Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!paperboy!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!mamba From: mamba@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Paul A Deisinger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: A new Amiga from Japan? Message-ID: <1865@uwm.edu> Date: 12 Jan 90 09:01:19 GMT References: <5351@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM> <9305@cbmvax.commodore.com> Sender: news@uwm.edu Reply-To: mamba@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Paul A Deisinger) Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Lines: 68 In article <9305@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >in article <5351@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM>, waynekn@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Wayne Knapp) says: >> Keywords: FM Towns >> However, there are several multi-tasking solutions for 80386 machines, >> and the 80386 hardware is more suited for mult-tasking than plain 68000. Ya, contrary to what one person said, yes, multi-tasking is relatively easy to add. One thing that the Amiga has as an advantage is that it is assumed right off that bat that your software should be written to behave itself in the multi-tasking environment that exists. >> Multi-taking is most likely going to be standard on every machine in a >> few years so I don't see too much problem in this area. I still think >> the FM Towns is very impressive. Can't argue with that! >It sounds quite interesting, but then again, so was the MindSet. If the The MindSet was before it's time (but very, very, important in influencing what was to follow). >cool video stuff isn't compatible with a PC hardware-based video standard, >such as VGA, EGA, etc, then the machine may have problems doing well >outside of niche stuff. Unless it can support TIGA, which seems to be >a pretty good standard that's at least in part software based. And >unless they've been _extremely_ clever, any VGA/EGA compatibility may >the speed of the video display. The only fast video I've ever seen on >any PC (sufficient for anything other than blocky animation) has been >on some of the higher power graphics cards based around TI graphics chips. This is true, in the US market. In the Japanese market they couldn't care less. The current market dominating machines (in Japan) are PC Clones modified to handle an extended ascii set. The software that is available on the Towns is quite nifty, and the hardware is really well thought out. I really don't expect to see this machine hit the market, maybe it's direct decendent will though (as a rule the stuff you get in the US market manufactured by Japanese companies does not exist in the Japan market, and vice-versa). >This is one place I think the Amiga had an advantage by being different >-- it wasn't even remotely an MS-DOS machine, so folks took it for what it >was. And even then it took a long time to get some serious software. >This machine is going to be dismissed as a slow '386 machine and not given >a serious look by most folks if they're not very careful about showing >off it's nonstandard features. Well...it's not possible to look at this machine and not be aware of it's "nonstanderd features". This system case at first glance: "Tower" configuration case in a charcoal grey. On the top front are two 3.5" drive bays, the center of the case is taken up by the optical drive, appearing much the way the CD slot in CD-Boomboxes do(The CD ROM drive is standard equipment, not an option). The bottom of the front: 5 LED's that indicate volume level, two volume control switches (one up/down) for the headphone jack that is on the front. To the left of the headphone jack is a microphone jack (Built-in DSP?!--I haven't read that far yet, my Japanese is poor), and two input device jacks (for mouse/controler pad). In the configuration I see here it has a JIS keyboard, a directonal controller sort of like a Nintendo(shudder) pad, and a round mouse/puck kind of like on Vax-stations. Now tell me, would you see that sitting on a shelf and just think it was a 386 clone....??? Hmmm??? >> Wayne Knapp >Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests" -- Paul Deisinger "Me wa kuchi hodo ni mono o ii" "Bushi wa kuwanedo takayooji" mamba@csd4.csd.uwm.edu<-- easy to reach and read every day.