Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!murdu!ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au!u3364521
From: U3364521@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Lou Cavallo)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: SoftPC for the Amiga 3000
Message-ID: <1018@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au>
Date: 7 Sep 90 11:42:40 GMT
References: <2178@bambam.UUCP> <117@faatcrl.UUCP> <382@cbmger.UUCP> <124@faatcrl.UUCP> <388@cbmger.UUCP>
Distribution: comp
Organization: I.A.E.S.R., Melbourne University
Lines: 57

G'day,

In article <388@cbmger.UUCP>, peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) writes:
> In article <124@faatcrl.UUCP> jimb@faatcrl.UUCP (Jim Burwell) writes:
>>
>>>I think you miss one BIG advantage of the bridgeboards, where NO
>>>Mac or Sun can compete: YOU HAVE PC SLOTS!
>>
>>Hmm.  Can cards plugged into the AT slots on the A2000 and A3000 be
>>accessed by the 680x0 ?  Or is it on a totally separate bus ?  If they're
>>accessible by the Amiga side, isn't there a way that SoftPC could make use 
>>of the cards ?  I was never sure of this...
> 
  [..deleted..]
> 
> If you don't have a bridgeboard, the busses are completely separated,
> you have ONLY power supply on the PC/AT slots. But as far as I know
> there may exist one (some?) Amiga card(s) that connects the Amiga bus
> with the PC bus and makes the latter accessible for I/O. But don't
> know any details or producers, sorry. But I'm sure these I/O addresses

I don't have the full details either but some company produces a system with
a name like "AX-S" which I think allows I/O control of IBM PC boards plugged
into the AMiga AT style slots.

I believe Dave Haynie responded to a discussion in comp.sys.amiga.hardware on
this type of topic. Perhaps you could summarise here a little Dave?

> are in the end different from their situation in a PC, so access by
> SoftPC wpuld be at least questionable.

Is it possible at all I wonder. If so it could be quite popular with a certain
subset of Amiga users that would like access to IBM expansion products.

This seems to a popular (recurring) question.

I wonder if being able to use IBM expansion products without a full h/w emula-
tion would somehow create the notion of IBM h/w compatibility ...

i.e. could you imagine the selling point you could use

     yes, you can sell your 386 clone
     yes, you can then buy our Amiga 3000
     yes, you can still keep your VGA cards, HD controllers, sound boards...

     :-)

My gut feeling tells me I'm either dreaming of a product/s that already does/do
exist, or, the software can't/won't/hasn't been written for it/them yet.

Yeah, I know, that's why the h/w emulator exists ... because s/w already exists.

> Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel  // E-Mail to   \\ Only my personal opinions...
> Commodore Frankfurt, Germany  \X/ {uunet!pyramid!rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk

yours truly,
Lou Cavallo.