Re: Problems in "Modernizing" a //gs

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article shack@onyx.southwind.net (Randy Shackelford) writes...

>:     Why do you have the notion the Apple IIgs design, as-is from 1986,
>: is the most the machine could have ever been? Do you actually believe
>: Apple pushed the envelope on the technology as much they could when it
>: was originally released? Is this the reason why the most Apple did to
>: the IIgs in its 6 year run was to fatten its memory, add more ROM space
>: and add a removable clock-battery?
>
>They did do some good things in the system software over the years.

    System Software support is essential, but you can only stretch a
computer so far with software if you do not update the hardware. You
need to do both.

    As for that subject, it wasn't until System 5 (when the GS was
three years old) that the System Software became usable and managed
to squeeze some speed out of the machine.

>:     Please, I think a 5th grade student could come up with better ideas
>: for improving the Apple IIgs than the engineering department at Apple
>: Computer (mind you, I'm sure they had lots of ideas, just the heads at
>: Apple would not allow them to act on them). It is completely ludicrous
>: and short sighted to believe that the ROM 3 represented the _most_ the
>: Apple IIgs could evolve!
>
>With no successor to the 65816, I can't think of anything they could have
>added which couldn't have been put on a card compatible with all IIgses.

    I disagree. They could have stuck in faster 65C816 (at least 8 MHz),
redesigned parts of the motherboard to get around the 1 MHz bus speed,
updated the VGC to support 256 colors per scanline and a 640x400 video
mode. They also could have put in 2 MB standard with SIMM connectors to
make memory easier to add. Full I/O to the Ensoniq could have been done,
with stereo through the headphone jack and a 1/8" microphone input. Not
too mention doubling the DOC-RAM from 64K up to 128K. They could have
replaced the IWM with a SWIM for High Density floppy support, even
squeezed in an internal 3.5 drive. SCSI support could have been built-in,
with an internal hardrive squeezed in as well. That is just for starters.

    There was nothing to stop them from doing all or most of the above
sometime around the time of the ROM 3. There was still a market for the
machine back then too, and it would have sold quite well. 

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca