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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!columbia!caip!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga
Subject: Re: Re: Ultimate Computers
Message-ID: <745@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Sep-86 12:04:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbmvax.745
Posted: Wed Sep 17 12:04:31 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Sep-86 22:26:52 EDT
References: <180@zen.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 52

> Speaking of ultimate computers, the Apple GS now exists; can anyone offer
> a comparison with the A1000?  All I know so far is that the GS is slower
> and II compatible, and gray ("platinum").  Apple II compatibility is like
> making a race-car Volkswagen compatible, but it could help business.  

The GS graphics are closer to the Amiga's than most things around, at least
from the viewpoint of the 4096 colors.  That's 16 simultaneous at 320x200,
4 at 640x200; nothing earthshaking there.  I expected them to have some kind 
of graphics assist, like a blitter, but so far everything I've read describes
the video chip as a "controller", not a "co-processor".  They have some kind
of facility available for changing the color mapping on the fly, the 16
colors are fixed for every horizontal line.  It sounds more like having the
Amiga's copper change the register values after each scan line than our
HAM mode, though its possible they's got a faster way (too early to tell,
I've got a few ideas on that).  The video chip operates only in the 128K of
dedicated video RAM; the PCB also has another 128K available to the 65C816.
This processor is running at 2.8MHz; kind of a cop-out, they're probably 
paying for 4MHz parts, though as of recently real 4MHz parts were kind of
hand-selected from the 2MHz bin.  The 65C816 itself is externally very much
like a 65C02; though is provides an extra 4 bits of address, it still has
an 8 bit only bus.  I'd expect it to run much like an 8088; it has more
addressing modes but fewer instructions.  The 2.8MHz 65C816 runs a bus 
cycle equivalent to a 10.4MHz 8088 or 68008.  It doesn't have any multiply
instructions, and is kind of anit-RISC in that almost every instruction can
access memory; there's 1 general purpose register, 2 index registers, and
a few block segment registers (1 for data, 1 for program).  The GP register
can be set up for either 8 or 16 bit operation; this requires 1 instruction
to switch.  The sound chip is made by Ensoniq, a company started by a bunch
of old CBM folks -- this could be the best feature of the machine; the 
Ensoniq folks make commercial synthesizers for a living.  Can reportedly
do 15 voices, though I've no idea how much uP time is needed to use it
effectively.  Anyway, overall this machine is probably good news for all 
those old Apple ][e enthusiasts.  It could have been competition for the PC 
back in the old days, as I believe overall it'll run faster than a standard 
PC. I doubt it'll look that great next to the 16 bit bus machines, though of 
course recall that unlike much of the current 68000 machine software, much
of that old Apple stuff is written in tight machine code.

By the way, the computer's demo is a rotating picture of the computer
itself.  And guess who's on the screen of the rotating picture -- you've
got it, our old friend Boing!, bouncing up and down (don't know how fast).
Anyone want to write a comeback program?
-- 
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Dave Haynie    {caip,ihnp4,allegra,seismo}!cbmvax!daveh

	"I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and
	 for that very reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment."
							-Gotama Buddha

	These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be yours too.
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