a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) (10/12/90)
> @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: > > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming > out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- > face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out > of a total palette of 16 million colors. > I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 > bit > if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this > fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the > monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have > neither > heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it > will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that > it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs > and a hard disk (I think). > What I am wondering is this just an unsubstantiated rumor or is is to be > a reality? If so, it could really knock Amiga down the graphics list. He > also > stated that the target market of this wonderbox is going be the multimedia > market. Any info would be appreciated... > I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 68040 just barely hit the market and I don't think the 68050 (if there are plans for one) is much more than a few scribbled lines on some drawing board somewhere. Next, with all the features you've named I'd say this new computer would have to cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5000- $6000. Just the ram alone would cost more than the $1000 you've mentioned. Also, have you ever heard of a '386 that would actually multitask without Windows 2.0 or 3.0 running? So, unless your friend gets re-runs of the Beverly Hillbillies and spends all his time glued to the set, I'd say you should invite him for a nice drive in the country and when he accepts, drop him off at the loony bin. -Ron Tarrant
a1654@mindlink.UUCP (Michael Beck) (10/12/90)
I think that some of the aspects of the "new computer" are a little
confused, but I believe that some of the features you discribe are possible.
I know that Frank Hogg Labs put out a computer called the TomCat (a
6809/68000) and it runs both OS9 & OSK. It is compatible with the Radio Shack
OS9 for the COCO3 and has a 68000 for OSK. It is upgradeable to a 68030 and can
handle all the RAM you can give it.
I also know that the OS9/OSK users group has designed their own "dream
Machine" and it is supposed to come to market, in a limited way, very soon, and
the description you give, re the new computer, sounds very much like this
machine. I haven't been that close to the OS9/OSK community in about a
year, but if you are really interested, I can find out more.
BTW when I sold my OS9 system it was a Radio Shack COCO 3, with 1meg RAM, 60
meg HD, No Halt Controller, etc. Not bad for a little 8bit 6809. I do miss it
now and then, especially when I guru! I can't just go to another window and try
to fix it or at least carry on. OS9, was much more flexable then AMigaDos, but
I still LOVE my AMIGA!
Michael Beck
--
>>>>>>>>>>Michael Beck:rsoft!mindlink!beck@van-bc.UUCP<<<<<<<<<>>"Me and My Motorcycle, we are free..." <<>>-Love and Rockets <<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<^S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) (10/13/90)
Hello,
I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming
out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter-
face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out
of a total palette of 16 million colors.
I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 bit
if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this
fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the
monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have neither
heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it
will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that
it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs
and a hard disk (I think).
What I am wondering is this just an unsubstantiated rumor or is is to be
a reality? If so, it could really knock Amiga down the graphics list. He also
stated that the target market of this wonderbox is going be the multimedia
market. Any info would be appreciated...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
=======================================================================
||NeXT- (nekst) N. The only computer to have sold less than 10,000 ||
|| units and not be considered a flop. ||
||------------------------------------------/ /------------------------||
||---Brian Wright | / / ||
||---s36666wb@etsuacad.etsu.edu | \ \/ / Only Amiga ||
||---Commercial Artist and Amigaphile| \/\/ Makes It Possible!! ||
=======================================================================lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (10/13/90)
In <10931@hubcap.clemson.edu>, ddyer@hubcap.clemson.edu (Doug) writes: >S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: > >> I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >>out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >>face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out >>of a total palette of 16 million colors. > > You might be refering to the CD/I to probably be released 1991. It >will run OS/9, 256 colors at 384x240, real time video decompression, 1 600MG >cd player. It has CD quality sound, a 10MHZ 68000, and is made by Phillips(?). On the other hand, he may be referring to this.... (excerpted from a posting...) From: ee150000@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.m68k,comp.os.os9 Subject: New 68k micro Message-ID: <8732@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu> Date: 26 Jul 90 04:57:00 GMT Reply-To: ee150000@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu () Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga Hi, Here's some information on a new computer that is set to be introduced in August of this year: name: MM/1 (multimedia microcomputer) by Interactive Media Systems cpu : 16 mhz 68070 (Signetics 68000 code compatible w/ serial port) os : OS9/68000 (also called OSK) Unix-type operating system in graphics env. graphics processor: VSC (Signetics) produces the following graphics modes: 320 x 200 256 colors out of 16 million 640 x 210 16 colors out of 16 million 320 x 400 256 colors out of 16 million (interlaced) 640 x 420 256 colors out of 16 million (interlaced) 720 x 510 16 colors out of 16 million (interlaced) disk storage: 1.44 megabyte floppy memory: 1 (one) megabyte of ram on motherboard ports: 2 serial, parallel?, hi-res mouse input, joystick input, XT keyboard floppy disk, video out (analog VGA true multi-sync, RS CM-8, composite) bus: 32 bit bus (VME bus derivation) included software: OS9/68000 V2.3 C Compiler, Basic, graphics editor, text editor, file manager, print spooler options: memory/stereo/scsi board (expands MM/1 by nine megabytes, stereo sampling and production hardware, scsi interface) CD-ROM with scsi interface?, ethernet interface? price: ~$800 for base system, $349 for expansion board (when purchased at the same time as the base system, otherwise $399) distribution: retail, mail order phone: (for brochure) 1-800-866-9084, 48 contiguous states only. If anyone has seen this in action, could they post their reaction and any corrections to the information above? (end of included posting) -larry -- It is not possible to both understand and appreciate Intel CPUs. -D.Wolfskill +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Michael Griffith) (10/13/90)
S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out >of a total palette of 16 million colors. > I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 bit >if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this >fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the >monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have neither >heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it >will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that >it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs >and a hard disk (I think). I find myself wondering if this is a joke or just stupidity on your part and am forced to conclude that it must be a joke, since your other posts sounded a bit more reliable (either that or you stole someone else's .sig file). OS/9 does exist and I suppose would be possible. 256 color display is no big deal. 8 bit sound or 16 bit is no real problem. $1000 should perhaps have a zero or two tacked onto it, especially if it's running a 68070... :-) Are you sure that wasn't a 4 gigabyte re-writable optical drive? And gee, with all that hardware can you possible get by with only a mere miniscule 8 megs of RAM? BTW: I wouldn't mind selling you my 68060 box. (I'll sell it to ya for a mear $700 dollars and it's almost as fast...) | Michael Griffith | If I had an opinion it certainly | | griffith@eecs.ee.pdx.edu | wouldn't be the same one as | | ...!tektronix!psueea!eecs!griffith | Portland State University anyways. |
lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (10/13/90)
In <3516@mindlink.UUCP>, a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: >> @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: >> >> I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >> out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >> face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out >> of a total palette of 16 million colors. >> I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 >> bit >> if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this >> fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the >> monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have >> neither >> heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it >> will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that >> it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs >> and a hard disk (I think). >> What I am wondering is this just an unsubstantiated rumor or is is to be >> a reality? If so, it could really knock Amiga down the graphics list. He >> also >> stated that the target market of this wonderbox is going be the multimedia >> market. Any info would be appreciated... >> > > >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. He is neither a loony nor a legpuller. The machine exists, though I don't know of the current status of it, availability or price wise. >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 68040 >just barely hit the market and I don't think the 68050 (if there are plans for >one) is much more than a few scribbled lines on some drawing board somewhere. The 68070 does indeed exist. It is a 68000 with some extra functionality built-in. The numeric designation does not imply that is is a progression of the current 68000/010/020/030/040. >Next, with all the features you've named I'd say this new computer would have >to cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5000- $6000. Just the ram alone >would cost more than the $1000 you've mentioned. The machine he is talking about may or may not have all the features mentioned at the price mentioned, but I would point out that 8 megs, at retail prices, can currently be had for under $600. Wholesale prices can drop this figure considerably, and need not be charged out in the base machine at retail prices. >Also, have you ever heard of a '386 that would actually multitask without >Windows 2.0 or 3.0 running? What's the '386 got to do with anything mentioned here? >So, unless your friend gets re-runs of the Beverly Hillbillies and spends all >his time glued to the set, I'd say you should invite him for a nice drive in >the country and when he accepts, drop him off at the loony bin. No, he gets reruns of messages posted to the net about just such a machine (see a separate posting I made tonight rerunning the same posting). If anyone has further questions about this machine, I would be happy to pass them on to (and relay answers from) Kevin Darling via Compuserve (76703.4227@compuserve.com), who is one of the designers. His name should be familiar to most OS/9 fans. -larry -- It is not possible to both understand and appreciate Intel CPUs. -D.Wolfskill +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
ddyer@hubcap.clemson.edu (Doug) (10/13/90)
S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out >of a total palette of 16 million colors. You might be refering to the CD/I to probably be released 1991. It will run OS/9, 256 colors at 384x240, real time video decompression, 1 600MG cd player. It has CD quality sound, a 10MHZ 68000, and is made by Phillips(?). Supposedly this will be sold as a household appliance such as a VCR. And yes, the price tag is around $1000. Bye, Doug.
ekrimen@csuchico.edu (Ed Krimen) (10/14/90)
S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes:
- I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to
- be coming out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a
- windowing type inter- face. It will have a 256 color display at
- some fairly high resolution out of a total palette of 16 million
- colors.
- [other stuff deleted]
It's called the MM1 (sounds like a tank doesn't it?). I heard about
this in June or July. I called the manufacturer and asked them to
send me some info and I haven't received any yet.
--
==========================================================================
Ed Krimen - ekrimen@csuchico.edu - ||| SysOp, Fuji BBS 916-894-1261
Video Production Major ||| [ THIS SPACE AVAILABLE ]
California State University, Chico / | \ [ LEAVE E-MAIL ]es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) (10/14/90)
In article <3516@mindlink.UUCP> a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: > >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 68040 >just barely hit the market and I don't think the 68050 (if there are plans for There IS a 68070. It isn't some super-chip, it is a scaled-down 010 or 020, I don't remember which. I have heard this same thing from Kevin Darling on CompuServe. -- Ethan Ethan Solomita: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu *Iraq += *Kuwait; NumCountries--; and by popular demand... free(Kuwait);
zerkle@iris.ucdavis.edu (Dan Zerkle) (10/14/90)
In article <3516@mindlink.UUCP> a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: >> @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: >> >> I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >> out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- ... >> fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the >> monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have ... >> it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs >> and a hard disk (I think). >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 68040 Since this is the second time I have seen people say "There's no sech thang", I suppose I have to respond. A couple months ago, the 68070 was mentioned here. It is not made by Motorola, like the 68000-68040, but it is basically a clone of the MC68010. Just for reference, 8 megs of ram plus a hard disk will probably cost at least $1000 by themselves. A monitor that can handle high resolution analog graphics is at least another $300 at rock bottom prices. Dan Zerkle zerkle@iris.ucdavis.edu (916) 754-0240 Amiga... Because life is too short for boring computers.
BARRETT@owl.ecil.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett) (10/14/90)
In Message <323@pdxgate.UUCP> Michael Griffith <griffith@eecs.pdx.edu> writes: >I find myself wondering if this is a joke or just stupidity on your part and >am forced to conclude that it must be a joke, since your other posts sounded >a bit more reliable (either that or you stole someone else's .sig file). >OS/9 does exist and I suppose would be possible. 256 color display is no big >deal. 8 bit sound or 16 bit is no real problem. $1000 should perhaps have a >zero or two tacked onto it, especially if it's running a 68070... :-) > >Are you sure that wasn't a 4 gigabyte re-writable optical drive? And gee, with >all that hardware can you possible get by with only a mere miniscule 8 megs >of RAM? > >BTW: I wouldn't mind selling you my 68060 box. (I'll sell it to ya for a >mear $700 dollars and it's almost as fast...) You are going to eat your words. You accused someone else of being "stupid", and posted this message that shows that YOU are the stupid one. The 68070 does exist. It is an embedded controller based on the 68000, with on-chip RAM, ROM, and some general-purpose I/O circuitry added. Next time, figure out what someone else is talking about before you say that they are stupid, or you will end up with pie on your face again. >| Michael Griffith | If I had an opinion it certainly | >| griffith@eecs.ee.pdx.edu | wouldn't be the same one as | >| ...!tektronix!psueea!eecs!griffith | Portland State University anyways. | -MB-
amiga@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Paul) (10/14/90)
One Question: How does a computer with a resolution higher than NTSC Standards go for multimedia? Answer: It dosen't Just another tidbit. The new color NeXT is targeted at the HDTV market. You might ask how I know this, well I'll tell you. Look at the specks for the NTSC output, it's at 68 Frames/sec which is the refresh rate for HDTV. I wounder if the new chip set will be fast enough to support this scan rate ? ` Paul
griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Michael Griffith) (10/14/90)
BARRETT@owl.ecil.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett) writes: > You are going to eat your words. You accused someone else of being >"stupid", and posted this message that shows that YOU are the stupid one. >The 68070 does exist. It is an embedded controller based on the 68000, >with on-chip RAM, ROM, and some general-purpose I/O circuitry added. > Next time, figure out what someone else is talking about before you >say that they are stupid, or you will end up with pie on your face again. Well that may be. If I eat 'em, though, it will be with grace. I didn't mean to imply that the author was stupid. What I said was that I believed he was pulling my leg, 'cause I've read enough of his other posts to know otherwise. Still, I think to be a bit misleading, it might be nice to mention that this "68070" is not an MC68070. This is in effect an apology, which is why I'm wasting bandwidth making it public. I will reserve my doubts about the article, but I in know way intended to offer insult, only my own skepticism. The price and the "68070" were the only two things I meant to question. BTW: Isn't OS/9 actually OS/900 or something now? I seem to remeber seeing an add for it in Byte... | Michael Griffith | If I had an opinion it certainly | | griffith@eecs.ee.pdx.edu | wouldn't be the same one as | | ...!tektronix!psueea!eecs!griffith | Portland State University anyways. |
hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) (10/14/90)
In article <323@pdxgate.UUCP> griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Michael Griffith) writes:
%>fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the
%>monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have neither
%>heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it
%>will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that
%>it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs
%>and a hard disk (I think).
%
%I find myself wondering if this is a joke or just stupidity on your part and
%am forced to conclude that it must be a joke, since your other posts sounded
%a bit more reliable (either that or you stole someone else's .sig file).
%OS/9 does exist and I suppose would be possible. 256 color display is no big
%deal. 8 bit sound or 16 bit is no real problem. $1000 should perhaps have a
%zero or two tacked onto it, especially if it's running a 68070... :-)
%
%Are you sure that wasn't a 4 gigabyte re-writable optical drive? And gee, with
%all that hardware can you possible get by with only a mere miniscule 8 megs
%of RAM?
%
%BTW: I wouldn't mind selling you my 68060 box. (I'll sell it to ya for a
%mear $700 dollars and it's almost as fast...)
Don't be so quick to scoff. A 68070 is a special part, a 16MHZ 68000 with
dual on-chip USARTs and something like 2K of on-chip memory. It's only a
68000 at heart, but is still a very powerful base to build a computer
system from. (So the original posting is neither a joke, nor stupidity on
the author's part. What about yours? Posting from ignorance is such a
dangerous thing....)
--
-- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan
one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip
if one of those data bits happens to flip,
one million data bits stored on the chip...GIAMPAL@auvm.auvm.edu (10/14/90)
O.k. to end any b.s. and confusion, here is the OFFICIAL brochure that
Interactive Media Systems puts out (as of about 1 month ago, doubt the specs
would/will change much).
CPU 15 Mhz Signetics 68070 with DMA (basically a 68000 w/serial port)
Graphics : Signetics 66470 VSC w/on board pixel acceleration logic w/realtime
RLE image decoding. Displays up to 256 colors.
Palette : Brooktree triple 8 bit DAC's for 16.7 million color palette.
Resolution : 320x210 (256 col) to 720x540 (16 colors) (needs multisync)
640x420 without multi-sync.
RAM : 1mb 100ns 256/x4 DRAM expandable
Floppy : 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy drive with 3ms track access.
Ports : 2 serial (one configurable for MIDI) PC keyboard, RGB-Analog
Network : I^2C header (cable and driver available separately) transmits
100 KBaud w/ up to 127 slave MM/1's
Sound : PC sound through monitor (i.e. 1 bit sound)
Software : OS-9/68000 multitasking os.. PC file manager, sequential block
file manager, print spooling, C compiler, Basic, text editor,
graphics editor, demos, and full utility set.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MM/1 Extended System Board----------------
Ports : 1 powered DB9 serial, expands to 2 serial ports. 2 parallel, DMA
SCSI, DMA stero sound. Joystick.
Ram : Sockets for 2 SIMMS ( 2 - 1 MB simms, or 2 - 4 MB simms)
Clock : Realtime clock (batter backed w/ non-volatile ram)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[ that is their brochure, now are my comments ]
After talking with the local PR guy, and reading their literature, it sounds
like a bunch of Tandy CoCo owners got together and said this is what we want
for a computer. They kinda missed the boat on somethings (IMHO) and did a
good job on others. They actually did benchmarks against the Amiga to make
sure their system was fast. However by unbundling things like sound, they
have really weakened the system as a whole (not to mention no graphics
processor). Just my thoughts on the matter.....
--dominicrehrauer@apollo.HP.COM (Steve Rehrauer) (10/14/90)
In article <3516@mindlink.UUCP> a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: >> @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: >> I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >> out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >> face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out >> of a total palette of 16 million colors. >> I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 >> bit >> if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this >> fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the >> monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have >> neither > >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. Sure there is. It's something like a 68000 with extra "glue" logic. Meant for embedded controller applications. This is probably the CD/I box. Wasn't this already discussed here a few months ago? >So, unless your friend gets re-runs of the Beverly Hillbillies and spends all >his time glued to the set, I'd say you should invite him for a nice drive in >the country and when he accepts, drop him off at the loony bin. Such kindness. Hopefully others will be equally kind in correcting your mistakes. -- "I feel lightheaded, Sam. I think my | (Steve) rehrauer@apollo.hp.com brain is out of air. But it's kind of | The Apollo Systems Division of a neat feeling..." -- Freelance Police | Hewlett-Packard
torrie@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Evan James Torrie) (10/15/90)
lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) writes: >The machine he is talking about may or may not have all the features mentioned >at the price mentioned, but I would point out that 8 megs, at retail prices, >can currently be had for under $600. Wholesale prices can drop this figure >considerably, and need not be charged out in the base machine at retail prices. Prices in fact, are far less than even $600. The Chip Merchant (advertises in the back of MacWeek) is selling Mac 1Mb SIMMs for $39 last I saw... That makes 8Mb come out to less than $320, and that's in quantity 1 prices. I imagine you could cut an easy 20-30% off this if you were putting in a 10000 order or so. Evan Torrie torrie@cs.stanford.edu -- Who needs a sig anyway? --
a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) (10/15/90)
> csbrod@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de writes: > > Msg-ID: <3167@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de> > Posted: 15 Oct 90 17:16:15 GMT > > Org. : CSD, University of Erlangen, W-Germany > Person: Claus Brod > a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: > > >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. > >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The > 68040 > I think there is a chip called 68070 which is derivated from a standard > 68000 and has been improved by adding some I/O ports or stuff like that. > If memory serves me right, I stumbled over this one a while ago. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Claus Brod, Am Felsenkeller 2, Things. Take. Time. > D-8772 Marktheidenfeld, West Germany (Piet Hein) > csbrod@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to everyone who has helped set me straight on this subject. It's hard to walk away from my keyboard with both feet in my mouth. I keep bumping my head on the floor. -Ron Tarrant a976@Mindlink.UUCP
joseph@valnet.UUCP (Joseph P. Hillenburg) (10/15/90)
a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: > > @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: > > > > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming > > out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter > > face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out > > of a total palette of 16 million colors. > > I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 > > bit > > if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this > > fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the > > monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have > > neither > > heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it > > will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that > > it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 me > > and a hard disk (I think). > > What I am wondering is this just an unsubstantiated rumor or is is to > > a reality? If so, it could really knock Amiga down the graphics list. He > > also > > stated that the target market of this wonderbox is going be the multimedia > > market. Any info would be appreciated... > > > > > I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. > Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 6804 > just barely hit the market and I don't think the 68050 (if there are plans fo > one) is much more than a few scribbled lines on some drawing board somewhere. > Next, with all the features you've named I'd say this new computer would have > to cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5000- $6000. Just the ram alone > would cost more than the $1000 you've mentioned. > Also, have you ever heard of a '386 that would actually multitask without > Windows 2.0 or 3.0 running? > So, unless your friend gets re-runs of the Beverly Hillbillies and spends all > his time glued to the set, I'd say you should invite him for a nice drive in > the country and when he accepts, drop him off at the loony bin. > -Ron Tarrant NCR builds a chip called the 68070. That's problalby what he was refering to. This was mentioned on the net a month or two ago. Don't flame this guy. he was just relaying the info because he thought it was true. I, personally don't see the marketabilty of this prodect, but evidently some people do. -Joseph Hillenburg UUCP: ...iuvax!valnet!joseph ARPA: valnet!joseph@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu INET: joseph@valnet.UUCP
S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) (10/15/90)
On 14 Oct 90 02:17:03 GMT you said: >One Question: > How does a computer with a resolution higher than NTSC > Standards go for multimedia? As long as the lines of resolution don't go over around 500 then it is still in the realm of NTSC. NTSC can supposedly handle 500 lines of resolution. Most VCRs only provide around 280-300 depending on the VCR. S-VHS supposedly gives 400-450 lines, ED-Beta around 450-500 and LaserDisk around 400-450. I suppose you can cram as many pixels on one line as you choose as long as the total lines don't go over 500 lines and don't go out of NTSC aspect ratio. Colors aren't a problem as NTSC can produce about anything that any current PC can produce. The one paradox about S-VHS. Since current broadcast television produces only around 200-300 lines of resolution (broadcast degredation?), how does one get a 400-500 line resolution tape of anything? Well, you either buy a prerecorded S-VHS tape, a LaserDisk, or use a Videocamera to your S-VHS recorder. Or you can tape a laserdisk. >Answer: It dosen't See above. > >Just another tidbit. The new color NeXT is targeted at the HDTV market. >You might ask how I know this, well I'll tell you. Look at the specks >for the NTSC output, it's at 68 Frames/sec which is the refresh rate for >HDTV. Hmmm. HDTV, yes something that all computer manufacturers need to start considering. It's not far off before those monitors will begin hitting the shelves. The one thing I worry about. Since the FCC and other federal federal agencies haven't adopted an HDTV format yet, let's hope that NeXT hasn't jumped on the bandwagon TOO early. There are many proposed formats with probably several refresh rates. It is still worthwhile to start thinking about HDTV for the future of computer monitor standards. > >I wounder if the new chip set will be fast enough to support this scan rate >? > >` Paul > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ======================================================================= ||NeXT- (nekst) N. The only computer to have sold less than 10,000 || || units and not be considered a flop. || ||------------------------------------------/ /------------------------|| ||---Brian Wright | / / || ||---s36666wb@etsuacad.etsu.edu | \ \/ / Only Amiga || ||---Commercial Artist and Amigaphile| \/\/ Makes It Possible!! || =======================================================================
peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) (10/15/90)
In article <3516@mindlink.UUCP> a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: >> @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: >> >> I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >> out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >> [ ... ] >> monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have > >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. We had this already: There IS a 68070, it's a 68010 derivative with some I/O packed into, made by Philips. And Philips is also the company announcing CD-I. So I believe the posting of the other guy (sorry, forgot the name) who guessed, this project would be CD-I. And this appears to be real. When it comes we must take a severe look at it considering our CDTV. -- Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel // E-Mail to \\ Only my personal opinions... Commodore Frankfurt, Germany \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk
csbrod@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Claus Brod ) (10/16/90)
a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: >I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. >Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 68040 I think there is a chip called 68070 which is derivated from a standard 68000 and has been improved by adding some I/O ports or stuff like that. If memory serves me right, I stumbled over this one a while ago. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Claus Brod, Am Felsenkeller 2, Things. Take. Time. D-8772 Marktheidenfeld, West Germany (Piet Hein) csbrod@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de ----------------------------------------------------------------------
perley@galaxy (Donald P Perley) (10/16/90)
In article <33440@nigel.ee.udel.edu>, S36666WB%ETSUACAD (Brian Wright) writes: > The one paradox about S-VHS. Since current broadcast television produces >only around 200-300 lines of resolution (broadcast degredation?), how does one >get a 400-500 line resolution tape of anything? Well, you either buy a >prerecorded S-VHS tape, a LaserDisk, or use a Videocamera to your S-VHS >recorder. Or you can tape a laserdisk. Other options: computer generated graphics (like amiga!!) Other consideration: Even if your source isn't 500 lines, you may get less degradation per generation of copying. Also... if you are stuck on the VHS format.. you have a choice of regular VHS with worse than broadcast resolution, or SVHS at better than broadcast. VHS is a loser, SVHS is just a little overspec'd. -don perley perley@trub.crd.ge.com
cwpjr@cbnewse.att.com (clyde.w.jr.phillips) (10/16/90)
In article <33336@nigel.ee.udel.edu>, S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: > Hello, > > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming > out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- > face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out > of a total palette of 16 million colors. > I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 bit > if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this > fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the This is a OS-9 box called the Multi-Media ????. There was a MM froont end for OS-9 for Industria;lProcess Control Initially called RAVE. I don't know if this implements RAVE in a box system or not but those OS-9 guys are sharp and RAVE is 2-4 years old... Clyde
S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) (10/16/90)
On 15 Oct 90 18:05:30 GMT you said: >In article <33440@nigel.ee.udel.edu>, S36666WB%ETSUACAD (Brian Wright) writes: > >> The one paradox about S-VHS. Since current broadcast television produces >>only around 200-300 lines of resolution (broadcast degredation?), how does one >>get a 400-500 line resolution tape of anything? Well, you either buy a >>prerecorded S-VHS tape, a LaserDisk, or use a Videocamera to your S-VHS >>recorder. Or you can tape a laserdisk. > >Other options: computer generated graphics (like amiga!!) > >Other consideration: Even if your source isn't 500 lines, you may get > less degradation per generation of copying. Also... if you are stuck > on the VHS format.. you have a choice of regular VHS with worse than > broadcast resolution, or SVHS at better than broadcast. VHS is a loser, > SVHS is just a little overspec'd. VHS is proabably the poorest of all the formats available. The one thing that people completely overlook when speaking about S-VHS and its capabilities is the fact that when S-VHS was made they didn't enhance the color signal AT ALL. What was enhanced was the Luminance or the B/W image which produces the sharpness of the image. If you compare an S-VHS tape to a LaserDisk, the S-VHS tape may appear sharper, but the colors will still bleed and look poor. Especially from generation to generation. The LaserDisk retains all of the color AND sharpness. I have never been THAT fond of TAPE media anyway. I have always prefered LaserDisk (or non-contact) media. > > >-don perley >perley@trub.crd.ge.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ======================================================================= ||NeXT- (nekst) N. The only PC to have sold less than 10,000 units and || || not be considered a flop. || ||------------------------------------------/ /------------------------|| ||---Brian Wright | / / || ||---s36666wb@etsuacad.etsu.edu | \ \/ / Only Amiga || ||---Commercial Artist and Amigaphile| \/\/ Makes It Possible!! || =======================================================================
cwpjr@cbnewse.att.com (clyde.w.jr.phillips) (10/16/90)
In article <323@pdxgate.UUCP>, griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Michael Griffith) writes: > S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: > > > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming Description of "unknown system" deleted.... > > I find myself wondering if this is a joke or just stupidity on your part and > am forced to conclude that it must be a joke, since your other posts sounded ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You choose this didn't you? > a bit more reliable (either that or you stole someone else's .sig file). > OS/9 does exist and I suppose would be possible. 256 color display is no big > deal. 8 bit sound or 16 bit is no real problem. $1000 should perhaps have a > zero or two tacked onto it, especially if it's running a 68070... :-) > I guess there is a smiley there but this is pretty dumb 8^) considering it is you who are ignorant of what the man speaks. I have the info about this system and replied to this post with what I knew/remembered. Try it sometime. 8^) |^) 8^) In essense what he said is absolutely true, $1000 Multi-Media System. Care to discuss this? 8^) Clyde
cwpjr@cbnewse.att.com (clyde.w.jr.phillips) (10/16/90)
In article <3516@mindlink.UUCP>, a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant) writes: > > @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: > > > > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming > > out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- > > > I would say that your friend is either a total loony or is pulling your leg. > Firstly, unless that is a typo, there is no such beastie as a 68070. The 68040 Haven't been paying attention have we. This is a special configuratyion 68k number. It was discussed on the net 2 months ago. |^) > just barely hit the market and I don't think the 68050 (if there are plans for > one) is much more than a few scribbled lines on some drawing board somewhere. > Next, with all the features you've named I'd say this new computer would have > to cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5000- $6000. Just the ram alone > would cost more than the $1000 you've mentioned. Here I agree. This system will expand to 8meg, not ship w/it a $1000, which will be it's fully fiunctional base price. > the country and when he accepts, drop him off at the loony bin. > -Ron Tarrant Geesh, the ego-to-intellect ratio is creeping... Clyde
eeh@public.BTR.COM (Eduardo E. Horvath eeh@btr.com) (10/17/90)
In article <33336@nigel.ee.udel.edu> S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: >Hello, > > I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- >face. It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out >of a total palette of 16 million colors. > I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 bit >if not 16 bit sound. The name escapes me at the moment. He says this >fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the >monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have neither >heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it >will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that >it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs >and a hard disk (I think). > What I am wondering is this just an unsubstantiated rumor or is is to be >a reality? If so, it could really knock Amiga down the graphics list. He also >stated that the target market of this wonderbox is going be the multimedia >market. Any info would be appreciated... > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ======================================================================= >||NeXT- (nekst) N. The only computer to have sold less than 10,000 || >|| units and not be considered a flop. || >||------------------------------------------/ /------------------------|| >||---Brian Wright | / / || >||---s36666wb@etsuacad.etsu.edu | \ \/ / Only Amiga || >||---Commercial Artist and Amigaphile| \/\/ Makes It Possible!! || > ======================================================================= Sounds like the Signetics/Phillips box. The pricing is probably very far off. The technology is based on DVI. The graphics chip running this was announced early this year and designed especially for DVI. I would believe the computer would be something like CDTV, but *much* more expensive. The basic package would be a box with a CDI drive, no HD, no keyboard. To add anything, several other boxes would need to be purchased. It is anticipated that only developers would be interested in using this as a full fledged computer, so pricing on the peripherals may be quite high. The actual hardware is equivalent to CDTV. The 68070 is a 68010 with some on-board glue. The video chip does something like 384x280x256 in one mode and 768x560x16 in another, but two video chips can be combined for a resolution of 768x560x256. There is some intimation that the video chip has the equivalent of a blitter. The 68070 and the video chip are designed specifically to work together, and all you need are about 8 other chips (including DRAM, keyboard controller, and disk controller) to have a functioning computer. Video ram (lets say CHIP ram) is limited to 1Meg. The resolutions quoted are PAL. The video chip (SC66470) should be available for around $13 each when production ramps up, so if some enterprising H/W hacker wants to, we could get the same resolution on an Amy. There does not seem to be any line-draw hardware on the chip, though. I wouldn't be very concerned about the machine. It seems like an interesting excercise, but it will not be a speed demon and will only compete against CDTV. ========================================================================= Eduardo Horvath eeh@btr.com ..!{decwrl,mips,fernwood}!btr!eeh "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." - Sledge Hammer =========================================================================
eeh@public.BTR.COM (Eduardo E. Horvath eeh@btr.com) (10/17/90)
In article <7822@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> zerkle@iris.ucdavis.edu (Dan Zerkle) writes: >>> @ricevm1.rice.edu writes: >>> >>> I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming >>> out soon that runs OS/9. It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter- [much deleted] >Just for reference, 8 megs of ram plus a hard disk will probably cost >at least $1000 by themselves. A monitor that can handle high >resolution analog graphics is at least another $300 at rock bottom >prices. Oh, and I forgot to add to my last posting, the 66470 is supposed to be "... compatible with European, Japanese, and U.S. standards for TV..." so you won't need a mutisync. All you need is a TV and very good glasses 8^) > > Dan Zerkle zerkle@iris.ucdavis.edu (916) 754-0240 > Amiga... Because life is too short for boring computers. ========================================================================= Eduardo Horvath eeh@btr.com ..!{decwrl,mips,fernwood}!btr!eeh "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." - Sledge Hammer =========================================================================
sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (10/17/90)
S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes: >As long as the lines of resolution don't go over around 500 then it is still >in the realm of NTSC. NTSC can supposedly handle 500 lines of resolution. Don't confuse lines of resolution when talking about TV, with pixels of resolution when talking about computers. They are different measurements. On computers when someone mentions resolution they are talking about how many pixels are shown on the screen in horizontal and vertical directions. But the term 'lines of resolution' on TV's came about long before there were such things as pixels. What they are referring to is how many separate black and white lines can be seen on a TV. Remember the old TV test patterns with all the lines and circles (like the Indian head one)? They would use this to measure how many lines could be seen on a screen and this became the lines of resolution Lines of resolution are also not to be confused with Scanlines which are how many horizontal scans are made by the electron beam on a CRT. In most cases the scanlines determine the horizontal lines of resolution (if there are 525 scanlines, you can't have 600 lines of horizontal resolution can you? but you could have less than 525). Most measurements of lines of resolution are reffering to the vertical resolution, though. Basically they are measuring how many alternating black and white dots can be seen on the screen before they start blurring together. So you can use a computer that does very high resolution to drive a NTSC (or PAL) screen, but you will lose some of the detail (small lines will blur together) A rough equivilant of Pixels to NTSC would be around 640 x 512. Anything higher would be a waste on NTSC as you would just start losing detail. Even with 640 x 512 you would be losing a lot of detail, NTSC is much blurrier than RGB. -- John Sparks |D.I.S.K. Public Access Unix System| Multi-User Games, Email sparks@corpane.UUCP |PH: (502) 968-DISK 24Hrs/2400BPS | Usenet, Chatting, =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-|7 line Multi-User system. | Downloads & more. A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of----Ogden Nash
pruyne@smilodon.cs.wisc.edu (James Pruyne) (10/18/90)
In article <323@pdxgate.UUCP> griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Michael Griffith) writes:
%>fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the
%>monitor among other things. It is supposedly running a 68070. I have neither
%>heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it
%>will be released soon. The last time I talked to him, he said that
%>it would be coming out next month. It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs
%>and a hard disk (I think).
As one who already has an order in for a system that sounds a lot like this
I think I can help clear the air a little. First, on the hardware side, it
will use a 68070, running at 15Mhz (which is supposedly about the same as
12Mhz on a 68000). The 68070 is not made by Motorola but Signetics, and
does have timers, dma controllers and a uart built in. The graphics chip
has modes from 320x200 in 256 colors to 640x400 in 16 colors. You can also
get something like 720x560 if you have a multi-synch monitor. There will
also be a palette chip which has 16 million colors. As for software, the
base operating system is OS/9 68000 (OSK) v2.3. with a windowing system.
It also includes a C compiler, structured basic, editors, etc. and some
kind of drawing program. It also includes software support for networking
and tape backup. The base system also includes a 1.4 meg floppy drive, and
software to read/write PC disks. The price for this system is $779, with 1
Meg. of memory but no Keyboard or Monitor. Keyboards and Monitors are
available, but can also be purchased from third parties (any XT keyboard
will do, and most any analog RGB monitor is fine). There's a second board
available with a few more serial ports (the base system has one or two),
two bi-directional serial ports, two SIMM sockets, clock and SCSI port.
This board is about $300.
The machine is called the MM/1 and is available from Interactive Media
Systems.
I'm not trying to butt in here, but there seemed to be some questions and
lots of misinformation, so if you're not interested please just ignore
this. If you are interested I'm willing to give out more info to anyone
who wants it.
--- Jim