Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!jarthur!nntp-server.caltech.edu!tybalt.caltech.edu!toddpw From: toddpw@tybalt.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: GS novice questions... Message-ID: <1990Jul11.193207.25456@laguna.ccsf.caltech.edu> Date: 11 Jul 90 19:32:07 GMT References: Sender: news@laguna.ccsf.caltech.edu Distribution: comp Organization: California Institute of Technology Lines: 58 legler@masig2.masig1.ocean.fsu.edu (David M. Legler) writes: >I have the use of a ROM03 GS for a 2 month period. It is stock with >no cards, 1-3.5" drive and 2-5.25" drives. I have System 5.0.2, but >have no manuals. I have many years experience with Apple IIe's and >Mac's but have a few questions about the GS. >1) How much memory does this machine have, and is the memory capacity >the problem when I try to run such things as Photonix, or Nucleus. I >am getting insufficient memory error messages when I boot these >disks... The ROM 3 has 1 megabyte (1.25 actually) built into it. Nucleus and Photonix as originally written didn't work on the ROM 3 because the FTA made a few assumptions which only worked on the ROM 1. There is a ROM 3 compatible version of Nucleus that just got posted to APPLE2-L, it probably went through comp.binaries.apple2 also, so let me know if you can't find it and I'll mail it to you. As of yet I am not aware of a ROM 03 compatible Photonix but I bet the FTA is working on it (Apple II DTS as Apple chipped in and sent the FTA a ROM 3). Unfortunately, the incompatibility seems to have something to do with the wicked fast disk routines the FTA used; I personally think that all they need to do is figure out how Apple's new 3.5 driver works, because it is as fast as Photonix when it does a long contiguous read, and works on both ROM's. >2) I have a stripped-down boot disk(removed DA's, Fonts,and P8), but >still need to make it smaller. Can someone tell me how I can make a >startup disk that will boot up with a default program without starting >the Finder ? (ala a .SYSTEM file on the IIe) ? The file START in the system folder is the Finder. I know you can replace the START file with a GS/OS application and it will work; I believe removing START and putting a GS/OS app ending in .SYS16 will also work but I'm not positive. (Did I forget something? Somebody correct me.) Make a copy first, just in case. >3) I am impressed with the speed of the GS desktop environment. It >seems to be faster than a stock MacII, but still wish I had a second >3.5 disk drive (or a hard disk) so I wouldn't have to keep >disk-swapping! About the speed: the GS is moving a lot less data around than the Mac II is (smaller screen, less colors), about 32K of screen memory whereas a Mac II in 256 color mode uses 307K of screen memory, about 9.6 times more than the GS. We also know that that the GS graphics tools are still in the process of being optimized, the CPU can be accelerated 2x & up for about $300, the motherboard could be redesigned to allow at least 2x faster peak access to the video (this would speed up scrolling and deskpicture drawing a lot), etc. etc. I'm glad you're impressed with what we have now. I do agree about the 3.5, though; Apple really needs to realize that their products are slowly taking the GS in the right direction but that their positioning of the machine needs to be revised in a major way. A pair of 5.25's is useful only to educators, really; the rest of us (including teachers who want to buy a machine for themselves) really need two 3.5's or a hard drive. Todd Whitesel toddpw @ tybalt.caltech.edu