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From: torrie@cs.stanford.edu (Evan Torrie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: Innovation (was Re: Mac and Amiga (Games--Macintosh vs A500))
Message-ID: <1991Mar16.011240.12013@neon.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 16 Mar 91 01:12:40 GMT
References: <1991Mar13.221028.8703@neon.Stanford.EDU> <19880@cbmvax.commodore.com> <1991Mar15.092133.16140@neon.Stanford.EDU> <1991Mar15.094649.23634@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: torrie@neon.Stanford.EDU (Evan James Torrie)
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Ca , USA
Lines: 46

cs326ag@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Loren J. Rittle) writes:

>In article <1991Mar15.092133.16140@neon.Stanford.EDU> torrie@cs.stanford.edu (Evan Torrie) writes:
>>Apple decided to go the
>>open route for a change, and then nobody followed them :-( (except for
>>some of those TI machines)

>But, Apple took a proprietary track with their bus!  They use a non-standard
>form factor, thus ruling out any sort of openness normally implied
>by using a `standard'.  

  Apple had a fairly good reason for doing this though - namely the
original NuBus form factor would have just about precluded building a
conventional "desktop" system.  A form factor designed for rack
mounted systems isn't really appropriate for your average pizza box
workstation.  If the Gang of Nine group had gone NuBus, they would
have probably been forced to adopt the smaller form factor.
  Incidentally, the Apple form factor was later adopted by the NuBus
committee as an acceptable alternative for microcomputers.

>I believe NeXT uses the standard form factor with their
>implementation.

 Hasn't NeXT hacked and modified their NuBus in various other ways 
though?  I recall the original Byte preview was careful not to call
NeXT's slots "standard" Nubus slots.

>I will say this, without Apple's backing,
>SCSI would not be where it is today.  For this, I am quite happy.
>A lot of those PC type interfaces suck dead b...

  You can say that again.










-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evan Torrie.  Stanford University, Class of 199?       torrie@cs.stanford.edu   
Today's maxim:  All socialists are failed capitalists