werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) (08/22/86)
s.cmu.edu> Summary: this is really a revamped article I had posted earlier and canceled Summary: Re: Mac+ Architecture Diff? (really MacMemory upgrades to 4Meg) Keywords: humanTouch, 3-to-1 Touchboard, RAM and CPU upgrade, Honeywell's Lynx trackball, more [ when I posted the original part of this article I, incorrectly, had stated that MacMemory had encouraged us to install 4 of their 1MegByte RAM-SIMs which are base on 256K chips, without needing to be concerned about the drain on the power-supply. this was incorrect and when I realized the error (shortly after posting), I cancelled the article, and sat on it in the meantime, waiting for better info. However, MacMemory *DID* indicate that upgrading their "Max2" 2Meg upgrade board for a 512K Mac to 4Meg is no problem given that you have to use 1MegByte chips to do it - the sockets are on the board. But we found a cheaper if not better way to get a 4Meg Mac ...] From werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) Wed Jul 16 11:18:15 1986 Subject: Re: Mac+ Architecture Diff? (really MacMemory upgrades to 4Meg) References: <69600011@uiucdcsb> <12303@amdcad.UUCP> <112@crystal.UUCP> <1035@k.cs.cmu.edu> In article <1035@k.cs.cmu.edu>, dtw@k.cs.cmu.edu (Duane Williams) writes: > > > .... If you can afford to or find a buyer for the > > Apple SIMMs, you could do without them and stick 4 of MacMem.'s > > 1Meg-byte cards into the 4 available board sockets. > > I talked to someone at MacMemory about the possibility of putting four of > their boards into a MacPlus. I was told that this was not feasible because > the MacPlus power supply couldn't handle it. > > Duane yep, we talked with them also, and whereas the initial response was the same as yours, talking with a "higher-up" gives me hope that there are ways to get around the problem. What to believe? Well, you all know of my low opinion of the power-supply (having been bitten more than once already - not on a machine with a Max-board, though!), so other than pointing out the "possibility" of installing more than 2 Meg, I would hesitate to "recommend" doing so, based on the lack of sufficient data and experience that I have myself with such a configuration. ... there is, however, a new toy that just arrived here last week, and it is now in "test". The item I am hinting at here is the "Three-to-One Touchboard" from Human Touch, which was shown at the Frisco show in January, and had been on order since then (ouch!!!) It features: o a 12.5MHz 68000 processor [functionally replaces the Mac's] o 1.5MB of RAM [works with either 128K or 512K Macs] o 384 KB of empty ROM-sockets [burn your favorite program into ROM and watch it fly (can you, legally, back up a program into ROM? compilers and such? I guess, I ought to ask the legal eagles in net.legal about that.)] o ExpandaTouch(TM) external card cage [brings the signals from the 68000 to 2 external connectors, where you can hook up whatever devices anyone will come out with that uses them. For example, you can create SCSI ports ...] Given that the literature I have handy is outdated and I am not the one playing with the upgraded machine, all I can say so far is, that the speed increase is noticable immediately when working on the desktop opening and closing windows, putting files away, etc. You immediately get spoiled and start disliking the speed of a "slow" Mac ... (-: Seriously, we use 2 simple little demos to show the difference. In one, we open all the folder-windows the system will let us and then use OPTION-CLOSE to order them all closed. ... and watch them disappear. In the second demo, we pull lots of files out of the folders and drop them onto the DeskTop; then we do a "Put Away" from the DeskTop Menu "File" ..... and watch those get zapped. Of course, where the speed increase really becomes meaningfull is with a program like MacSpin, which really needs the faster speed and so far, only the "expensive" Levco monsters could help with that. But we also got to watch one Levco-monster here bomb a lot, whereas we have had no problem with the 3-on-1 yet. And if you are a developer, I know you would rather wait only half as long for your compiles to tell you that there is still another bug ....((-: We did, however, have to remove the internal Micah-20 HD from the machine the 3-on-1 went in, because there was no way to share space and 68000 to clip-on, and we did not want to 'experiment'. I think Human Touch advertises in all the mags now, so check there for more info. Prices are around $1,000, but folks on this net should know better and find them for around $800 (ask if you have to). And before I forget, let me tell you about another new gadget which I happened to start playing with this week (and which is advertised everywhere, in case you want to follow-up). I am very much addicted to my Assimilation Trackball, and here comes Honeywell's Lynx trackball, which has one feature that I really like: a second-button, which works as a "Click-and-Hold" button, such that when you click it on a menubar-item, it drops down the menu, which stays open without having to hold any button so that you can move to the item you want to pick, and click there with the second button, without running the danger of having the finger slip off the 'held button' when passing over 'the wrong item' with the unfortunate results that can lead to .. (alright, so you have never done a CUT where you meant to do a COPY, and lost the contents of your Clipboard. and I could tell worse ...) This "click-and-hold" button was also useful with MacSpin, where you need to hold the mouse to keep the image spinning. A real drag when you are giving a talk using a large screen monitor, and you can't take your fingers of the mouse-button. But as I like the "feel" and the larger size of both buttons and ball of the Assimilation better, I would prefer to figure out a way to convert one of its buttons into a click-and-hold button rather than switching to the Lynx. It's going to be a tough choice. Of course, there is also the 'software solution' of some company ( I forget which but believe it is part of the MockPackage and called: MockPackage Utilities from CE Software ...) which installs a mod into your system which creates a GEM-like behavior, where the menu drops down as soon as the mouse-cursor is moved onto a menu-item; but that causes me so much grief with Switcher and others, that, to me, it is not a feasable alternative. ---Werner (my coffee got cold again, darnit ...) [ I have some info to add since the above was written sometimes in July ] We have since figured out a way to install the *EXTERNAL* power supply of the 3-to-1 Touchboard *INTERNALLY* (which it looks like it was built for in the first place, but humanTouch, probably, decided that it did not want the hassles of having to punch holes into the case - which we did - and which Apple's 'Keeper-of-the-warranties' probably disapproves of) and we think that we have even found the space to install the Micah-20 again also and to add a SCSI-port to top it of !!! It also seems that this set-up can run *UP-TO* 2.5 times as fast as a "simple" Mac+ (not taking into account any speed up due to the additional RAM) because the 8MHez 68000 seems to be doing some of the sound, graphics and other house-keeping work, while the 12.5MHz is crunching ... however, unless you are very selective in what you run, you will not experience such an increased speed-up, but rather something more moderate, like a 25 to 50 percent improvement. next to add the 68881 ... ****************************************************************************** *DISCLAIMER* anything I say may be completely wrong and you should not even dream that you can hold me (or anyone else, for that matter) responsible for anything you may be tempted to do in result of this article. yep, I built my way a backdoor out of any troubles this may cause me ... ******************************************************************************