Re: Wozniak vs Jobs

[toddpw@ugcs.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel)]

hattonr@aug.com (Rick Hatton) writes:

>Todd P. Whitesel <toddpw@ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:

>> Apple called it 100% compatible, you call it deliberately crippled. If you
>> wanted to use A3 features, you rebooted into SOS and ran it in native mode.

>The AII emulation was deliberately crippled. You could have only 48K of
>memory and there were other things missing in the II emulation. Apple
>deliberately crippled the II emulation.

A3 bank switching was cleaner and unlike any other II series bank switching.
Thus it could not be compatible without special effort. Note that Titan did
sell hardware for the A3 which provided language card expansion in II mode.

As for the other things missing: take your pick, 100% compatibility or A3
features in emulation mode. YOU CANNOT HAVE BOTH. Apple chose the former
because it was ideologically pure and not-PC-clone and suited their clear
market positioning goals for the II and the A3.

When Apple shoe-horned some of the A3 features into the //e, they learned
how to do 99% compatibility and that lasted us pretty good on up to the IIgs.
Please don't condemn Apple for trying to do a 'totally clean' job on the A3
just because it is not what you personally would have wanted.

Todd Whitesel
toddpw @ ugcs.caltech.edu