Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!xanth!mcnc!rlsmith From: rlsmith@mcnc.org (Robert L. Smith) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: Amiga 4000 Message-ID: <2386@speedy.mcnc.org> Date: 30 Jun 90 15:28:58 GMT Reply-To: rlsmith@mcnc.org (Robert L. Smith) Distribution: na Organization: MCNC; RTP, NC Lines: 22 What all Amigas need is to be acceptable to general business use. I have banker friends who absolutely refuse to buy a computer that omits parity on DRAM; no Mac and no Amiga for them! And bankers are not alone. I don't know what the sales improvement would be with parity, but the Amiga multitasking and (slight) graphics advantages over IBM and its clones would weigh into that market if RAM parity was available. The other major improvement that all Amigas need is a hardware change enabling use of the principal 68K-family program debugging tool. I'm speaking of Bus Error, returned for an unrecognized value on the Address Bus. A single-shot plus a trifle of logic would implement that, especially if DTACK were properly left to each peripheral. When Commodore wants to get serious, it should seriously consider these fundamentals. (Let me hasten to add that while I've studied the 1000 closely, I'm ignorant of detail on the 500, 2000 and up. If Commodore has implemented either of the above on any of those, I apologize and offer congratulations.) Regards, rLs