Re: New firmware for PseudoDisk / some problems

["Alex Freed" <alexf@mirrow.com>]

"David Empson" <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote in message
1hpbmsa.ax5lfm10ta3qsN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz">news:1hpbmsa.ax5lfm10ta3qsN%dempson@actrix.gen.nz...
>
> I'm sure I can hack it in, but that complicates things a bit if I wanted
> to develop SmartPort and other people also wanted to use it.

There are exactly 20 boards of this type in the whole wide world. If there
is enough
interest I can add a few traces to the new revision if it is ever built.

>
> The main benefit of a SmartPort driver would be supporting more than two
> volumes per slot in ProDOS-8 (four in slot 5 with ProDOS-8 1.2 or
> later). With a Smartport driver in the firmware, ProDOS-8 2.0.1 or later
> can access up to about 12 volumes if there are no other disk controller
> cards.

> GS/OS can also use it to access even more volumes, and volumes larger
> than 32 MB (using HFS rather than ProDOS).

You are way ahead of me here. Back in the days when computers were big and
programs
were small I knew ProDOS existed but probably never even used it. The first
time
I saw an actual IIGS was a few month ago when I bought one on e-bay. So GSOS
and
SmartPort were strangers to me even though I knew the A2+ to the gate.

Interestingly the 2e I have now was built in 1993. And I swear I didn't see
any
Apple 2 computers in retail stores at least since 1988 or so.


-Alex.