Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!pacbell.com!pacbell!everexn!palace!dmt
From: dmt@palace.uucp (Darryl Trujillo)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: 8-24GC and System 7.0
Message-ID: <1991Jun5.174223.4786@palace.uucp>
Date: 5 Jun 91 17:42:23 GMT
References: <1991May22.153034.1227@bwdls61.bnr.ca> <1991May23.004756.15977@terminator.cc.umich.edu> <17@fleet.UUCP>
Organization: Piner Palace
Lines: 27

mel@fleet.UUCP (mel) writes:

>According to a message I read on Applelink the 8-24GC Software drivers
>won't be available to work under 7.0 in accelerated mode until the
>FALL quarter. 

>I can't believe they're going to need 4-5 months to write a 7.0 compatable 
>driver for their premier video card.  How can Apple expect people to buy
>their high end products if they are going to treat this class of users
>as "step-children"?  Haven't they had betas of 7.0 in-house for about 6 months
>prior to shipping 7.0 release?  Couldn't they have at least to begun the
>writting of this driver using these betas just like they expected developers
>to do when 7.0b4 was sent out on CD ROM several months ago?  On top of this
>the current driver has several bugs that they have yet to correct under
>System 6.0.  Can Apple really be considered serious about this product??

I think the main problem here is that the INIT is not really a driver
but a rewrite of quickdraw.  From how I understood it, aside from caching
GWorlds and other information, the processor on the GC executes Quickdraw
primitives in parallel witht he CPU.  Do make this work they basically
re-wrote quickdraw in C, then compiled it for the on-board processor.
The INIT downloads this code onto the board.  This is a non-trivial
task;  much more difficult then messing with driver code.
-- 
palace!dmt@everexn.com            "Don't lend your hand to raise no
Piner Palace                       flag atop no ship of fools." 
Sonoma County, Ca.