Re: Apple //f...

[Charles Stephens <devnull@dobbs.eng.sun.com>]

>>>>> "ST" == Supertimer  <supertimer@aol.com> writes:

 ST> Since the "Mac" GUI is embedded in the IIGS, it is doubtful
 ST> that Apple would sell the rights to the IIGS even to this day.
 ST> It would be too easy for someone to take that GUI out of the
 ST> IIGS and wrap it in modern hardware (maybe even in a PC)
 ST> and challenge the Mac.

 ST> Think about it.  Some company buys the IIGS.  It takes only
 ST> the GUI out of it.  It then builds an OS around that GUI and
 ST> sells the OS for PCs.  That's something Apple is too smart
 ST> to allow happen.

Frankly, I think starting from scratch is faster than hacking 65C816
machine code.  Apple probably didn't want to hassle with the costs to
gather the documentation and code.

I mean, if I wanted to create a IIgs clone today, I could easily do it
with gcc and 65816 cross compiler.  The hard part is making the custom
IC's.  Although, I suspect one could do it with cheap and fast FPGAs.

On another subject, what really I want so badly is a MMU for the CPU.
The only real way one could expand the IIgs software is to design a
true virtual memory system.  Expand the application address sapce to
16M, preemptive multitasking, etc.

The 65C816 has the abort line which, if it does work as documented,
would allow for easy implementation of such a device.

cfs
-- 
Charles F. Stephens               = "I don't like the cores,
Software Psychic and Illuminary   =  but the cores like me!"
Solaris Directory Service         =            -- Marilyn Manson, paraphrased
Solaris Software                  = "We don't make mistakes, we make
Sun Microsystems, Inc.            =  happy accidents."
Menlo Park, California, USA       =            -- Bob Ross