Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!LSUVM.BITNET!$CSD211 From: $CSD211@LSUVM.BITNET (Mark Orr) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Building a NEW computer Message-ID: <9012041649.AA27472@apple.com> Date: 4 Dec 90 16:31:39 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 59 |weird@netcom.UUCP (Richard Ney) writes: |> |>Factually, there is NOTHING that any other personal computing system can do, |>including Macintosh and MS-DOS based systems, that an Apple ][ cannot do. |> | |This ain't so. Even if you look only at the processors, the 680x0 and 80x86 |processors of the Macs and PC's have capabilities that the 6502 (and 65816) |simply lacks. This isn't bashing; this isn't flaming; this is simple fact. Yeah...Like I said, What other personal computer in '90 uses a processor without multiply or divide instructions. Sure you can routines to do that, but that wastes memory and time. |Then there's graphics capabilities, memory capacity, disk capacity, etc. |Sure, almost anything is POSSIBLE with an Apple ][, but many things are |just not PRACTICAL. Running an OS with isolated 32-bit memory spaces for |each process, for example, is IMPOSSIBLE, because the processor has no |support for that. Running a serious CAD or number-crunching program is |POSSIBLE, but definitely not PRACTICAL. Just like people were talking about Mathematica, Stellar-7, etc. Sure the new Stellar-7 could be ported to the GS...but it wouldn't be as good as the PC version. Someone stated "a good assembly language programmer could probably make a version even faster than a '286." Why should we force software companies to use our assembly language. Mathematica wasn't done in assembly language, and it's extremely inconvenient for software companies to revert to low level languages and make machine-specific versions - that just isn't practical anymore. This is the reason that Sierra uses SCI (their own interpreter), even though Stellar-7 dosen't use it. They can make a program that can be used on all machines. You can bet that they aren't hacking out programs on PC's, Macs Amigas, GSs or Atari STs. Besides, Sierra said that if accelerators like the Transwarp (or ZipGSX) became popular enough, they'd complete SCI. But for now the GS is too slow to run it. (Remember, any programs they made would have to be compatible with both ROM01, and ROM03. No sense making two versions of SCI.) |And please, don't start flaming me with statements like, "Ah, but with |BlowoutBrickWall Technologies' plug-in 75MHz RISC processor card, my |IIgs can outrun a Cray!". The comments I made above are all about systems |running in their respective native modes. Yeah, that BlowoutBrickWall card will do it every time. ;-) There just no substitute for hardware. |+-------------------+----------------------+---------------------------------+ || JERRY J. SHEKHEL | POLYGEN CORPORATION | When I was young, I had to walk | || Drummers do it... | Waltham, MA USA | to school and back every day -- | || ... In rhythm! | (617) 890-2175 | 20 miles, uphill both ways. | |+-------------------+----------------------+---------------------------------+ || ...! [ princeton mit-eddie bu sunne ] !polygen!jerry | || jerry@polygen.com | |+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ---------------------------------- | MARK A. ORR | | $CSD211 @ LSUVM.SNCC.LSU.EDU | | @ LSUVM.BITNET | ----------------------------------