Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!ogicse!usenet!prism.CS.ORST.EDU!curfmanm
From: curfmanm@prism.CS.ORST.EDU (Matthew Curfman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Mac LC VRAM
Message-ID: <1991Feb07.235919.24723@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU>
Date: 7 Feb 91 23:59:19 GMT
Sender: @lynx.CS.ORST.EDU
Reply-To: curfmanm@prism.CS.ORST.EDU (Matthew Curfman)
Organization: Oregon State Univ. -- Computer Science
Lines: 20
Nntp-Posting-Host: prism.cs.orst.edu

David Whitney writes:

| Ah, the 15-bit color claim is wrong. It's 16-bit. With the appropriate
| VRAM expansion. Which is high priced. That gives you 65536 colors on
| screen at once no tricks or stunts - not 4k. 

The Mac LC, when installed with the additional VRAM, does in fact have
only 15-bit color, with the remaining bit used as a misc. alpha channel. This
was confirmed by a call to an Apple Employee friend of mine here in Portland.

The educational discount here at OSU for the VRAM is $149.00, which I personaly
wouldn't consider that expensive.

15 bits will allow the LC to produce 32,768 colors at a time.  Why they didn't
use the 16th bit as a color bit, I don't know. What use is a one bit alpha
channel for anything other than some kind of overlay hardware? 
_______________________________________________________________________________
Matt Curfman                                                  Technovelty. Inc.
curfmanm@prism.cs.orst.edu                              Oregon State University
     OSU says what it says. I say what I say. We don't say the same thing.