Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!pacbell.com!att!cbnewsh!cbnewsu!cbnewse!cbnewsd!knudsen
From: knudsen@cbnewsd.att.com (michael.j.knudsen)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os9
Subject: Re: New Signetics 68070 machines
Summary: answers
Message-ID: <1990Nov2.233426.9040@cbnewsd.att.com>
Date: 2 Nov 90 23:34:26 GMT
References: <488@pdxgate.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 58

In article <488@pdxgate.UUCP>, griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Michael Griffith) writes:

> Someone mentioned earlier that one of the new Signetics 68070 machines (the
> MM/1 I believe?) was something like $800 for the base system and around $1200
> for extras. What did these extras include?

Prices are $780 and $1125, so you were close :-)
The extras include parallel ports, 3 more serial ports (one easily set up
for MIDI), DMA stereo sound play and record, realtime clock,
and most important, a SCSI Bus controller for hard drives, etc.
Also analog joystick port.  I may have forgot a few things.
And your RAM upgrade SIMMs have to go on this board too.
Use standard Mac or PC SIMMs.

> What are the chances of being able
> to upgrade to a faster chip on some sort of a CPU card? Did all of the machines
> mentioned include MMU features?

Faster CPU cards and Bus are planned, if enough machines get sold.
Currently no MMU used, since this is Level One OS9, but the 68070
does contain its own MMU that could be brought into action by a later
release of an OS.  No plans that I know of.

> Also, is there a version of Unix available for
> OS9 or plans to create one? It seems that with an MMU this would be a distinct
> possibility, making it one of the cheapest personal Unix boxes available. I

You mean Un*x for the MM/1 hardware, not as a task under OS9 :-)
If the box sells, someone may decide to do a port, using the MMU.

> I want to do some work with OS development, and this sounds like an ideal box for
> someone interested in hacking around at a low level inexpensively. Also, does

Absolutely right!  We OS9ers love to hack with the software, and OS9
is deliberately designed to be twiddled with (all modular, with replaceable
device drivers and such).
Keep in mind that C applications written for OS9 can be ported to UN*X
with almost ZERO extra work.  The OS9 C Library is VERY UN*X compatible.

> the system (or systems) come bundled with a C compiler? An assembler? Will full
> hardware documentation be readily available? Do I need an established record to
> enter in as a developer? If anyone reading this has the answers to any of the
YES -- the $780 gets you the complete Microware 68000 C compiler,
assembler, UEmacs editor, Make, etc.
Hardware docs may take a while to get out -- but under OS9 we prefer to
do dirty work with system calls whenever possible, and diddle directly
with hardware registers only as a last resort (this ain't MS-DOG!).

If you call up Paul Ward at IMS with some definite plans to do a 
particular program, and talk like you have some C experience,
you can certainly be a developer.  That just means you get your machine
a little early, since *everyone* gets the development software above.

> | Michael Griffith 
-- 

"Round and round the while() loop goes;
        Whether it stops," Turing says, "no one knows."