Re: Apple Drops Backward Compatibility for Next MacOS

[pubpc1@library.ucla.edu]

christw@lexis-nexis.com (Christopher C. Wood) wrote:
>In article <54oc1n$1p3e@uni.library.ucla.edu>, pubpc1@library.ucla.edu writes:
>|> The real GS monitor is the AppleColor RGB analog monitor, which
>|> is much crisper.  Superior to the tiny Mac Plus built-in screen.
>
>Except the best video mode on the GS was 640x200, and it had its
>quirks.  Way better than the Apple //e.  The Mac always had better
>vertical resolution (384 vs 200).

But the GS has better horizontal resolution.  The GS also has true a
true 16 grayscale.  The Mac Plus only had black and white.  That means
it has to dither grays, which cancels out any vertical resolution
advantage.

>Shortly after the GS came out, the
>color Mac II with 640x480, 256 colors from a pallette of millions came
>out.

Considering that the GS outsold the Mac in the first year, Apple should
have made a new, more advance GS after two years.  They could easily
have built a GS that eclipsed the Mac II.  Indeed, based on sales, it
would have been logical.


>
>|> Thanks to its slots, today you can add a Second Sight card and
>|> run a VGA/SVGA monitor on it too.
>
>Except there isn't much software supporting that video mode.  Unless
>it's just line-doubling the 640x200 to 640x400, with double-height
>pixels.

Well now, if Apple didn't cancel the GS and still supported it, more
software would be around.