Re: Help //c -> IIgs -> mac disk transfer

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

"Cyril Lambin" <lambin@cohprog.com> wrote:

>Supertimer <supertimer@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Too bad the FTA is still not around.  They were a killer group
>> of demo programmers for the IIGS.  If you can find the disks,
>> the demos will knock your socks off.  They resemble Amiga
>> demos.  Both the IIGS and the Amiga had a large demo scene.
>> Was it that way with the Atari ST too?
>
>Yup. The Amiga and ST scene were as large but the aims were different: the
>ST was faster and has a lot of hardware limitations (no fullscreen, no
>digital sound, only 16 colors, etc) whereas the Amiga was slower but had a
>lot of dedicated processors. I made some demos for the Atari ST(E) myself
>and it was a great challenge to make demos. For example, to make fullscreen,
>you had to synchronize with the screen beam to be able to use a hidden bug
>in the video processor...

Cool!  Then you would LOVE the IIGS demos.  Many fooled around with
IIGS video by doing something similar.  The IIGS has scan line interrupts
making it possible for a program to be aware of precisely where the
electron gun is pointing at any time.  You could thus do cool things like
switch palettes and screen resolution modes midscreen, making it possible
to mix all kinds of modes.  Basically, on the IIGS, each scan line can have
an independent palette and resolution setting.  This is how the IIGS can
have part of the screen using 640 pixel horizontal resolution and part
of the screen using 320 pixel resolution.  It is also how the IIGS' 3200
color graphics mode works.  Each scan line supports 16 colors, but each
of the 200 scan lines can have a different set of 16.  16x200=3200 colors.
Now the IIGS has other video tricks such as fill mode.  You only need
to draw the outline of an object and in fill mode, the hardware fills in
the pixels.  Combine this with the 32-channel Ensoniq wavetable
synthesis chip humming a tune in the background and you'll have cool
demos.

>>  The IIGS had a lot to show
>> off.  32-channel Ensoniq wavetable synthesis chip, custom
>> graphics chip with many color modes (3200 color, 256 multi-palette,
>> fill mode, etc.), and a disk port that demo programmers loved to
>> hack.
>
>As far as I can remember, I wanted to get an Apple computer during years
>because they were state-of-the-art machines. But they were (and they still
>are) too expensive.

Well, Macs are expensive, but the IIGS can be had for little these
days.  The trick is that usually the IIGS is sold in an unusable form
by people (paltry memory, no hard drive, no software).  This is sad.
Imagine an Amiga stripped of memory with no hard drive.  Or an
Atari ST for that matter.  Such computers can't show their true colors
without enough memory and storage!

>> Keyboard may have died with the LC.  Otherwise, your
>> IIGS may have a bad ADB chip.
>
>I don't really know, I had to try with another ADB keyboard. Maybe this is
>because my LC's keyboard was not an Apple one (MacAlly), but it seems
>strange to me.

Could be.  Since the IIGS cannot use the same software as Macs,
it can only use Mac keyboards that don't require a driver when
used on the Mac.  Thus, if the keyboard does not require a software
driver on the Mac, it'll work on the IIGS.  Usually.  Naturally, most
of Apple's keyboards work on both Mac and IIGS.

>> You are welcome.  Good luck!  By the way, they made a Finder
>> for the IIc too, but you really need at least a 3.5" drive to use it
>> (the files do not fit on a single 5.25" disk).
>
>The 3.5" drive doesn't work on the IIc, I guess it's that Unidisk problem
>(if I've correctly understood, IIc handles Unidisks only). I don't think
>I'll ever be able to get one in France. Actually I never heard of it before
>I learned that the IIc+ exists (it was never released in France).

That's too bad (the IIc+ not being released in France).  It was the
best non-GS Apple II.