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From: bammi@cwruecmp.UUCP (Jwahar R. Bammi)
Newsgroups: net.micro.atari
Subject: Re: ST Questions
Message-ID: <1348@cwruecmp.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Dec-85 14:04:52 EST
Article-I.D.: cwruecmp.1348
Posted: Fri Dec 13 14:04:52 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Dec-85 03:43:09 EST
References: <2000002@orstcs.UUCP>
Organization: CWRU Dept. Computer Eng., Cleveland, OH
Lines: 39

> Quick Question:
> 
> Does the Atari 520ST have video display circuitry or is the 68000 bogged down
> hopelessly like the Macintosh?  I have this friend that keeps bugging me, say
> that the cpu will be operating at only one third of its full capability,
> because of the need for video refresh, etc.  Hearing "Its processor is as slow
> as a Mac" is making me get homicidal <heavy breathing, flared nostrils,
> clenched fists!> :^)

It does have hardware to support graphics. The 68000 is certainly not
bogged down. The Nov. 85 Byte article comparing C compilers for the
Mac. had some benchmarks. The ST (using AClyon C compiler) ran these
benchmarks at 2 to 3 times the speed of the best figures published
there. The sizes were in the same league. So now you can make your
friend eat his words :-)
> 
> And a few more questions:
> 
> Does TOS (or whatever the OS is called) support the same, standard prompt-based,
> line-oriented interaction as do UNIX and MS-DOS and CPM?  Or am I going to be
> forced to use the GEM metaphor (ugh!).  I much prefer sitting there looking at
> a prompt and seeing the screen scroll for most of my work.

Tos itself does not have a command processor. There are three that i
have used.
	- Micro C Shell: extermely nice. Much like the one i am using
now. 
	- command.prg : comes with the development system. Msdos
like.
	- Hos: comes with Habba C. Unix like, not quite as nice as
Micro C Shell.


-- 
					Jwahar R. Bammi
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