Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!husc6!yale!cmcl2!philabs!sbcs!root From: root@sbcs.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Expansion product woes Message-ID: <371@sbcs.UUCP> Date: Fri, 27-Mar-87 15:13:56 EST Article-I.D.: sbcs.371 Posted: Fri Mar 27 15:13:56 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Mar-87 17:22:16 EST References: <269@mcdsun.UUCP> <1152@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> <1266@sfsup.UUCP> Organization: Computer Science Dept, SUNY@Stony Brook Lines: 61 > In article <1152@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu>, page@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) writes: > > fnf@mcdsun.UUCP (Fred Fish) wrote in article <269@mcdsun.UUCP>: > > that CLtd's hard disk doesn't work with other vendor's memory boards; > > or does so in such a poor fashion that you should stay away from it. > > > > This is just a note to say I have had _no_ problems with CLtd's disk > > along with their RAM product. They perform reliably together. > > Specifically, saying that *your* C Ltd products work well together > is simply the EXPECTED case. Fred reporting that the EXPECTED case is not > always acheived carries significantly more weight than your two boards > working together. > > Perry What Perry says with respect to board interoperability is, of course, correct; however let's place the blame where it belongs - on Commodore. Face it, the Zorro standard is not a standard in the way the VME Bus, MultiBus II, NuBus, etc are spec'ed. As far as bus specs go, the Zorro "standard" is more of a edge connector pinout and a bracket mechanical than a formal "here is what ya gotta do to be 99.99% sure the widget will work". (Yup, I've designed Amiga boards). As far as I am concerned, the only sane way to buy peripherals for the 1000 is to buy them all from ONE manufacturer. This doesn't guarantee (in all cases) that said products will work with ALL rev Amigas - just that the manufacturers involved can't play "no it's THEIR problem" with you as the helpless consumer! Sure, we've all heard lots and lots of claims that manufacturer X, Y, or Z's stuff never fails, but reality is that no third party manufacturer operating in the Amiga market has sold into a statistically significant portion of the installed base. Rather than listening to all sorts of claims, the average Amiga consumer should concern himself with: 1. Is the company responsive to customer input? 2. Does the company provide easy accessible technical assistance if so required? 3. What guarantees on are placed on the equipment? 4. Is there local support for the equipment - i.e. at this point it is really better to purchase equipment from your local dealer so that you have someone to beat on.. 5. Unless you're an engineering type, don't bother with all the smoke concerning issues such as whether the pass though bus is buffered, board trace lengths, F vs LS loads on the bus, rev A/B pals in the Amiga, motherboard noise problems, current consumption, etc are all engineering posturing. The average consumer is simply unable to evaluate ANY of the above in the context of the real system that is sitting on their desk. All you really want to know is whether it WORKS! In closing, my great hope is that Commodore will get their collective act together (between Germany/Westchester/East Jahunga) and put out a full engineering spec for both the A-500/A-2000 as a SERVICE to their customers. Until then, it is a roll of the dice whether your new widget will work.. Rick Spanbauer SUNY/Stony Brook