Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!pacbell.com!att!linac!mp.cs.niu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!stuckey From: stuckey@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Anthony J. Stuckey) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Apple II Forever! Message-ID: <1991Apr14.175233.8867@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Date: 14 Apr 91 17:52:33 GMT References: <9104141554.AA15358@apple.com> Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 30 MQUINN@UTCVM.BITNET writes: >On Sat, 13 Apr 91 16:30:00 CST said: >> >> Hey! What about my GS with the ensonic processor??? Thats a co- >>processor, and we've had that since what, 1986? And about that comment about >>Apple being hardware stingy, read my upcoming mac of the month article... >Is a co-processor a co-processor if it steals cycles from the main CPU? >I'm not insinuating (?SP?) that it's not,... I really don't know. Does >anyone else? ////// I would assume so, as a floating point coprocessor in many cases will make the cpu wait until it is done... Apple is amazingly stingy with hardware. if they weren't, they would coprocess both video and sound, put DMA on the motherboard (not on a card!) and/or use dual-ported VRAMS to make the screen video. they might as well put in higher clocks, although they have almost always been generous with RAM. Let's face it, DMA might have been an innovation when IBM put it into the PC's in 1983, but this is 1991. And yet the only native DMA machine Apple makes is the Mac II fx. thye didn't even put it into the LC, SI, or classic, for (insert deity here)'s sake. {flame off} -- Anthony J. Stuckey stuckey@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu