Re: NetScape 5 and a GS upgrade

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Ronald Clark writes ...
> 
> Netscape 5 is coming out soon and it will be only 5megs
> I do not see whay we can't make a netscape for the GS.
> Please tell me what your think on this mater

     The current major barrier is hardware. We need more speed, more
memory, and an SVGA display. Once we have these, a Netscape/GS is just
one of many applications which will make sense-- new games, music
players, graphics editors, and programming utilities are some others. 


     Some upgrade ideas are presented on the Upgrade the GS site at ...

http://members.wbs.net/homepages/m/y/n/mynameisme712/g.htm

You can click on a few specific topic buttons to read some upgrade ideas
and you can click the Go to the Message Board button and post your
ideas. I do not know how you read the messages which have been posted to
the board-- I posted a message asking about this-- perhaps the site
owner will explain.


     A fair question is _can_ the IIgs be upgraded to the level required
for running a full featured Netscape 5? For sure, the existing hardware
seems almost purposefully designed to block significant enhancements.

     Yes; supposedly, we can continue to swap in faster accelerators,
plug in bigger memory boards, and, perhaps, plug in an SVGA video card.
There are several reasons why this approach will not get us where we
want to go:

o- Each board will be fairly expensive, assuming anyone produces it.

o- GS/OS would need to be modified in order to take advantage of the
enhancements.

o- Some users will add one or two plug-in enhancements, some will add
them all, and some will add none.

o- It would be nearly impossible to produce OS modifications to
accommodate all of the possible machine configurations.

o- There would be no significant user base for software designed for the
entire collection of plug-ins.
 
     If plug-ins were the way to produce what amounts to a new machine,
everyone would do it. No one does. Mac and PC users have motherboards
with Slots, too. They routinely trash these-- every 2-3 years.

     There is just so much enhancement you can sanely achieve via Slot
plug-ins. We have long ago passed the point where this or that
accelerator, memory, etc. board is going to make much difference. 


     What about a plug-in New-GS-on-a-board with all of the necessary
speed, memory, video, sound, I/O, and OS firmware enhancements?
Certainly, this is doable. The catch is that such a board would entail a
high level of integration with 'everything at once' checked out and
ready to go. Apple might be able to produce such a board; but, it is not
the sort of thing any group of users is going to come up with.

     So far, the best approach seems to be to just add a new super-GS
box which uses the current GS as a 'front end'. Current display modes
could be passed through to the SVGA monitor in order to retain old-GS
compatibility. The current OS, DOS 3.3, ProDOS-8 ... would still be
available via the current GS hardware and firmware.

     The Super-GS could be a relatively simple motherboard with new
Slots and sockets sitting in a PC tower case. Some Slots could
accomodate low cost for-PC boards to handle I/O, Sound, and, perhaps,
Video. There would be sockets for 64MB RAM strips and a mem controller.
The processor could be on a plug-in board-- the current 65C816 running
at max speed is one option. Firmware would be an enhanced version of the
Monitor.

     Except for finding a no-hassle way to pass through current GS video
to the SVGA monitor, the Super-GS box is something many users could
build. It would not be a difficult design for a user group or small
hardware maker to produce at a price most users could afford; and, there
would be no need to worry about Apple's or anyone else's firmware
copyrights.

     A IIgs upgrade which gets a large number of users up to the same
high performance level is doable. Once it happens, we will be ready to
talk about a Netscape 5 (and lots more) for the Apple II series.



Rubywand