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From: bc@mit-amt.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Mac II
Message-ID: <802@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Wed, 4-Mar-87 12:35:26 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-amt.802
Posted: Wed Mar  4 12:35:26 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 6-Mar-87 07:24:26 EST
References: <10231@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA> <1338@husc6.UUCP> <4354@utah-cs.UUCP>
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 45
Summary: choose 256 colors out of 4 million

The current Apple color display board lets you choose 8 bits out of
24. So you can have 256 colors out of 4.something million.

You can also call these "color planes" and do as you like with them,
for example double-buffered animation. Note that there is no more
second video page.

The resolution is 640 by 480, and the monitor is about 13 inches
diagonal. The pixels are therefore a little bigger than the 70-72-80
to the inch that the regular mac screens have. The pixels looked
square, or close enough.

There is a Color Picker DA that lets you change the mode of the
hardware on the fly. Full color IS slower than b/w, but there ARE 8
times as many bits to frob, and the algorithms, for say, additive
color (it's in there!) are naturally somewhat harder than xor.

The black-and-white screen is 12 inches diag and has 640x480
resolution, too.

Remember, the display is JUST a plug-in board (and you can have
SEVERAL) so don't be surprised when the "real" full-page displays turn
up.

As for pricing, Apple's prices are comparable to similar equipment
from other name-brand manufacturers. (Note, for example, that the
equivalent II is cheaper than a Prodigy, with no chip clips!) The
performance of the hardware/software makes the Mac II a serious
workstation. Even when you fully load it up with the max of
everything, it's still under $15k. (That's a big screen or color
screen, 8 MEGS of core, unix, hard disk, ethernet, etc,etc)

Note also that other than speed, expansion, and color, there is no
need to buy the Mac II. If you don't want UNIX, don't need ethernet,
can't use the color, etc, don't bother. The SE is a nice box, does
everything else almost as well, and is quite reasonably priced.

I'm really tired of people griping about prices. If it's too much,
don't pay it. Next year, it will be cheaper. But you will have to do
without it for a year.

Meantime, I will post a note in a day or two with as many
physical/technical specs as I can, now that everything is official.

Cheers/..............................................................bc