Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!usc!cs.utexas.edu!evax!hill From: hill@evax.arl.utexas.edu (Col. Ames and Pixel) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Cheesy Amiga Video Message-ID: <1990Sep7.193057.24566@evax.arl.utexas.edu> Date: 7 Sep 90 19:30:57 GMT References: <29435@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <939@iceman.jcu.oz> Organization: Computer Science Engineering Univ. of Texas at Arlington Lines: 80 In article <939@iceman.jcu.oz> cpca@iceman.jcu.oz (C Adams) writes: >In article <29435@nigel.ee.udel.edu>, BARRETT@owl.ecil.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett) writes: >> >> IMHO, Commodore will NEVER recover from this rut. It has been >> over four years since the ECS started being developed, and it isn't >> even fully available yet. If the 32-bit chip set takes half as long >> to develop (and I doubt it will) then it will be at least two years >> before we see anything. >> >[ more stuff about Commodore needing good video deleted] >> >> -MB- > >I agree with Marc completely. I have just read an article about the new >Amiga CD-TV and it too has the exact same video standard as the old Amiga 500 >(if it's lucky it might have ECS which is a very slight improvement...) > >Not only are Commodore way behind on graphics standards (I have read the >latest IBM i486 line will have a new standard better than VGA), but IBM now >have multi-tasking, virtual memory and hardware memory protection with >Windows 3.0. I have seen the a3000 and it's 4 colour workbench pales First off Win 3.0 doesn't do "efficient" MT. I can use a term prg at 9600 bd and have it drop characters. IBM's "true" multitasking solution is OS/2. Presentation Manager under 1.2 (and probably 2.0) will only have 1 PM screen. This is the ONLY screen you can get listboxes, gadgets, etc... But..... OS/2 1.2 IMHO is MUCH easier to program (Ducking for cover) You also need to note that VGA/XGA is STILL graphics. No Blitter No (Smooth) Motion. You can do resonable things with 33MHz i386/i486, but nothing appraoching Blood Money :-) And to get really nifty genlocking or full motion video in a window you will need an IBM Audio Visual Card @ ~2500. But... It is NICE and easy to program the AVC >compared to Windows 256 colours, even though it is a huge improvement. > >With all this stuff about the Amiga being "the machine" for multimedia, I >am wondering why? It's graphics are worse and IBM/Mac have/will have much >more software available for them given the recent crush of multimedia hype. > >2.0 was a chance to change that and put virtual memory/memory protection into >the system. It wouldn't have mattered if some software was broken, at least VM is probably coming along (Oh Valentin....) Memory protection (real time) is nice but a majority of the one I get in OS/2 (Win wont do it except in 386 Enhanced mode) are "16's" which are "pointers doing nasty things outside their space" and they are generally MY programs. More useful might be a version of CPR (now the SAS Debugger) that uses the MMU to do bounds checking, resource tracking etc.... So DEVELOPERS will have NO EXCUSE (or very little) for programs that wont free all resource or trash memory that is not their's. >developers like Lotus/Borland might have considered porting some of their >excellent software to the 3000. As it is, I think the a3000 will probably >be continued to be ignored in mainstream magazines etc. > >And when are we EVER going to see UNIX or the toaster??? If you are a professional you can get the Toaster. It still needs FCC (B??) Classification. As for UNIX go to VPI , I hear some freshman are very happy :-) >(can anyone actually go into a store and buy them???) > >By the way, I program the Amiga because I like it, so I'm not biased >towards IBM or Macs. (In fact I hate Macs) > >************************************************************************** >Colin Adams Life's funny but I don't laugh >************************************************************************** -- adam hill Everybody lies about sex. hill@evax.arl.utexas.edu BOING!4Ever Rub HER feet! It's better to copulate than never AmigaDos2.0 - A VW with $10,000 in options. --Robert A. Heinlein