Re: Compact Flash card project for Apple II / IIGS

["Bill Garber" <willy46pa@comcast.net>]

"TheByteBooster" <alex@frankendata.de> wrote in message 8d1d558c.0409092339.3e31d12e@posting.google.com">news:8d1d558c.0409092339.3e31d12e@posting.google.com...
: "Bill Garber" <willy46pa@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<a-idnecE6b4u5t3cRVn-iA@comcast.com>...
: > "Glenn Jones" <rg.jones@rogers.com> wrote in message news:FYZ%c.205854$pTn.98645@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com...
: > : > The thing is I have made that graphic card around the HD63484 ACRT
: > : > controller. At theat tome (1994) quite a nice graphic processort.
: > : > Unfortunatly it is no longer available. S
: > : 
: > : http://www.innovasic.com/pdfs/IA63484prelim.pdf
: > 
: > Good job, Glenn.  Now he has no excuse.  :o) 
: 
: Well, well... To put my notes and prototype back together would not
: take that long (some months depending on how I find time). The
: "biggie" comes when the software driver needs to be written.
: 
: I my opinion only a QuickDraw II library/driver would make sense. So
: most (I they are written cleanly) current Apple IIGS applications can
: take advantage of the new high resolutions and color modes right away.
: 
: So this is quite some amount of work. However I choose the HD63484 due
: to that it has already many "highlevel" drawing command implemnted
: straight in HW (e.g. lines, polygones, filling with patters, circles,
: clipping and window(ing)).
: 
: Basically it boils down to getting the HW to work, - relativly easy.
: But the how about the SW.
: 
: Any volunteers ?

Ah, yes, software. One of the reasons I have projects 
on the back burner. I can build the hardware just fine, 
but the software/firmware, now that is another question 
yet to be answered. I've been studying and learning how 
to write programs again in assembler, and although the 
Apple II is not really that different from the Atari800, 
it IS different. I must somehow refrain from the mundane 
tasks of buying and selling existing hardware in hopes 
that there is a way that they will miraculously tell me 
how to program my own hardware. They haven't so far. 
Seems the only way is to get in there and start putting 
down some code and see what it does. I guess what I'm 
saying here is, I am up for a challenge, but not yet am 
I ready for that kind of challenge. Video is probably 
the most complex and difficult systems to master and 
hence to code. There have been a few that have vocalized 
that they would love to work on a video card, but where 
are they now. "I want", "I want", "I want", that's all 
we hear all the time, but where are the minds and the 
hands when it is time to work?, gone. One reason the 
RAM-4-GS came to be is because I saw a need. I tried to 
fill it with buying up GS ram cards and reselling them, 
but the rarity was making that difficult, so, I decided 
to create a ram card of 4MB for the GS myself, with the 
help of a good friend, and VOILA!, RAM-4-GS. 

Ok, let's get down to brass tacks here. How close are 
you to a prototype??? Would you like a real one?? Can 
I help you lay it out on PCB?? Do you want the firmware 
on disk, or on the card in eprom?? Will this put out a 
true VGA signal or just convert the Apple II video modes 
so they display properly on the VGA display?? The latter 
is much easier I think. I'd love to discuss this project 
with you on a more detailed level, so, feel free to use 
the email address below, it is valid, and we'll see where 
it takes us.  :o)  

Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together, 
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-) 
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net



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