Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!mcnc!ncsuvx!news From: kdarling@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: OS Graphic Card Support: Part II! Message-ID: <1991Feb13.064714.9347@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> Date: 13 Feb 91 06:47:14 GMT References: <28532.27b759c9@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> Sender: news@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu (USENET News System) Organization: NCSU Computing Center Lines: 34 2fmlhiccup@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu asks: > Why isn't the OS being improved to handle higher resolutions/ > more bitplanes, etc?!?! I rather suspect that this is being done. You can see evidence of it in some of the 2.0 defs. The CBM folk don't seem to be dummies... Just overworked :-). > Any comments? Sure. As with any computer, much of the speed of Amiga applications comes from programmers directly diddling the gfx memory. Obviously, either this must stop, or else you'll still need separate versions for each and every new piece of hardware... no matter what CBM does with DIG. For instance, if a new display card used chunky pixels, instead of separate bitplanes, direct diddling methods would differ. People may make fun of the slowness of Atari VDI, NeXT Display Postscript, and other DIG systems, but those guys can improve their hardware over time without losing their apps. On the Amiga, you can probably count the major programs which use only the indirect gfx calls, on one badly mangled hand. Unfortunately, for superfast realtime gfx work, I can't see any way to ask programmers to use only DIG on _any_ machine right now . Still, you might want to push at the app writers, instead of at CBM. OTOH, if you're happy with two monitors (one for "normal" apps, one for new DIG apps on another board), then some of the above doesn't apply. My second comment is this: CBM gains zippo by keeping their current DIG work quiet... with the proliferation of new gfx boards right now, they should release at least some guidelines and ideas. Now, perhaps they have already done this with gfx board developers... we just don't know. But we can hope so! best - kevin