Re: Apple II info please...

["Clockmeister" <gerryvdb@tnet.com.au>]

Gabriel Morales <Togega@concentric.net> wrote in article
<35943114.2485C6BC@concentric.net>...
> Clockmeister wrote:
SNIP> > 
> > Here's my list of the most innovative home computers of the past, feel
free
> > to place where you feel the Apple II should be on my list...
> > 
> > 1. Amiga --- First home computer to offer multimedia and true
multitasking,
> > ease of use, resource efficiency.
> > 2. Mac --- First GUI for home computers (or was it ?),  ease of use,
> > quality.
> > 3. Commodore 64 --- Largest selling home computer ever (22 million +),
> > software availability.
> > 4. Atari ST --- MIDI interface as standard.
> > 
> > Also ran... TRS-80, ZX Spectrum, BBC, Vic20, PET, C128, Acorn, MSX and
> > others...
> > 
> > This is ofcourse my own personal opinion only and I think all computers
> > ever made had something to offer (except maybe the Microbee :-).
> > 
> > Comments are most welcome.
> > 
> 
> 	I've been hearing some things about the Amiga lately. I've never used
one,
> but I'd really like to see and use the Amiga's GU interface.
> 
> 	Unfortunatly, I've been unable to emulate it because of a lack of
illegally
> distributed ROMs- only joking.

WinUAE is a good emulator and Fellow isn't too bad either. You do need a
fast Mac or PC (or Amiga) to run it at any reasonable speed.

 
> 	But, I'd really like to use one. I've heard that the "new" Amiga's,
though,
> are only Intel PCs labeled "Amigas".

Not exactly...
The OS 4.0 Amiga will be nothing more then a developer machine which will
use the x86 technology whilst the new machines are being designed.
It has been said that the REAL new Amiga will have an as yet unavailable
processor which is not x86 based but will have a programmable instruction
set, in essence then it should be able to emulate (for want of a better
word) any processor.
The developer machine (sometime around November this year) will be released
primarily as a developer machine so that software and the new OS 5 can be
developed for the all new generation Amigas when released (1999).
Apparantly the new processor will be 5-10 times faster then current PII
400Mhz/100Mhz bus technology.

It sounds interesting and I hope they'll pull it off.
 

> 
> 	The Microbee?

Doesn't anyone remember these horrible wastes of space ?.
Very common in the early eighties in Australian (and British I'm lead to
believe) schools. 
It used the Z80 processor and was expandable to a degree. Also was popular
with hardware hackers. 
Net worth today is about $0.10 per 100 units.