Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!eecae!conklin
From: conklin@eecae.UUCP (Terry Conklin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Enhancer 1.3 package
Summary: Didn't get what I expected
Keywords: NO ROMS!?
Message-ID: <12839@eecae.UUCP>
Date: 29 Oct 88 03:47:23 GMT
Reply-To: conklin@eecae.UUCP (Terry Conklin)
Organization: Michigan State University, ERDL
Lines: 81


[Is there really such a thing as a line-eater? I mean, -I- haven't seen it]
 
Am I mad? I suppose not. Disappointed, definately.
 
My local store FINALLY got their 1.3 Enhancer package (only 10 of the 25 
ordered) and called us personally so that we got the first of them tonight.
 
So I excitedly clear off the monitor and dig into the package to find - 
NO ROMS!
 
I guess the question is - Hey CBM, is this the 1.3 PACKAGE or not? If you're
a 1000 owner it is. But if your a 2000/500 owner, you're "s@#t out of luck."
 
Ok, so we're off now in search of ROMs. How does one GET ROMs? Will they take
yet another umpteen days? And a little part of me asks, "Why did we shell out
$27 for a REVISION of the OS???" The other part replies, "'Cause you shelled
out $70 for PukeCity-DOgS%$# upgrades...
 
Also, lets get this autoboot situation down, once and for all.
 
A.) You need the Kickstart 1.3 to be able to autoboot from hard disk
B.) You need the 1.3 Enhancer/OS package (come on, you NEED FFS...)
C.) You *NEED* a partitioned disk, where DH0: is an OLD-STYLE, "slow format"
    partition. You dont need much, but enough such that the autoboot 
    controller can load FFS, so you can get to FFS partitions.
 
The above assumes that, like myself, you find it vile and repulsive to have
a machine that needs a floppy to got to the hard disk. Perhaps the PCs have
set the standard here. I find it really assinine to have a hard disk that
you cant boot off of.
 
I think this package lays down for good any rumors that the 1000 support is
being dropped - hell, with this the 1000 is getting BETTER support!
 
It is noticeably annoying to have to have an OFS partition. I'm a big fan of
huge, monolithic drives. (One of the MSU machines has 1.5 Gig) I dont like
splitting it up into "logicals." That's what subdirectories are for.
(Actually, some MSU machines are a lot bigger than that, but those are those
nasty pay-for computer services, whereas that is a nice, open Unix box.)
 
Oh well. We still dont have a controller to go with our hard disk here anyhow,
so why complain?
 
Does ANYONE have data on:
 
The TRUMPCARD from Interactive Video Systems, SCSI, $190, A2000 short-card
HardFrame/2000 from Microbotics, SCSI, $330, A2000 short w/mount for 3.5"
 
I saw a reference (so impersonal) that the individual who wrote HardFrame
drivers is here. It doesn't seem -too- farfetched that that individual might
actually -have- one. If so, how 'bout running the "standard" diskperf test
that people have been running (OFS, FFS with varying degrees of buffers)
 
In Aviation, we use the ISA, the International Standard Atmosphere, as a 
measure to figure out what kind of air we're flying in. Does anyone 
object to using the CBM 2090A card (due to its being the most likely thing
available) as a standard to reference against? 
 
The ISA is good because it gives you a solid model to compare your atmosphere
against, even though there are a large number of variables.
 
Likewise, while any given individual A might get controller Q and drive Z
(speed = Fq(Fz)) and run FFS, if he took that same drive/machine/etc, 
and ALSO ran the tests with the 2090A, you would be able to accurately 
define any given controllers performance in terms of 2090As (Sort of like
(gads) Peter Norton's "PC XT" System P{erformance. "This controller is
as fast as 1.4 2090As. This one is .6 2090As.")
 
The 2090As strengths as a measuring stick (is that like a doorjamb? ;->)
are A.) numbers, B.) stability, C.) versatility (since you can compare 
both SCSI and (future) ST-506 controllers against it.)
 
Oh well, more needlessly wasted netbandwidth...
 
 
Terry Conklin                              "Caress into oblivion" 
conklin@egr.msu.edu                              -Celtic Frost
{msudoc|frith}!conklin                         
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