Re: IIGS Ram Doubler?

[zaleski@zeus.franklin.edu (Paul Zaleski)]

In article <3u1208$s1b@reeve.research.aa.wl.com> schultp@aa.wl.com (Paul Schultz) writes:
>Robin Prest (rprest@cln.etc.bc.ca) wrote:
>
>: 	I've recently read about a program called a Ram Doubler for the 
>: Mac.  It's supposed to use some sort of virtual memory arrangement to 
>: double your memory.  Is there such a thing for the IIGS, or could 
>: something like that be made? 
>
>No there isn't such a thing. I asked the same question a few months ago.
>The answer was that the 65816 just not really designed to easily be able
>to do this (i.e., no memory management) and that the IIgs Memory Manager
>already was doing a good job of freeing up memory (much better than the
>Mac I was told) so that "in a way" the IIgs already performs some of the
>tricks which a RamDoubler program would do.
>
>However, I just read about RamDoubler for Windows. It apparently takes a
>slightly different approach than RD-Mac. It increases the percieved 
>heap size for each program from the Windows 3.1 allotted 64Kb to 128Kb.
>Apparently, this helps a great deal on a Windows machine to eliminate
>the 'Out of Memory' type of problems. I assume that the PC is not really
>short on memory but that Windows heap (stack) is out of memory.
>
>I was wondering if something similar could be done on the IIgs. Perhaps
>a RamDoubler IIgs which does some intelligent stack swapping to free up
>memory on the stack. At first glance I don't think this could be done
>but I thought I'd throw out the idea and see what others may think.
>
>Paul
>--
>===============================
>Internet: schultp@aa.wl.com
>===============================
>

The idea is a good one, but I dont think that there is much of a market 
for it.  (Unless it made it possible to go beyond the 8 meg limit)

The strange thing about the apple2 market is that hardware prices are 
generally higher than on other platforms..  EXCEPT RAM.  I know that at 
one point it was possible to get the Sequential 4 meg memory card for as 
low as $119.  I think the cheapest you can get 4 megs now is around 
$139(?) {but dont quote me on it}  Still thats low.  Besides ram prices 
always go back down on this platform.  

The other thing is that the GS doesnt require much in the first place.  
You can get by with 2.25M  and you're set for life with 4.  Then of 
course you've got us power users who must have 8.  But then they wouldn't 
be satisfied with a pseudo 8.  

I'd love to go 12 though, too bad it cant be done as far as I know.  
(With a rom rewrite maybe?  i dunno.)

     -paul