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From: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Commodore didn't have to drop Zorro I.
Message-ID: <2728@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Nov-87 12:44:20 EST
Article-I.D.: cbmvax.2728
Posted: Wed Nov 11 12:44:20 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 14-Nov-87 02:28:23 EST
References: <993@sugar.UUCP>
Reply-To: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 42

In article <993@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:
> There is no reason on God's green earth that the 2000 could not have come
> out with Zorro-I card slots.
> 
> Just make them horizontal.
> 
> You would have lost some convection cooling, but proper placement would have
> allowed the fan to draw air straight over the cards.
> 
> And you would have been able to get to the cards without popping the top off
> and pulling the machine out of your hutch.
> 
> It would have been harder to make it IBM-PC compatible, but then that's
> another advantage to the scheme. (only 1/2 :->)
> -- 
> -- Peter da Silva  `-_-'  ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter
> -- Disclaimer: These U aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.

Actually, the Los Gatos A2000 prototype was along these lines.  It used
an A1000 main-board (*NO* enhancements, folks), *two* more PC boards to
adapt from the A1000 expansion connector to the horizontal slots.  It
had 5 "Zorro I" slots, only 4 of which were usable unless you replaced
the RAM/ROM tower with ROM's.  There was some sort of arrangment whereby
a ribbon cable would connect a varient of the sidecar/bridgeboard to
the backplane and somehow provide a single PC slot.  Externally, it looked
a lot like a PC or the current A2000.  I don't think it had the magical
keyboard garage.  In short, it had no advantage over the current design,
*except* the "Zorro I" slots and would have had to retail for a much
higher price to cover the cost of all the complications.

It should be admitted the the Los Gatos crew wasn't all that eager to make
this A2000.  Their plans had apparently been for something more powerful,
to be delivered at some poorly defined later date.

Disclaimer:  This is pretty much from memory and past converstations, I was
	     busy on the late, lamented Commodore Unix Box (C900) and later
             the A500 and not directly involved with Amiga/A2000 affairs.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {ihnp4|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: out to lunch...
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)