Re: A2GS Accelerator Thoughts

[regnirps@aol.com (Regnirps)]

doug.cotton@cmdweb.com (Doug Cotton) wrote:

snip

>If you really want to go the emulation route, I'd count on it costing more
>for performance equal to a 20 MHz 65816. With that in mind, you might as
>well go to a faster and more expensive StrongARM and at least get
>additional performance for your extra dollars.

Actually, my interest has always been in two areas.

1) The form factor of the AII and //GS were very nice to work with.
2) The simplicity of interfacing and programming and making custom boards for
data collection and control.

I have envisioned over the years an ARM replacement motherboard that doesn't
even run any Apple II code except in emulation and then only "clean" code that
doesn't do any tricks. What I wanted was a fast 32 bit "Apple II" in the sense
that it stays as simple as an Apple IIe or in fact quit a bit simpler since it
doesn't need to do all the Wozniak performance and hardware tricks. Software?
All new! OS? Start with a Forth or Open Boot (nearly the same thing) kernel. I
favor MOPS as the OS/Language of choice. C compilers are available for the ARM.

In other words, an enthusiasts computer where we start from scratch with SVGA
video and IDE and CD drivers and interface built in and go from there. PCI?
FireWire? USB? Definitly Firewire and USB.

Charlie Springer