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From: keithd@cadovax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Early A2000's ... will they be different?
Message-ID: <1426@cadovax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 10-Mar-87 17:51:51 EST
Article-I.D.: cadovax.1426
Posted: Tue Mar 10 17:51:51 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Mar-87 03:27:43 EST
References: <5800@amdahl.UUCP>
Reply-To: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
Organization: Contel Business Systems, Torrance, CA
Lines: 54
Keywords: westchester german 2000 revisions video slot differences

In article <5800@amdahl.UUCP> kim@amdahl.UUCP (Kim DeVaughn) writes:
>The designs are said to be equivalent, with a couple of important
>exceptions:
>
>  o  The Westchester design will provide all 12 bits of RGB information
>     to the video slot (and maybe a couple of other signals); the German
>     design will not.
>
>  o  There was reportedly some difference between the two designs with
>     respect to monochrome output (sorry, I can't recall the specifics
>     as well as on the above item).
>
>If there is any truth to the first bullet, it could have a big impact
>on genlocks/digitizers/frame-buffers/etc. that may be developed to go
>into that slot.  The second bullet didn't seem to bother me much (but
>then, I don't care much about monochrome).

Another thing that may have an impact on genlock, did anyone spot room
for one in the Byte picture of the A2000?  It would seem that genlock for
the A2000 goes INSIDE the box, unlike where it goes in the A1000.  This
means when you upgrade from an A1000 w/genlock to an A2000 w/genlock, you
probably have to buy a new genlock, among other things.

I don't know, so far there is not much an A2000 buys me, not being the least
interested in EYE BEE EM compatibility.  I can't even get too interested in
hard disks, as I have close to 50 megs of DATA files I would want online
if I had one.  And that's just this week.  I'd end up spending all my time
unloading and loading various data files for each 'project' I am working on,
and I tend to flit from project to project at a moments notice.  The best I
would ever expect from a hard disk is just a place to keep all of the 
utility programs I use, the compiler, DPaint, animation and sound programs
etc. and have to keep all the data files on floppy anyway because I would
too soon run out of hard disk space even with a 150meg drive too soon
anyway.  Normal spreadsheet and word processor use have a little different
data storage requirements than animation and sampled-sound programs.

So just give me a 2MB add-on-the-side card, the recoverable ram disk,
and I'm happy.

Though I am glad to see the A2000.  Just look at the pictures in Byte. 
It LOOKS like something a businessman would buy, and therefore may sell
more Amigas.  It also may inspire Amiga developers to keep working on
programs that take advantage of special Amiga features, rather than to
write 'clone' programs of stuff you can already get for the PC.

Still, when I look toward the future, I'm inclined to think: "Ok, Westchester,
now that you had the worlds foremost custom-graphics-chip think tank in your
hands (you know, the one that Intel, Nec, Motorola, TI and Hitachi have been
trying to keep up with for years with their comical imitations) and let it
slip through your fingers, What's your next trick?"  :-]

Keith Doyle
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