Re: IIgs kills ARM-A2 prototype! Film at 11.

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

toddpw@ugcs.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel) wrote:

>regnirps@aol.com (Regnirps) writes:
>
>>>1. Why would _anyone_ want to kill the Macintosh a year after its
>>>introduction in order to replace it with an ARM-A2 ?
>>The way I heard it was not in terms of killing the Mac, it was in terms of
>>killing the AII projects because to was too fast and would compete directly.
>
>This clears a lot up. It's consistent with everything I know about the
>various development timelines, and it also defuses the "was Jobs involved?"
>debate that I got into with Supertimer. Thanks for the info, Charlie!

Assuming your timeline is to be believed, does that get Steve Jobs
off the hook?  He was still responsible for the mentality to keep the
Apple II crippled, right?  Why was the ARM A2 cancelled in your
timeline?  Because it was too fast and would compete directly? See
Todd, Jobs was involved no matter what!

In your timeline, by the time the ARM A2 was being developed,
the Mac 128 was not selling well, correct?  They should have saw
this and did a "Lisa" number on it, moved the GUI to the ARM A2,
and let the ARM A2 also run A2 software thus forming a bridge.
Think it is impossible?  The Archimedes can run BBC and Atom
programs and it can also sport a Mac style GUI...and it was
FAST.  The BBC was a 6502 based unit...if Acorn could do it,
Apple could, right?  Why didn't they?  STEVE JOBS!!!

>>I don't doubt the sources you quote, but remember that since ACORN is a
>>fabless business, the Achimedes were often the last to benefit from any ARM
>>developments.
>
>Quite true. The main thing I was after was to establish that Supertimer is
>effectively rewriting history by blaming Jobs for killing the ARM-A2 to save
>his precious Mac, and also to cast doubt on the idea that ARM was "obviously"
>better than 68K to everyone who looked.

Even in YOUR timeline, the reason Jobs killed the ARM-A2 was
EXACTLY to save his precious Mac...for he feared the ARM-A2 would
be too powerful and compete it to death!

The ARM WAS obviously better than the 68k.

However, like Charlie said, the Archimedes was often the last to
incorporate ARM developments.  Using Archimedes releases to
establish a timeline for the ARM processor...that's as absured as
basing the release of the 68k by seeing when the Mac 128k came
out!