a lot less
use since I got the prototype TT in my office.  It's MUCH faster (and
the 640x480 resolution is much nicer looking, too).  I understand that
they were showing Calamus at Dusseldorf, and that it was turning quite
a few heads with the speed.

| Actually I would call it a wastage of highly sophisticated microprocessors
| the way an 68030 is slowed down to 2MHz Busfrequency.

Whaaaa???  That statement doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

| A (A24,D16) VME slot
| that would have been something useful for the ST, but an 68030 should be
| worth an full 32bit VME slot !

Yes, and you'd have to pay for it, too.  Atari is not abandoning
"Power without the Price."  I'm sure that more souped-up TT versions
will be available which will accept full size VME cards.  But that
capability doesn't come cheap (or in as small a footprint as the 
TTs shown in Dusseldorf).

| Sorry if my impression of the TT is quite negative, but I'm disappointed
| because I thought it could be my next machine.

I think you'd feel much different if you had a chance to test drive a TT.
They really are quite nice (and I only have a prototype!).
-- 
   |||   Ken Badertscher  (ames!atari!kbad)
   |||   Atari R&D System Software Engine
  / | \  #include <disclaimer>