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From: striepe@Apple.COM (Harald Striepe)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: TI microExplorer (Mac II coprocessor) ...
Message-ID: <7792@apple.Apple.Com>
Date: 25 Mar 88 23:58:22 GMT
References: <1180@kodak.UUCP>
Reply-To: striepe@apple.UUCP (Harald Striepe)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 54
Keywords: AI TI ZetaLisp Mac II Lisp Delivery Vehicle Lisp Chip


In article <1180@kodak.UUCP> luciw@kodak.UUCP (bill luciw) writes:
>Well, our KBS Lab is ordering a microExplorer, the coprocessor for the Mac II.
 
>1) What impact (if any) does the alledged lack of "true" DMA have on the
>paging performance of the microExplorer?
I do not have exact figures on this, but overall performance is 50% + of TI's
Explorer II; contributors to this differential are reduced clock speed of the
CPU to reduce power consumption, different memory organization (cache), and
disk performance. However, it is nice to have a single file system rather
than dealing with multiple partitions.
 
>2) Is TI's implementation of RPC available to other applications (such as those
>developed under MPW)?
Texas Instruments is publishing the RPC spec.
 
>3) How well integrated is the microExplorer into the rest of the Mac
>environment - (cut, copy, paste, print on an AppleTalk printer) ?
The microExplorer uses the Apple peripheral devices. Although the user
interface integration is not yet complete (you are running an Explorer window
system in one or more Macintosh windows under MultiFinder), TI is working
agressively on deeper integration.
 
>4) Can you install the "load bands" on third party disks (SuperMac 150) or do
>they need to remain on the Apple hard disk (the load bands are supposed to be
>normal, finder accessible files)?
Although we have not tried this, there should be no reason why this should not
work (a Macintosh volume is a Macintosh volume).
 
>5) How much of a hassle is it to port applications over to the little beastie
>from a normal Explorer (what about ART, KEE, SIMKIT, etc.)?
Some vendors have installed their application in less than a day. Inference,
IntelliCorp and Carnegie Group all announced support of the microExplorer.
 
>6) Do any benchmarks (ala Gabriel) exist for this machine?
You might want to contact TI, they ran a whole suite. Unfortunately, I do not
have the details.
 
>7) How about ToolBox access from the Lisp Environment? (or am I dreaming?)
Not available in the first release, but a kit is planned. Since RPC is public,
you would have to "roll your own" in the meantime. Another approach would be
to use Coral's Allegro CL on the Macintosh side, implement the RPC, and...

>Thankyou in advance for all your comments and I will post our experiences
>(good or bad, of course) as they develop ...
Although the microExplorer is supported by TI, we all would be interested
in hearing about your experiences, and definitely would be willing to help
you reach the right people, should you run into unforeseen problems in getting
help.

-- 
Harald Striepe
Business Development Manager, Artificial Intelligence
Apple Computer, Inc.
email: striepe@APPLE.COM       AppleLink: STRIEPE2