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Re: If you could design a $300 homecomputer today, what would you choose?



william strutts (wrstrutts1@nospam.home.com) wrote:
: > Hardware:
: >  - 4MB to 8MB RAM
<...>
: >  - 64MB to 256MB RAM with battery backup, for
: >    storing documents.  Or use flash memory if
: >    it is cheap enough.

: You couldn't get that much ram on a 68000 because it only
: has a 24 bit memory bus.  You would have to go to a 68030
: or so to get the wider data path.

Then throw in some sort of decoder for the 64-256MB chunk.  Since
it is not the main memory (that would be the 4MB chunk), it should
not make much of a difference.  Indeed, it need not make any
difference to the average programmer, since it would (presumably)
be access through a set of file system calls.

Besides, isn't the 6502 limited to 64kB chunks.  Apple simply
implemented some sort of paging mechanism to access the 128kB found
in later models (IIe/IIc).  Likewise for the 192kB card which I
have lying around here, somewhere.  (Though my understanding is
the 1MB card for the 8-bit machines used some sort of window into
memory.)

Byron.