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From: toddpw@tybalt.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Apple says "Mac will emulate a II"
Keywords: emulation Apple2 Mac
Message-ID: <1990May3.205725.10744@laguna.ccsf.caltech.edu>
Date: 3 May 90 20:57:25 GMT
References: <1990Apr25.130246.26514@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> <1990Apr26.163725.8518@eng.umd.edu> <12290@wpi.wpi.edu>
Sender: news@laguna.ccsf.caltech.edu
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 45

jayg@wpi.wpi.edu (Jay Giurleo) writes:

>	Umm... excuse me for saying so, but how long has the apple II line
>been around?  A VERY long time as compared to just about any other computer
>I know of.  Can you blame Apple for wanting to start moving from an
>archaic platform to something more current?

The GS Operating System is technically more current than the Macintosh.
A MultiFinder GS would be *much* easier to implement (you DON'T want to know
how many bizarre things had to be done to make Multifinder work on the Mac).

GS/OS supports foreign file systems, built in and with less restrictions than
HFS.

The GS toolbox has some very nice features (like TaskMaster, a tool call that
handles a lot of desktop grunge so you don't have to, and the MessageCenter,
a simple interapplication communication method) that the Mac does not have.

The GS (and the 8 bit II's) are made up almost entirely of custom gate arrays,
which if Apple would get around to updating them properly (they can, believe
me!) would cost a lot less than the 680x0 based Macs.

The Apple //'s are NTSC based machines, making them 'naturals' at genlock/
overlay IF THE VOC WASN'T SUCH A BLOODY KLUDGE. You can do a lot of multimedia
stuff on an Amiga much cheaper than on a Mac because the Amiga is also NTSC
based. (Oh woe is me, square pixels go out the window... tough.) Many of the
same things could be done on the Apple II if those in charge of its hardware
development had as much vision as the GS/OS team does.

If Apple ever has the balls to REPLACE THE MEGA // then you will find that
there is a lot of life left in it.

>   By forcing Apple to make such an old machine, with sales going
>down, we might all be the cause of Apple's downfall as a company, which in my
>opinion, makes the best personal computers around. It might be time to move
>on.

You're right! It MIGHT... however, after doing a lot of hardware research (and
a bit of candid interviewing) I have determined that Apple's past management of
the // series is the real culprit.

The Apple // needs a phoenix-like rebirth... and it's more than ready for one.

Todd Whitesel
toddpw @ tybalt.caltech.edu