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From: jerry@polygen.uucp (Jerry Shekhel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: (Video) Hardware Idiots ?
Message-ID: <1137@stewart.UUCP>
Date: 17 Jun 91 14:29:33 GMT
References: <1991Jun10.103543.22097@news.iastate.edu> <1991Jun10.135715.23727@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <1131@stewart.UUCP> <1991Jun15.032812.15122@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>
Reply-To: jerry@stewart.UUCP (Jerry Shekhel)
Organization: Polygen Corporation, Waltham, MA
Lines: 62

rjc@wookumz.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell) writes:
>
>You can't animate super-VGA like you can on the Amiga. I just love
>how people support they're arguements in .advocacy with subtle
>misinformation. $300 is the list price of the A2320 flickerfixer,
>$175 is the street-price of VGA cards. Compare the real prices.
>The A2320 can be purchased for around $220 now.
>

Actually, the SuperVGA cards I mentioned, the ones with 1MB RAM, are
very quick, since they have a 32-bit internal memory path.  VGA also 
has hardware smooth scrolling (take a look at the game Night Shift on
a VGA system).  These things can be had now for less than $150.  For the
$220 you quoted, it's possible to get an extended SuperVGA that'll display
hi-res graphics in a 15-bit direct color mode, with 32,768 colors without
any restrictions.

>
>What you don't understand is the difference of building off
>an existing design (the custom chips) and starting from scratch.
>The Amiga motherboard (chip bus) isn't fast enough for 1024x768x8
>and a plug in replacement isn't going to fix that. Starting from
>scratch will be expensive, take long, and be risky. What about those
>millions of A500 users out there, are they all willing to send in their
>computers for a motherboard swap or a $200 installation for a daughterboard?
>

So what are you trying to say here?  Could it be, maybe, what I've been
trying to say (that the original design is inadequate, unexpandable, etc)?
Actually, to be fair, I think we're not comparing equivalent things.  The
Amiga chipset was obviously designed for fast animation and is inadequate
for a GUI.  High-color SuperVGA is great for a GUI, but inadequate for
real-time animation.  It all depends on what you need.  What gets me is when
people start posting senseless claims about the superiority  of one over the
other.

>
>Windows _IS_ a kludge solution. The problem should be fixed at the
>source, a totally new operating system for PC's that replaces
>BIOS. Unfortunately, this kills backwards compatibility just like
>replacing the Amiga's chip set with a totally new one.
>

Let's not forget that Windows is still in development.  Planned improvements
include pre-emptive multitasking, multithreaded applications, complete
memory protection, and less use of the BIOS and DOS.  It seems that
Microsoft is slowly turning Windows into a standalone OS after all.

>
>/ INET:rjc@gnu.ai.mit.edu     *   // The opinions expressed here do not      \
>| INET:r_cromwe@upr2.clu.net  | \X/  in any way reflect the views of my self.|
>\ UUCP:uunet!tnc!m0023        *                                              /
>
--
+-------------------+----------------------+---------------------------------+
| JERRY J. SHEKHEL  | POLYGEN CORPORATION  | When I was young, I had to walk |
| Drummers do it... | Waltham, MA USA      | to school and back every day -- |
|    ... In rhythm! | (617) 890-2175       | 20 miles, uphill both ways.     |
+-------------------+----------------------+---------------------------------+
|           ...! [ princeton mit-eddie bu sunne ] !polygen!jerry             |
|                            jerry@polygen.com                               |
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