Re: What if...

["Sheane and Bonnie Meikle" <action1@telusplanet.net>]

Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote in message
38BAF619.3B3DF285@swbell.net">news:38BAF619.3B3DF285@swbell.net...
> Sheane and Bonnie Meikle writes ...
> >
>  ....
> > lets stop talking about it in theory and do it.
>
>      It surely would be good to have individuals and groups experimenting
with
> different hardware designs and reporting on results. The VHDL 65C02
project is
> one example.

As the Super Gs project found at
http://members.wbs.net/homepages/m/y/n/mynameisme712/GS.Web.Site.HTML

> > Maybe we
> > could start with the remaining documentation from the never
> > released Avatar project? If Bill Heineman was willing to release his
notes
> > it would give us a place to start.
>
>      The more input, the better.
Only thing is does anybody know how to contact Bill? When he was working on
the avatar I talked to him several time, but now wouldn't know where to
start except maybe with Interplay ( he ported out of this world for the gs)

> > We have people around here that know the
> > insides of computers better than anybody. People like Tony Diaz are able
to
> > make thing work in ways they were never meant to work. If we did come up
> > with a super GS we could probably get someplace like Altech to make them
> > piecemeal until sales picked up.
>
>      Alltech sounds like a good choice.

Supertimer as your Altechs biggest advertiser (not that I blame you as they
have excellent stuff) maybe you could approach them?

> > I've started a thread at
> > http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb996045 dealing with this subject,
> > just click on "Time To Put Aside Differences!!!!"
>  ....
>
>     'Putting aside differences' has a nice ring to it. A fair question is
> "What differences?"

The bickering between platforms and within platforms

>      Beyond the above, "agreement" may come down to building in enough
> flexibility to permit accommodating different OS's, disk formats, etc..

I agree. As Microsoft moves towards a more closed system we need to make a
system for people who like options. Thats why Linux interest is increasing
so rapidly. Flexibility and some sort of Basic are probably the to most
important thing this machine should be built on.

>      Whatever, we are not talking about scrapping C-64's, Atari 800's, or
> Apple II's. We are talking about introducing a new, high-performance
machine
> which has much in common with these earlier computers. This does not
guarantee
> direct compatibility with older software; but, it should be easier to do
> conversions and, if necessary, get good results with emulation.

I agree that emulation may be the way to go, but I also think that downwords
compatibility with at least one of these lines is important as well.
Hardware compatibility is an important factor as well.

>      Possibly, the easiest way to get things going is for the first
> motherboard to be very simple with lots of Slots. For instance, it could
> consist mainly of a microprocessor, flash ROM, RAM slots, and card Slots.
We
> might borrow PCI for the latter. This would give us lots of signal lines,
make
> it easier for experimenters to find good prototyping boards, and,
probably,
> allow using some PC hardware.

Again I agree, but cards must be available at the time of the computers
release.

>      The motherboard would have an I/O port to allow loading in software
from
> an Apple II (or other computer) and a keyboard port. The I/O port would
> eliminate the need to start with ready to go disk I/O.

The I/O port should allow adaptation to exept different drives like the Disk
II or the 1540/41
>
>      There would also need to be a simple VGA display interface. "Simple"
here
> refers to what the video controller is, at first, programmed to do. Given
a
> flexible, fast controller and user access to programming it, the video
system
> could handle all sorts of effects.

Maybe a card based upon the Second sight card? Maybe if we aproached the
Sequential would make us a bunch?
>
>      Since we would want the motherboard to work at reasonably high
speeds,
> the microprocessor might be on a Slot card so that upgrades to speedier,
> larger processors would be easier.

I would rather see something like a socket 7 set up for the microprocessor.
>
>      Basically, you start with a sort of super 65xxxx 'development
system'. As
> users of the first board get things working smoothly, later motherboard
> versions would be released which have more system components built-in
rather
> than on Slot cards.

Anything, but lets get started

Sheane