Re: Apple //f...

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Frank Carney <frankc@cyberhighway.net> wrote:

>If you are going to make an Apple IIgs computer clone/successor then you will
>have to use a fast CPU.  Nobody is going to buy a slow 7Mhz computer.  At
least
>use the fastest chip available for 65816s.  There is a 20Mhz version
available.

The article was written in 1990.  ;-)  That design would have made sense back
in 1989, actually, back when Apple tried to deny there were faster chips and
William Mensh jumped on to the podium at AppleFest to say otherwise and
got dragged off by Apple people.  Instead we got the ROM 3, many of which
have CPUs rated faster but underclocked.  Apple just didn't want to develop
the IIGS further.

Assuming Apple did want to develop the IIGS after it was introduced in 1986.
ROM 3 of 1989 would have used a 7Mhz 65C816.  WDC would have been
interested and the 20Mhz part would have been rushed into development,
coming sooner and 20Mhz IIGS units would have appeared in 1991.  WDC
would then have been inclined to complete the 32-bit 65C816 progeny.  We'd
then have a much faster 32-bit CPU equipped IIGS probably by 1993.  After
that, there may have been a CPU jump to something like the PowerPC
processor.

As much as it pains me to say it, the IIGS has been abandoned too long
to revive.  Jobs and his Mac cronies have committed the murder and it
is too late to reverse it.