Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!psuvax1!news From: melling@cs.psu.edu (Michael D Mellinger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: An interesting idea... Message-ID: <5+aHafz4@cs.psu.edu> Date: 15 May 91 09:12:45 GMT Article-I.D.: cs.5+aHafz4 References: <1991May7.235145.12420@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <1991May12.190016.28094@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <1991May12.201647.29549@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <91134.022556MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> <1991May15.061512.13294@lel Sender: news@cs.psu.edu (Usenet) Organization: Penn State Computer Science Lines: 41 In-Reply-To: bard@jessica.stanford.edu's message of 15 May 91 06: 15:12 GMT Nntp-Posting-Host: sunws5.sys.cs.psu.edu In article <1991May15.061512.13294@leland.Stanford.EDU> bard@jessica.stanford.edu (David Hopper) writes: Mike, I am a NeXT user. I have one in my room, next to (and linked to) my Amiga 500. The NeXT cannot do animation as well as my 500. Period. I have no qualms about its speed. It's just not consistent or smooth. And don't give me any business about BreakApp or BoinkOut. Those are *tiny* objects. Show me a *smooth* 320X200 blit. As of now, I haven't seen *any* NeXT animation examples, within or without NeXT Inc., that have turned any Amiga users' heads. I know that the Amiga 500 can do better animation, I have said that myself in several posts. Why isn't it as good is of great interest to me. One big problem with the NeXT is that the Mach kernal can't be interrupted so you can't guarantee that you animation routines will be acknowledge within a given time period. It has been stated in this group that the 030 moves memory faster than the blitter, so the NeXT should be decent at blasting images to the screen. I don't have problem with the NeXT not being as good at animation, I knew that it wasn't since 1(I do have an A2500 behind me). Many Amiga users seem to think that 20 or 30fps is impossible on the NeXT. I just want to set the record straight. The horsepower is there but other variables come into play. Like interrupting the kernal, drawing in a device independant language,etc. I think that if you sit any Amiga user down in front of a NeXT who isn't doing video or who doesn't want a $3000 Nintendo and he will chose the NeXT. It is the better machine, all things considered. My good friend is a NeXT consultant. He can't come up with anything that shows off the NeXT as a workstation to do animation on. Are those movies in 'Scene' a standard format? Are they? No? Why not? Because they're hardcoded into the application? So as a user, then, *I* can't do animation on the NeXT at all. Hmm... Huh? I thought the movies were postscript. The Fish(best one IMHO) is just a binary postscript file. You should be able to find the files somewhere on the NeXT. Same with the eagle. You can add your own movies if you want. -Mike