ulf-d@obelix.UUCP (Ulf Dahle'n) (05/26/86)
I think it is essential to know what Commodore's plans for the Amiga and it's successors are. I wouldn't like to be an Atari 520ST owner now then the 1040ST is out (especially as it's not possible to upgrade the 520ST to a 1040ST; so I have heard anyway). Apple has done the right thing with its Macintosh Plus: even if it costs, it's possible to make a complete upgrade from the old Mac. So, what about an Amiga 2000 or 3000? Can I buy an Amiga today and be sure of not seeing a much better Amiga 2000 in the shopping window tomorrow - and not be able to upgrade? As an Amiga would be my third "very expensive toy" I really want to know what I get. But as rumours go these days, maybe I should worry more about Commodore still being about in a year or two?
hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (05/28/86)
In article <94@obelix.UUCP> ulf-d@obelix.UUCP (Ulf Dahle'n) writes: >I think it is essential to know what Commodore's plans for the >Amiga and it's successors are. I wouldn't like to be an Atari 520ST >owner now then the 1040ST is out (especially as it's not possible >to upgrade the 520ST to a 1040ST; so I have heard anyway). >Apple has done the right thing with its Macintosh Plus: even if >it costs, it's possible to make a complete upgrade from the old Mac. Sorry to sneak Atari-ish messages back into this group, but the 520 and 1040 are functionally identical. The only differences now are 1) standard DS disk in 1040, while most 520s are still bundled with the SS drive; 2) possible RF modulator retrofit in the 1040, the 520 has a blank spot for a modulator but nobody's said anything about installing one; and 3) base RAM is 1M in the 1040. You could hack your 520 up to 1M if you like, but it's still a hack. If you're willing to bump the 520's memory up, they're identical. Future 1040's are supposed to get a socket for a blitter, but I've also heard rumors that the blitter will be piggybackable to the 68k. So how about it; will there be an Amiga successor? And when are they going to iron out the expansion chassis chaos? I'd hate to see the Amiga go the way of the Mindset. -dave -- David Hsu (301)454-1433 || -8798 <UM doesn't claim anything I do> Communication & Signal Processing Lab / Engineering Computer Facility The University of Maryland -~- College Park, MD 20742 ARPA:hsu@eneevax.umd.edu UUCP:[seismo,allegra,rlgvax]!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu "You know, guys, people say your music is loud, obnoxious, and lethal to mice.."
root@ucsfcca.UUCP (05/30/86)
> I wouldn't like to be an Atari 520ST > owner now then the 1040ST is out (especially as it's not possible > to upgrade the 520ST to a 1040ST; so I have heard anyway). > Apple has done the right thing with its Macintosh Plus: even if > it costs, it's possible to make a complete upgrade from the old Mac. > But for about the price of the Mac "upgrade" you can buy a 1040ST and have both or sell off the 520ST and besides you have still have only spent what the little Mac cost. Thos Sumner (...ucbvax!ucsfcgl!ucsfcca.UCSF!thos)
preece@ccvaxa.UUCP (05/30/86)
> I think it is essential to know what Commodore's plans for the Amiga > and it's successors are. I wouldn't like to be an Atari 520ST owner now > then the 1040ST is out (especially as it's not possible to upgrade the > 520ST to a 1040ST; so I have heard anyway). Apple has done the right > thing with its Macintosh Plus: even if it costs, it's possible to make > a complete upgrade from the old Mac. ---------- Of course for what the complete Mac upgrade costs you could buy a 1040ST and give the 520 to your kids... ---------- > So, what about an Amiga 2000 or 3000? Can I buy an Amiga today and be > sure of not seeing a much better Amiga 2000 in the shopping window > tomorrow - and not be able to upgrade? /* Written 10:32 pm May 25, > 1986 by ulf-d@obelix.UUCP in ccvaxa:net.micro.amiga */ ---------- Seriously, though, the only way to buy a personal computer is after making yourself promise that you WON'T be heartbroken when the next neat thing comes out. The appearance of the Amiga 2000 (or whatever) doesn't make your current version any less capable than it is now. Upgrades are nice, but I can't say I felt any righteous indignation that Honda didn't offer to add fuel injection to my Civic S just because the next year's model had it. If the Amiga becomes sufficiently popular there will be an aftermarket supplying upgrade capabilities to owners of earlier models. Apple to the contrary notwithstanding (their upgrade policy is born more of desperation than altruism), it is very, very rare to see manufacturers of ANYTHING provide for upgrades to current specs. Which is not to say it wouldn't be nice if they did... -- scott preece gould/csd - urbana uucp: ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!preece arpa: preece@gswd-vms
richr@pogo.UUCP (Rich Rodgers) (05/31/86)
In article <94@obelix.UUCP> ulf-d@obelix.UUCP (Ulf Dahle'n) writes: >I think it is essential to know what Commodore's plans for the >Amiga and it's successors are. I wouldn't like to be an Atari 520ST > >So, what about an Amiga 2000 or 3000? Can I buy an Amiga today >and be sure of not seeing a much better Amiga 2000 in the shopping >window tomorrow - and not be able to upgrade? > As I understand it, the Amiga 2000 has a complete upgrade path. In fact, in 6 to 8 weeks, one could have an Amiga 2000 workalike up and running. The Amiga 2000 is an Amiga 1000 with the following enhancements: 68010 CPU ~10% faster 2 meg RAM Or was it 1 MEG??? 5 expansion slots Room inside for 4 "3 1/2" inch peripherals or 1 "5 1/4" and 2 "3 1/2" inch peripherals Many people are currently running their Amiga's (Amigi ??) with a 68010. With the purchase of an expansion box ( Yes, the architecture is FINALLY done. Well 98% done, but that is as good as we'll get) in 6 to 8 weeks and a 1-2 meg RAM plug in card you will have your very own Amiga 2000. The only difference is the external peripherals, hardly worth crying about. As far as the Amiga 3000 is concerned, there are rumors that the display board will be available on an Amiga plug in card. If these rumors are not true, than C/Amiga still has a chance to do it this way. Remember DIRTFT. If only you knew, what I know. -ME -- Rich Rodgers tektronix!pogo!richr
kim@mips.UUCP (05/31/86)
[ ... go ahead, eat my bits ... ]
Take it for what its worth ...
There is a short article in the current issue of Infoworld (page 3, no less)
that supposedly gives a glimmer at what the Amiga 2000 will look like.
According to the article, there will be *internal* expansion slots, up to
2 Meg of memory (dunno if this is without using up a slot, or what), and
some user specifiable mix of 3.5" and 5.25" drives ... both hard and floppy
in both sizes. Also, IBM-PC compatibility will be "internal" (optional ?).
Sorry for the lack of details, but the article was only slightly less vague
than what I've paraphrased above.
They also talked a bit about CBM's financials and the layoffs (sorry, RIF),
and had some quotes from a former CBM-Amiga (Los Gatos) Engineer to the
effect that CBM was disappointed in the Amiga sales, and would have liked
to drop the Amiga, but that the *bank(s)* felt that the Amiga was critical
to CBM's future, and wouldn't let them. Jay Miner is quoted as saying that
he (the former Engineer) is entitled to his opinions, and that there *is*
confidence within the company for the future of the Amiga ...
It surely do sound like alot of internal politics and interdivisional
in-fighting has been going on within CBM over the Amiga. Unfortunately
for Amy, it sounds like the partisans in "the other camp" (West Chester ?)
are winning. Damn!
/kim
--
UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mips!kim
DDD: 408-720-1700 x231
USPS: MIPS Computer Systems Inc, 930 E. Arques Av, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
CIS: 76535,25daveh@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (06/02/86)
> > It surely do sound like alot of internal politics and interdivisional > in-fighting has been going on within CBM over the Amiga. Unfortunately > for Amy, it sounds like the partisans in "the other camp" (West Chester ?) > are winning. Damn! That's silly. West Chester had layoffs too; it wasn't just Los Gatos. In fact, engineering in WC had several prior rounds of layoffs, though the earlier ones managed to generally trim the fat without interfering with much anything that was being developed. But I think the fact that Amiga had only this one round shows complete company support for the Amiga. But they had to be realistic of the size of the staff -- Commodore's just had two quarters of great sales, but they were still loosing money. The company was just too big. -- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Dave Haynie {caip,inhp4,allegra,seismo}!cbmvax!daveh "I read dozens of books, 'bout heros and crooks, and I learned much, of both of their style.." -Jimmy Buffet These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be yours too. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
mykes@3comvax.UUCP (06/02/86)
In article <524@ucsfcca.UUCP> root@ucsfcca.UUCP (Computer Center) writes: >> I wouldn't like to be an Atari 520ST >> owner now then the 1040ST is out (especially as it's not possible >> to upgrade the 520ST to a 1040ST; so I have heard anyway). >> Apple has done the right thing with its Macintosh Plus: even if >> it costs, it's possible to make a complete upgrade from the old Mac. >> >But for about the price of the Mac "upgrade" you can buy a 1040ST >and have both or sell off the 520ST and besides you have still >have only spent what the little Mac cost. > >Thos Sumner (...ucbvax!ucsfcgl!ucsfcca.UCSF!thos) But none of the above combinations (520ST and/or 1040ST and/or Mac+) will ever run Amiga software (in my book that counts for everything). Future Mac software will probably be designed on the Amiga, then ported, because the Amiga has a real programming environment, plus all the fancy frills like menus, windows, screens, etc.
fnf@unisoft.UUCP (Fred Fish) (06/03/86)
In article <526@3comvax.UUCP> mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) writes: > ... Future Mac >software will probably be designed on the Amiga, then ported, because the >Amiga has a real programming environment, plus all the fancy frills like >menus, windows, screens, etc. This might be true if Apple decides to freeze the Mac architecture with the currently released machines, but they've publically stated otherwise. In fact, if Manx had a cross compiler that ran on the Mac and produced executable code for the Amiga, even the current Mac+ (with a hard disk) would probably be a satisfactory programming environment (except for that *GOD AWFUL* keyboard..). =========================================================================== Fred Fish UniSoft Systems Inc, 739 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94710 USA {ucbvax,lll-lcc}!unisoft!fnf (415) 644 1230 TWX 11 910 366-2145 ===========================================================================
wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew) (06/04/86)
Hi Gang, I was wondering if anybody has actually seem the ephemeral Commodore 900. There was a tantalizing little bit aobut it in Byte magazine almost two years ago. I've heard that it is avilable in Canada anr/or Europe. The dealer where I got my Amiga claims that he actually saw a 900 at a Commodore marketing meeting. He also gave me a glossy page that had a photo of the machine and official corporate logo. Here's a brief synopsis of what is on the ad flyer: The Commodore 900 has a Z8001 CPU with room for up to 2 meg on the motherboard and up to 16 meg total address space. A 1.2 meg floppy is standard and either a 10-, 40-, or 67-, meg fixed disk is also included (depending on option). Certain configurations include an RS-232C expansion board that can accomodate up to 8 users. A hardware MMU is included. One version of the console screen goes up to 1024*800 pixels with a 72MHz bandwidth (monochrome) monitor. The operating system is "Coherent" which is the Mark Williams Unix work-alike that is supposed to be compatible with Sys III. O.K., I was totally taken in by the Amiga and love it. I'm ready with my next stack of cash. How soon can we get one? Please, please?... Bill Mayhew Electrical Engineer Division of Basic Medical Sciences Northeastern Ohio Universities' College of Medicine Rootstown, OH 44272 USA (216) 325-2511 ....!allegra!neoucom!wtm or if lucky just wtm@neoucom
grr@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (George Robbins) (06/05/86)
In article <207@neoucom.UUCP> wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew) writes: > >Hi Gang, > > I was wondering if anybody has actually seem the ephemeral >Commodore 900. There was a tantalizing little bit aobut it in Byte >magazine almost two years ago. I've heard that it is avilable in >Canada anr/or Europe. The dealer where I got my Amiga claims that >he actually saw a 900 at a Commodore marketing meeting. He also >gave me a glossy page that had a photo of the machine and official >corporate logo. > > O.K., I was totally taken in by the Amiga and love it. I'm >ready with my next stack of cash. How soon can we get one? >Please, please?... > > Bill Mayhew ..!allegra!neoucom!wtm or if lucky just wtm@neoucom Well, I've seen plenty, but then I was one of the engineers working on the C900 project. Unfortunatly, the C900 status is somewhere between being on indefinite hold, and dead as a doornail. The machine really worked, and a couple of hundred preproduction units were made in Germany, but only a few ever made it outside of Commodore. The reasons for this are complicated, but might be assumed to involve Commodore's financial distress, the problems of starting up a new product line and support structure, and corporate support for the Amiga. Most of the Unix people have moved on, but there are a few of us left, but we firmly believe that what the world needs is still a CHEAP UNIX MACHINE!!! -- George Robbins - now working with, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)
mykes@3comvax.UUCP (06/05/86)
In article <207@neoucom.UUCP> wtm@neoucom.UUCP (Bill Mayhew) writes: > >Hi Gang, > > I was wondering if anybody has actually seem the ephemeral >Commodore 900. There was a tantalizing little bit aobut it in Byte >magazine almost two years ago. I've heard that it is avilable in >Canada anr/or Europe. The dealer where I got my Amiga claims that >he actually saw a 900 at a Commodore marketing meeting. He also >gave me a glossy page that had a photo of the machine and official >corporate logo. > > Here's a brief synopsis of what is on the ad flyer: > > The Commodore 900 has a Z8001 CPU with room for up to 2 meg >on the motherboard and up to 16 meg total address space. A 1.2 meg >floppy is standard and either a 10-, 40-, or 67-, meg fixed disk >is also included (depending on option). Certain configurations >include an RS-232C expansion board that can accomodate up to 8 >users. A hardware MMU is included. > One version of the console screen goes up to 1024*800 >pixels with a 72MHz bandwidth (monochrome) monitor. > The operating system is "Coherent" which is the Mark >Williams Unix work-alike that is supposed to be compatible with Sys >III. > Kinda funny how CBM puts Unix on a machine that goes nowhere and puts TRIPOS on the Amiga. But on the other hand, it's kinda funny how Unix seems to be the "kiss of death" to some machines. Seems that such a cryptic and crude user interface (even on the AT&T7300) just doesn't cut it in the business market (sorry matt :) - especially when 99% of all personal computers are much faster and responsive than something like a vax. On the other hand, Unix would have brought a lot of ready-made software (albeit cryptic software in a lot of cases), including (especially) UUCP and access to world-wide mail (someone has UUCP for the IBM PC, so there is no doubt the Amiga under AmigaDos could also do it).
grr@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (George Robbins) (06/06/86)
In article <530@3comvax.UUCP> mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) writes: > >Kinda funny how CBM puts Unix on a machine that goes nowhere and puts >TRIPOS on the Amiga. Well, life is full of these little ironies. Actually, both machines were pretty well developed hardware concept wise before Commodore and Amiga got together. There's also the problem that unix requires a MMU* and at least 5-10MB of disk to get off the ground. AmigaDos/Tripos is ROMable, and will work off scrawny little 800KB floppies. * this is true until proven otherwise on this machine... -- George Robbins - now working with, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)
rimbold@ulowell.UUCP (Rob Rimbold) (06/07/86)
>On the other hand, Unix would have brought a lot of ready-made software >(albeit cryptic software in a lot of cases), including (especially) UUCP and >access to world-wide mail (someone has UUCP for the IBM PC, so there is no >doubt the Amiga under AmigaDos could also do it). That someone is Lauren Weinstein of Vortex Technologies. If it can be done on a lowly PC, it can be done on an Amiga. Has anyone attempted such a feat (porting UUCP news and mail utilities to the Amiga)?. -- Rob UUCP : ..decvax!wanginst!ulowell!rimbold Internet: rimbold@ulowell.CSNET AT&T : (617) 452-5000 x2233
knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) (06/10/86)
> There's also the problem that unix requires a MMU* and at least > 5-10MB of disk to get off the ground. AmigaDos/Tripos is ROMable, and will > work off scrawny little 800KB floppies. > > George Robbins - now working with, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbmvax!grr Not to put down either of these OSes, but the same advantages (ROMable, hard disk not needed, less RAM needed) are also true of OS-9. Coming soon to an Amiga near you... mike k