Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!ut-sally!husc6!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Some thoughts and questions about the Ranger Message-ID: <1504@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> Date: Fri, 6-Mar-87 05:46:43 EST Article-I.D.: cbmvax.1504 Posted: Fri Mar 6 05:46:43 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 8-Mar-87 06:21:17 EST References: <140@tahoma.UUCP> Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 100 in article <140@tahoma.UUCP>, bakken@tahoma.UUCP (Dave Bakken) says: > 3) Please give us a 19" monitor and at least 700x1000 resolution. I like big monitors, too, and work with them all the time. Its not the size you pay for, though, as much as the resolution. Fer Instance, a 13" RGB monitor like the 1070 might list at $500. You could reasonably expect to find a 20" version at maybe $700-$800, if the vendor decided a large monitor was a good thing. Which in this example, it isn't....Because a 20" monitor at 640x400 isn't very pleasing to the eye. All you're doing is blowing up the size of your pixels. So you move to a higher resolution monitor. And things get real expensive, real fast. Your monitor's logic switches from TTL to ECL. And the poor Amiga, as it exists, is going to have a hard time generating a 1000x800 pixel image with any reasonable number of bit planes, its just not fast enough, even if it kicks the processor off the video bus for awhile. The monitor is expensive, really. The big color monitors we use here for out Apollo Workstations go for something around $4000 a piece, for 1024 x 1024 color. Certainly volume and cost reductions could bring this down, but you'd still pay $1500-$2000 for such a color monitor. That's why no PCs, not even the new Apples (being the newest graphic oriented computers on the block) have a standard resolution of over 640 pixels or so (well, you can get a little over 700 on the Amiga, though most don't use it that way). > 4) Please give us Unix with the Korn shell. And please give us a full Unix, > not selling make or other utilities separately. Sounds like a marketing decision. I don't know if any marketing types read this regularly or not. >5)Given how > quickly the A2000 followed the Sidecar, I think it is not unreasonable to > assume the Ranger announcement will follow fairly quickly after the shipment > of that upgrade. >6)CA seems to doubt whether there is a market for a $2500-$3000 > super-PC. Certainly marketing realities rather than the dreams > of comp.sys.amiga subscribers (this one included) must dictate many of > the details of the machine, but I think they are underestimating the market. > Look at how many business types and even home users paid $3000-$5000 for XT > or AT systems when they first came out. When they see how much they can get > done on the A2500 with the horsepower, large and elegant windows, and IBM > compatibility and slots (which seems to be a given), I think a lot may jump. I'm not sure that C-A doubts a market for machines in the 2.5K-3K range, I just imagine that C-A doubts that folks will buy a Commodore machine priced in that range. Obviously a stock A1000 is better in many respects than a PC of most any flavor. But corporate America doesn't usually buy intelligently, from the point of view of power computing. The Amiga's only a year and 1/2 old or so, its still behind in software. This is the year it really starts to catch up. Personally, for my work here at Commodore, I'm ready to jump ship, hell, I'm at the edge of the plank right now, just waiting for a good schematic capture and simulation package to push me over the edge (the Amiga already beats my VAX at running MicroGnuEmacs). But I've been using this machine at home for over a year, and I think about what I'm buying before I buy it. The A1000 did sell on its reputation more than its advertising, but probably did very little to replace any PClone type boxes, I think the majority of those who bought it were either too smart to bother with a PC[lone] in the first place, or sick of PC[lones] and interested in a "real computer". If there was an application on the Amiga that couldn't easily exit on a PC (like some real CAD maybe?), then it might break full force into business and scientific markets enough to justify a 68020 base machine for $2500 or so. Or wait a few years until we can make a 68020 base machine for $1500 or $1000.... > 7) 8 sound channels would be very nice. True, though I don't think we've got enough DMA slots open in the current setup. Of course, if you're going to enhance the video somehow, it might be possible to enhance the audio too. But also consider that each audio channel takes a rather large section of the Paula chip, so its very unlikely that any more could be fit into any reasonable form of Paula. It might require another chip sitting on the register bus. > 8) An SCSI port built in would be nice, too, and a strong selling point. The A2000's got a SCSI card from Commodore. It also does ST-506 for anyone with cheap PC drive they'd like to use. > 9) Finally, a question. Could the OS provide a convention for a program > to detect which Amiga model it was running on so it could fully exploit > its features. Otherwise, programs might be written to the lowest > common denominator (A500) and not take advantage of the 2500. For > example, if the A2500 had 8 sound channels a software vendor might have > to have an A2500 version of his music program or only use 4 channels. Isn't that already in there? You can allocate virtual sound channels with the audio.device, which map into physically existant sound channels. > Dave Bakken -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ __ ____ ____ _____ _____ _____ Dave Haynie /// / _ | / __ \ / _ \ / _ \ / _ \ Commodore Technology /// / / | | /_/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |\ /// / /__| | ____/ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |\\/// / ____ | / ____/ | | | | | | | | | | | | \\// / / | | | |____ | |_| | | |_| | | |_| | {ihnp4,etc.}!cbmvax!daveh \/ /_/ |_| \______| \_____/ \_____/ \_____/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~