Re: New Apple IIgs hardware? Maybe.

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

S�nke Behrens writes ...
>
> ....
> There have been new developments recently, the last one I know of was
> the MicroIDE card by //SHH Systeme. Of course, if you calculate
> development costs on a commercial scale, then development won't be
> feasible. However, consider that we have the "Apple IIgs community",
> i.e. people do things for the sheer fun and thrill of it. Otherwise,
> we wouldn't have seen Spectrum 2.1 nor SIS nor Marinetti neither, for
> that matter.
>

     True enough. Chuck Haight (Computist editor) was pushing soup-up
plug-in board prototypes for the IIe long after both the IIe and GS had
lost out to PC. Others were working on GS redesigns to move to a base
8MHz bus on top of which an accelerator was added. None of these
projects had good prospects for commercial success; the creators mainly
just hoped to recover their costs while boosting II computing.


 
> I know that there are few people left that can do hardware; therefore
> there will be less new hardware than software. Contrary to what
> everyone seems to believe, though, hardware is not magic: If you know
> your stuff, it is no harder (or easier either) than writing software.
>

     In many ways, it is easier to 'write' in hardware. The catch, of
course, is that it's a lot more costly to make copies of whatever you
make to sell.

 
> You may object that I am naive, carried-away by what will turn out to
> be a pipe dream. ....

     It goes without saying that a sure way to sound really wise is to
call someone naive.


> 
> > However, even in the event any of these were to appear, it is unlikely I
> > would invest in them unless very affordable (under $50).
> 
> Well, I can just hope that there are still people out there willing to
> invest in new goodies for the IIgs. ....

     Lots of owners are interested in new IIgs goodies. The board,
naturally, could be almost anything, especially since we do not know
whether or not connectors, cables, etc. will be part of the finished
design. Taking the IC's shown as just indicating size and complexity,
there's enough 'stuff' for an entire 'new GS' complete with advanced
sound and video.

     Whatever it turns out to be, the mystery board has served to renew
interest in hardware projects. Thanks for posting the information. 



Rubywand