Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!haven!adm!smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Some observations
Message-ID: <14290@smoke.brl.mil>
Date: 31 Oct 90 23:53:37 GMT
References: <139800045@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> <8353@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Organization: U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, APG, MD.
Lines: 27

In article <8353@darkstar.ucsc.edu> unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) writes:
>	Ugg? A BETTER VIDEO CARD? That would bring us in the realm of the
>IBMs and Macs! I'm serious... that's one of my biggest complaints about
>the IBM world [along with function keys, the work of the devil]... When you
>have multiple video standards, you have to have software rewritten for 
>different versions.
>	With the lack of software for the II and/or GS nowadays, we certainly
>don't need MULTIPLE standards!

If, for example, a 640x400 mode acts like a 640x200 mode until the program
does something special to enable the higher resolution (UHR?), then all GS
software can contniue to be used with no problem, and very likely only
minor changes would be needed to adapt well-written applications so that
they would detect the larger available size for GrafPorts and exploit it.

Note that there is already a 640x400 video overlay card available for the
Apple II and IIGS.  While it isn't quite what is wanted for an enhanced GS,
it is quite useful.  At the A2Central Apple II Developer's Conference
(a.k.a. KansasFest), some commercial educational software was demoed that
really made nice use of the VOC; also, an experiment to try to use the
VOC's 640x400 mode for the IIGS Finder was exhibited (not fully bug-free).

Since 640x400 is approximately the resolution of NTSC (broadcast TV), it is
an important resolution to strive for in home computers.  Relatively few
people yet demand 1280x1024x24 resolution such as is found on top-end
interactive graphic workstations.  (We have those here, and the improved
resolution really is nice.)