Re: Super GS Project (Update for Accelerator)--a summary of the best ideas

[Frank Carney <frankc@srv.net>]

Obsbedia2 wrote:
> 
> Subject: All this talk of a new GS...
> From: <A HREF="mailto:lefebvre@klatch.demon.co.uk ">lefebvre@klatch.demon.co.uk
> </A> (John & Anne Le Febvre)
> Date: Mon, Jan 24, 2000 2:06 PM
> Message-id: <388cbf13.11507897@news.demon.co.uk>
> 
> OK, I have been reading about everyone's ideas for a new GS but read
> something lately that may hopefully spark off some new ideas.  I read
> with great interest that Transmeta are starting to produce their
> processors.  These are software instruction set based, i.e. you can
> program it to be an 80x86, a 680x0, PowerPC, ARM, whatever you like.
> From what I've read in the PC press lately, they are making it as open
> as possible and are positively encouraging people to write new
> instruction cores for it.
> 
> This is a venture with Linus Torvalds (of Linux fame) and I know IBM
> are manufacturing the chips.  The current chip is Crusoe which is a
> very low power x86 compatible.  The idea is that with very few
> transistors and software instruction set means very low power
> consumption and a battery life of days rather than hours.
> 
> Anyway, take a look at www.transmeta.com and discuss!
> 
> What about a PC that can switch to native GS mode at a high clock
> speed with one or two 8-bit Apple II slots and all the bits of a GS
> built in.  Perhaps the latest Ensoniq chipset that is backward
> compatible to the GS one, Second-sight or a newer variant, SCSI etc
> built in?  I'm sure the hardest part would be getting the custom
> chipsets for ie SWIM controllers.  Perhaps we could forgo the
> SuperDrive as many people can use ZIP drives as an alternative.
> 
> If we were being realistic this is what I would like to see in a new
> GS...
> 
> Primarily a new modern architecture and new OS.  Perhaps based on
> GS/OS, perhaps not.
> Capable of natively running GS/OS software or seamless emulation.
> SuperSerial port or GS-serial port (Appletalk)
> ADB & USB
> IDE & SCSI connector (SCSI II enough?  Or U2W?)
> SmartPort
> 
> Hmmm... Would we really need 8-bit slots if this lot was built-in?
> 
> Perhaps yet another way to approach this is a peripheral card for PC
> or Mac which has the missing ports on it.  Then an emulator could be
> written to use that card.  Whats the chances of a PCI peripheral card
> sporting ADB, Smartport, SuperSerial and perhaps an Ensoniq?
> 
> Just my GBP 0.02  ;-)
> --
> John
> 

This sounds interesting, but I see two problems with patent
infringement: Apple's ADB ports and the Ensoniq chips (though this may
not be a problem anymore).  

I believe a peripheral card would be a good alternative to a whole new
machine. It would be a whole lot easier to design an emulator type card
than a whole new machine.  Though, the cost for prototyping a PCI card
is still high.  That is one reason I am sticking with older stuff, it is
cheap to get your hands on it. I was just looking through computer
shopper and they has 486/66 pulls for $8 a piece!  In builing a computer
board you can afford to burn a few up.  I doubt that is true for the new
Transmeta chip or even FPGAs.