Re: My Dream new Apple computer

[magnusfalkirk <dean.phares@gmail.com>]

On Jan 13, 12:18 am, "Jayson Smith"
<ihatespamratguynospample...@insightbb.spamsucks.com> wrote:
> Okay, I know people have, from time to time, said "Let's build a new Apple
> II with these features!" While I have no idea if any such project would ever
> actually get done, here's my vision of a system I'd love to see.
> It could emulate any Apple II system you needed at the moment, and all known
> ROMs for each of these systems would be available. It would have a built-in
> controller for 5.25 and 3.5 drives, if not some built-in disk hardware of
> its own. It would have a built-in CF reader. In my wildest dreams, it would
> have built-in Echo speech synthesizer emulation, but that's just because I'm
> blind and would find that feature useful. In any event, it would still have
> slots, so if you had an Echo or any other off-the-wall hardware you wanted
> to install, you could. It would have cassette in and out ports. Again in my
> wildest dreams, the output could be switched between mic level and line
> level. There would be as much memory as the latest and greatest GS could
> handle, possibly more, which could be used as virtual ram disks and whatnot.
> It would have serial ports that could be switched between SSC-compatible and
> GS-compatible. In any slot that wasn't being used for some mass-storage
> purpose, you could install any number of virtual disk images. That way, you
> could have, say, a DOS 3.3 system master, a ProDos master disk, GS/OS, etc.
> all at your fingertips, all part of the firmware. Speaking of which, the
> firmware would be flash upgradeable.
>      Well, that probably just about does it. Now is this system ever likely
> to be built? Probably not. But it's fun to dream...
> Jayson

I agree it's fun to dream, it would be nice if someone, somewhere were
to produce a "new" Apple II computer. I was looking around the
comp.sys.cbm group, since I recently acquired a Commodore 128 system
(heresy for an Apple II user I know), and you should see the "dream"
post about the latest system from Commodore Business Systems. The
title of the post is "Greetings from an alternate universe":

Commodore Business Machines Unveils New Computer

WESTCHESTER, PA—January 7, 2010—Commodore Business Machines® today
unveiled an all new all-in-one Compadre C900® personal computer
featuring a 20-inch widescreen display encased in an elegant and
professional aluminum and glass enclosure. The entire new Compadre
line features the latest Zilog Z8500 dual core processor and a new,
ultra-thin wireless aluminum Commodore Keyboard, Bluetooth wireless
KoalaPad, built-in Commodore DynamicTotalVision® video camera for
video conferencing, and the JaneWorx® office suite, making it the
ultimate desktop computer for both consumers and professionals.

“This new Compadre is the most incredible desktop computer we’ve ever
made,” said Thomas J. Rattigan Jr., Commodore’s CEO. “Our new design
features the innovative use of materials, including professional-grade
materials manufactured at our own MOS Technology factory, that are
highly recyclable and environmentally friendly."

Packing professional performance into the convenience of an all-in-one
design, the new C900 includes the latest Zilog processor running at up
to 2.8 GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache and up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2
SDRAM memory. The line features MOS Technology's next generation of
graphics with the Hombre VIC-9600 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory.

Providing the latest in high-performance connectivity options to
quickly and conveniently transfer digital photos, music and video, the
C900 includes built-in Sana-IV® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, delivering
up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g;*
Coaxial Ethernet; a total of five CommodoreSerial 3.0 ports (including
two on the new Commodore Keyboard); and one IEEE-Fiber488® port.

Every Compadre also includes JaneWorx 4.0, the most significant update
ever to Commodore’s award-winning suite of productivity applications,
featuring a major new version of JaneWrite® and a completely
reinvented JaneCalc®, both seamlessly integrated with the new
DeluxePresent X® for professional presentations. The new C900 also
comes with the world’s most advanced operating system, Digital
Research's CP/GEM version 10.9, including iBrowse™, YamMail,
JaneDate®, Q-Link AV, and 40 hours free on CompuServe GENIE.

Additional specifications include:

a slot-loading 8x CBM-1751® SuperWORM drive with HD-DVD Support;
250GB Serial-MFM hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
built-in stereo speakers and microphone;
eight programmable function keys; and
BLAZEMONGER 3, the award winning game from Grin & Barrett
SoftwareArts®

Commodore Business Machines ignited the personal computer revolution
in the 1970s with the PET 2001 and reinvented the personal computer in
the 1980s with the Amiga 1000. Today, Commodore continues to lead the
industry in innovation with its award-winning computers and
spearheading the digital media revolution with its sidPlay portable
music players and online media store, and has entered the mobile phone
market with its revolutionary vicPhone.