cpc@sharkey.uucp (Chris Cebelenski) (12/24/90)
I agree with the general consensus that there should be a new "Under $1k"
amiga system. Here's my general $0.02 worth of I/O:
The Amiga 600
"Brick" construction, detachable keyboard, Unit would be in a mini-
tower format, with allowance for 2 Zorro II and 1 Video/Ultility slot(s).
The ECS would come standard, and the machine would be equipted with
the full 2Mb of CHIP ram. (No fast ram, since the A500 doesn't really
have any "true" fast-ram till you get over 1mb anyway this isn't too
much of a design trade-off.) Power supply could stay external but
should be better constructed (heh heh.) Possibly a "standard" A500
card-edge could be included to enable a clean upgrade path. A standard
drive should be included, as well as at least 40Mb of HD space. Processing
power can consist of either a 16Mhz 68000 or a 68020 (design considerations
again) The idea of a co-processor space on the motherboard should be
considered also.
Nothing earth shattering here, but I do belive this system would sell
VERY well if A) Marketed properly, and B) Cost kept down. A small brick
lends itself very nicely to tight desks, and is a really NEAT construction.
Comments are welcome, Flames go to NIL:
--
==========================================================================
Chris Cebelenski UUCP: portal.com!gdc!aminet!czaeap!cpc
The Red Mage Internet: czaeap!cpc@aminet.gdc.portal.com
GEnie: C.CEBELENSKI
// "Amiga - The way REAL people compute"
"Better dead than mellow" \X/
==========================================================================ifarqhar@sunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) (12/25/90)
In article <9012220312.AA02430@czaeap.UUCP> ames!claris!portal!czaeap!cpc@sharkey.uucp (Chris Cebelenski) writes: > The Amiga 600 Amiga 1000 Classic? Er, sorry.... :-) > "Brick" construction, detachable keyboard, Unit would be in a mini- > tower format, with allowance for 2 Zorro II and 1 Video/Ultility slot(s). Good idea, all machines should have at least one expansion and one video slot. I am not sure, though, that a tower case is a good idea. I would rather see a slimline box, slightly wider than the keyboard (which should of the original A1000 keyboard), with a keyboard garage. Personally, I think that the current A2000 is too deep: put a keyboard in front of it and it does not fit on my desk. > The ECS would come standard, and the machine would be equipted with > the full 2Mb of CHIP ram. Well, I would say to give it 1M and let them expand it to 2M as happens in the A3000. However, there should be SIMM sockets *internally* to take it to 10M! These use a bit of board space, add a little more cost to the power supply and the sockets, however they save the user a fortune. > Power supply could stay external but should be better constructed (heh heh.) Never! Internal power supplies. A suggestion: this is not going to be a portable machine, so why not drop the switch mode power-supply? > A standard drive should be included, as well as at least 40Mb of HD space. How about just having an empty bay and the SCSI interface on-board? Or even just put the support circuitry and chip sockets, so that the user can pay to have the active (expensive) part added when they buy the HD. A query (no flames please). As SCSI is rather expensive, what about ST-506? Yes, a horrible standard, but cheap. > Processing power can consist > of either a 16Mhz 68000 or a 68020 (design considerations > again) The idea of a co-processor space on the motherboard should be > considered also. I think that the 68000 is getting venerable, however is the 68020 an afforable option for any low-end machine? Co-processor is a good idea, as would a space for the PMMU. > Nothing earth shattering here, but I do belive this system would sell > VERY well if A) Marketed properly, Excuse my hysterical laughter.... > and B) Cost kept down. A small brick > lends itself very nicely to tight desks, and is a really NEAT construction. This is a good point. The reason I really liked my original A1000 was that it had some beautiful design features: the keyboard garage, a beuatiful keyboard, much more aesthetic design. Personally, I think that the A2000 is hideous: badly designed and ugly. The A3000 is better, but only slightly. The Amiga is a computer for imagination. Now that CBM has addressed the problem of the ugly software interface, now it might consider improving the look of the hardware interface. Standard disclaimers apply (though their presence does make me wonder if it is not time for a laywer cull :-) -- Ian Farquhar Phone : 61 2 805-9400 Office of Computing Services Fax : 61 2 805-7433 Macquarie University NSW 2109 Also : 61 2 805-7420 Australia EMail : ifarqhar@suna.mqcc.mq.oz.au