Xref: utzoo sci.electronics:5733 comp.periphs:1675
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!lll-winken!uunet!ispi!jbayer
From: jbayer@ispi.UUCP (Jonathan Bayer)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,comp.periphs
Subject: Re: Designing for the FHF (was Re: Proprietary hardware)
Message-ID: <570@ispi.UUCP>
Date: 1 Apr 89 15:33:47 GMT
References: <2140@cpoint.UUCP> <3743@stiatl.UUCP> <1204@naucse.UUCP> <1410@husc6.harvard.edu> <18167@gatech.edu> <4899@cbnews.ATT.COM> <18204@gatech.edu> <13332@sequent.UUCP> <1989Mar28.171856.21202@utzoo.uucp>
Reply-To: jbayer@ispi.UUCP (Jonathan Bayer)
Followup-To: sci.electronics
Organization: Intelligent Software Products, Inc.
Lines: 35

In article <1989Mar28.171856.21202@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <13332@sequent.UUCP> roc@crg2.UUCP (Ron Christian) writes:
}>But just having the populated circuit card isn't enough.  One
}>needs some kind of cage for it.  How about making the card the
}>same format as... steady now... the IBM AT motherboard?  No really,
}>I'm serious.  There are now very inexpensive boxes available for
}>an AT sized motherboard.  Why not take advantage of that?  Note that
}>I'm NOT suggesting that the FHF card be designed for the X86 processor,
}>or that it support any of the PC busses.  Just that the boxes
}>for such a form factor are cheap and plentiful.
}
}Disgusting though the thought is, using one of the PC buses is also
}probably a good idea.  That gives you access to cheap peripherals that
}you don't have to build -- and debug -- yourself.  One can make a good
}argument for also providing a better bus for crucial things, like fast
}disks, but nobody is going to want to redesign *all* the interesting
}peripherals, and nobody is going to match the production volumes (and
}hence cost savings) of (say) AT peripherals.

While I like the idea of an (almost) free computer, I don't think it is
worth it.  Considering that you can go out and buy an *88 board for
under $ 100, and a 286 board for under $ 300, it isn't worth it to
design and build your own (ok, just build).  By the time you get done
buying the chips, circuit board, and other misc. parts, you will have
spent a lot more than that.   On the other hand, if you are doing it for
the _fun_ and the learning experience then it makes sense.



JB
-- 
Jonathan Bayer			      Beware: The light at the end of the
Intelligent Software Products, Inc.	      tunnel may be an oncoming dragon
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