Re: //e, //c, //gs Questions

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector) wrote:

>In article supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) writes...
>
>>The Apple IIe could run all the operating systems of the II+,
>>but with the 128k that it normally shipped with plus its
>>improved capabilities,
>
>    The only time the Apple IIe ever shipped with 128K was
>in the case of the platinum/grey IIe model (January 1987+).
>Otherwise, it always shipped from the factory with 64K and
>it was up to you to purchase more RAM.

Incorrect.  Since 1984, Apple shipped the IIe in a
package called "Apple IIe Professional."  This included
an extended 80 column card, a green phosphor Apple
Monitor II, and a DuoDisk drive.

Apple did this so that software for the IIe would be
compatible with software for the IIc.

>    Improved capabilities? :) For the most part, the IIe
>*is* an Apple II Plus, only with the equivalent of a 16K
>Language Card and lowercase support built-in. Plus a full
>ASCII keyboard and a bank-switching auxiliary slot that
>replaced Slot-0 (some tricks could be done with this,
>such as generating 80 column text or a graphic mode with
>double the resolution and colors).

Bank-switching and mousetext (I'm thinking of the
Apple IIe Professional) were in themselves improved
capabilities, not to mention the importance of lower
case.

>>It could also run MS-DOS and an early version of Windows with
>>a coprocessor card called the PC Transporter.
>
>    Saying the PC-Transporter could run Windows (it could,
>but only Windows 3.0 in CGA mode, and did not support any
>programs that ran in protected mode; plus less than 640K)

It could, that's the point.

>    The PC-Transporter has a NEC V30, 640K and CGA graphics.
>That is best suited running up to MS-DOS 6.22.

Well sure, but it COULD run Windows 3.0.  It might not
have been pretty, but it COULD.  That's all I said.  ;-)

>>In addition, you can add cooperative multitasking (such as
>>what you get with current MacOS) with an extension called
>>The Manager.
>
>    The Manager can support cooperative multitasking but
>I believe *only* if a program is written to support it,
>and essentially, Manager friendly/aware.  If I remember
>correctly, Bright Software's GSymbolix was one of the few
>(only?) programs that could support multitasking with The
>Manager.

Archiver and Spectrum support it.  I believe HyperCard
and AppleWorks GS will support OTHER programs
running it THEIR background even if they themselves
would not run in OTHER programs' backgrounds.  An
extensive list was included with The Manager.

I remember seeing quite a sizable number of programs
that supported cooperative multitasking in SOME way
(that is, at least allowed OTHER programs to run in the
background).

>>You can even add preemtive multitasking (like the Amiga's
>>OS) with a FREE extension called GNO/ME.  As with other
>>IIs in the II series, the IIGS can run all the less
>>advanced OSs of its pedecessors.
>
>    In a very limited sense however. You could do preemptive
>multitasking with shell programs in a text enviroment; this
>was a lot like Unix (^z to suspend, 'bg' and 'fg' commands,
>'ps -eux' to list processes running or 'kill -9' to force
>off/out). I think you could even run one GUI program in the
>foreground. I have to admit though, even with my accelerated
>system, it still slowed the GS down quite a bit with even 
>two simple tasks running. Very neat and cool though.

Not as much a slowdown as you might think.  Try it on your
15Mhz unit.

You can indeed run a GUI program in the foreground
while you run a shell program in the background.  Things
like zmodem transfers, etc., for example.

Despite what has been said, The Manager and GNO/ME
ARE INDEED compatible.  Thus, your one GUI program
can be The Manager and you can imagine the advantage
of this.  ;-)

>>The cards use a standard called "Apple Bus" which has
>
>    Is that the official name Apple gave to the 50-pin
>slots? The name is vagely familiar (unless the name is
>invoking thoughts about "Apple NuBus" or "Apple DeskTop
>Bus") but I guess rarely used since there was only one 
>kind of slot on all Apple II's from 1977 until 1993
>(excluding the auxiliary slot and GS memory slot).

It is the official name of the 50-pin slots.  Some places
still have "Apple Bus" breadboards for rolling your
own cards.  I think DigiKey had them some time ago.

>>a transfer limit of 1MB per second.
>
>    Are you sure about that? That sounds more like the
>peak limit of a DMA SCSI controller when used in a IIgs

It is the peak limit of the DMA SCSI (Apple HS SCSI)
controller because that's the limit of Apple Bus!

>>For example, the Visionary GS 12-bit frame grabber or the
>>Apple II Video Overlay (genlock) card can work in the IIGS,
>>but cannot work in the II+.
>
>    It's worth noting the Video Overlay Card will work in
>an Enhanced IIe with revision 'B' board. Since it has a GS
>VGC chip onboard, in theory it should be possible to write
>programs that support Super-Hi-Res graphics on the IIe (it
>would be little more than novelty value though, considering
>how few VOC cards are out there, let alone inside IIe's).

But the VOC would not run on the II+, which was my point.

>>The IIGS can use the Mac monitor with an SVGA card
>>called the Second Sight.  It supports 1024x768 pixels at
>>24 bit color.
>
>    It may support 1024x768, but certainly *not* at 24-bit
>color depth. [anti-Second Sight rhetoric snipped]

Wrong Mitch.  The Second Sight manual, page 18,
clearly states:

"Tru-color mode is similar, but each pixel can be
any of 16.7M (million) colors" (the paragraphs
before it detail the three color modes of the Second
Sight card, indexed, hi-color, and tru-color in this
paragraph).

Checking with my calculator, 16.7M is 2 to the 24th
power or 24-bit color!

Don't knock it if you have never used it.