ugmiker@sunybcs.UUCP (02/18/87)
I have a couple of questions from a new Amiga user trying to make the
most of his new computer. Either a response to the public, or email
would be great, I feel the first would be more helpful to others with the
same problems(I know I see alot of questions I could have used answered
never answered, or atleast not posted).
1) I have a Legend 1080 printer, and no driver, can anyone tell me how
to make one. I know there is a program that does it, but I dont have
it, so I was wondering if there was some way of making one without it?
2) Also while working on the amiga, and not using the printer, it sounds
like the printer resets every once in a while, maybe every ten minutes.
Is this normal? does this have to do with the Amiga o.s?
3) I also have a modem(kapertronic [sp??]) that has a clock in it. I have
seen programs on bbs's at home (I am away at school now) that set the time
from the modem. I was wondering how could I write to the modem in my
startup-sequence and read from it and set the system time without having
to run any programs at boot up time???
4) This might be a stupid questions(but we usually learn most from that type)
BUT:
Does "SCSI" = IBM compatability ?????
In the Febuary issue of BYTE I was reading "WHAT'S NEW" and under the
peripheral heading the magazine talked about a "SCSI"/hard drive controller
card that will support as many as seven "SCSI" devices. I thought that was
great, seven IBM compatable devices off the Amiga, finally!! low priced hard
drives for the amiga!!!! But then I realized I had no idea what "SCSI"
meant. Does "SCSI" mean IBM compatability for hardware???? The article is
on page 38 if you think there might be something important I left out.
THANKS......
mike
p.s. to all those who were talking about the mouse and trackball troubles..
just remember, in ZERO GRAVITY, they both work the same!!!!!!!daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (02/19/87)
> This might be a stupid questions(but we usually learn most from that type) > BUT: > Does "SCSI" = IBM compatability ????? > In the Febuary issue of BYTE I was reading "WHAT'S NEW" and under the > peripheral heading the magazine talked about a "SCSI"/hard drive controller > card that will support as many as seven "SCSI" devices. I thought that was > great, seven IBM compatable devices off the Amiga, finally!! low priced hard > drives for the amiga!!!! But then I realized I had no idea what "SCSI" > meant. Does "SCSI" mean IBM compatability for hardware???? The article is > on page 38 if you think there might be something important I left out. While you can probably find SCSI hard disk controllers for the IBM family, the standard IBM hard disk interface is the slower ST-506 interface. The Apple Mac PLUS sports a SCSI port, as do various other machines. Apple's presence is bound to drive the price of SCSI hard drives lower, though I doubt they'll be as low as ST-506 for awhile. The advantages of SCSI are many, though; its a general high speed interface, useful for thing other than just hard disks. And hard disks are available in SCSI form in many different sizes, while ST-506 drives are commonly just 10 or 20 megs (MS-DOS can't handle disk partitions over something like 30 megabytes). -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dave Haynie {caip,ihnp4,allegra,seismo}!cbmvax!daveh You too can put the POWER of RANDOM NUMBERS to work for you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
lrj@batcomputer.UUCP (02/19/87)
In article <2373@sunybcs.UUCP> ugmiker@joey.UUCP (Michael Reilly) writes: >I have a couple of questions from a new Amiga user trying to make the > [...] >4) This might be a stupid questions(but we usually learn most from that type) > BUT: > Does "SCSI" = IBM compatability ????? Not really -- SCSI stands for "Small Computer System Interface". To quote from _System_Administration_on_the_Sun_Workstation_: "... SCSI uses an adapter to translate between the system bus and a SCSI bus. The SCSI bus is a simple interface standard for communicating with peripherals. ..." If i recall correctly (i'm sure someone will holler if i don't) a SCSI disk is ideally just a bunch of numbered blocks where you can write data to and read it from. To use a SCSI device, of course, you're going to have to have software knows how to deal with it. I would make SURE that a SCSI peripheral (1/4 inch tape, disk, whatever) worked with what i wanted to use it on before buying... -- Lewis R. Jansen, LASSP Systems Grunt lrj@lasspvax.tn.cornell.edu
grunau_b@husc4.UUCP (02/20/87)
In order to provide a more direct answer to the original question "does SCSI mean IBM compatability?", the answer is emphatically "No, they are apples and oranges". Some PC-DOS machines are no doubt equipped with SCSI boards, but whether or not something has SCSI compatability has no bearing on whether it is IBM compatible (or even Mac compatible, and Macs DO have SCSI ports). SCSI is an interface standard, like RS-232 (serial) and Centronix (parallel). It is the high-speed interface, with a standard throughput of 10Mbits/sec (1.25MBytes/sec). It stands for "small computer system interface" and is a fixture of expensive workstations like Suns; it descended from something called SASI for these types of machines. When something is SCSI compatible, that means (1) it could very well be a very fast port, good for hard disks, and (2) you can attach to it up to seven devices that can be talked to in a standard SCSI protocol, and are not restricted to manufacturers that know how to make devices attachable to your specific machine and only your specific machine. BTW: the Mac's SCSI port has a throughput of only 320KBytes/sec -- about one- quarter the standard; I do not know what the explanation of this is. And the Atari ST's DMA port, which does support 10Mbits/sec, is supposed to be quasi- SCSI-standard, though how quasi I am not sure. grunau@husc4.UUCP or --- !seismo----- \ --- !rutgers----- !husc6!husc4!grunau / --- !decvax!ihnp4 or For BITNET, I believe the hostname is "harvard".
rht@smsdpg.uu.net (Randy Thompson) (03/16/89)
Hi, I an new to the Amiga and have a few questions about its capabilities. 1) I know that a DOS Co-processor is available for the system, does it really work, will it allow the use of PC compatable disk drives & display cards (eg. can I use EGA/VGA software & be compatable?) 2) Is there a Unix port for the Amiga, if so, who has it & is there any software to speak of for this OS? 3) Are there (m)any network adapeters available, Ethernet? Token? or can I use the same card as a PC if I am running in a PC Emulation mode? 4) Most important (so I dont have to ask more silly all encompassing questions) where is the best place to look for more information on these topics? I realize that these questions are very broad and almost impossible to answer completely. The main intent is to determine if these things are a reality, or if I am just dreaming. Also to find a place to look for more info. Thanks in advance for your help! Randy Thompson (uunet!smsdpg!rht)
limonce@pilot.njin.net (Tom Limoncelli) (03/19/89)
Nobody else has answered these so let me take a shot at 'em: In article <206@smsdpg.uu.net> rht@smsdpg.uu.net (Randy Thompson) writes: > Hi, I an new to the Amiga and have a few questions about its capabilities. > > 1) I know that a DOS Co-processor is available for the system, does it really > work, will it allow the use of PC compatable disk drives & display cards > (eg. can I use EGA/VGA software & be compatable?) It is for the Amiga 2000 line (which includes the 2500). It is basically a IBM PC on a card. You have IBM slots, etc all available. The display appears as a window on your screen and can co-exist with the windows of your multitasking Amiga OS. (IBM can only run one program at a time... of course). There is a AT Compatable bridgecard available (or coming soon... depending on what country you are in). If you require EGA/VGA you can plug in a EGA/VGA card and attach a separate monitor and voila you have EGA/VGA. > 2) Is there a Unix port for the Amiga, if so, who has it & is there any > software to speak of for this OS? Commodore makes it. It requires a A2620 (68020 accellerator card) and their hard drive controller and a tape backup unit. If you buy all those things as a package it's called the Amiga 2500UX but you can take a 2000 and "make your own". GVP claims that their 68030 accellerator will be compatible and will run Commodore's Unix too. ***This is not currently shipping.*** > 3) Are there (m)any network adapeters available, Ethernet? Token? or can I > use the same card as a PC if I am running in a PC Emulation mode? Ethernet? Yes. Token? No. The Amiga doesn't accept IBM cards (except for the Bridgeboard's slots) but more and more Amiga cards are being released that do such things. > 4) Most important (so I dont have to ask more silly all encompassing > questions) where is the best place to look for more information on > these topics? A good dealer (hard to find) or um..... well... people on the net. Commodore has a program to make sure more and more dealers know all about such things. > I realize that these questions are very broad and almost impossible to answer > completely. The main intent is to determine if these things are a reality, or > if I am just dreaming. Also to find a place to look for more info. > > Thanks in advance for your help! > > Randy Thompson (uunet!smsdpg!rht) Hope that helped! -Tom -- Tom Limoncelli -- tlimonce@drunivac.Bitnet -- limonce@pilot.njin.net Drew University -- Madison, NJ -- 201-408-5389 Standard Disclaim er.
ecphssrw@afws.csun.edu (Stephen Walton) (03/22/89)
In article <Mar.18.12.44.25.1989.29612@pilot.njin.net>, limonce@pilot (Tom Limoncelli) writes: >Nobody else has answered these so let me take a shot at 'em: Not true. I'm sure I'm not the only one who answered the poster via e-mail instead of posting. "When in doubt, use mail." -- Stephen Walton, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Cal State Univ. Northridge RCKG01M@CALSTATE.BITNET ecphssrw@afws.csun.edu swalton@solar.stanford.edu ...!csun!afws.csun.edu!ecphssrw
ecphssrw%afws.csun.edu@cunyvm.cuny.edu (03/22/89)
In article <Mar.18.12.44.25.1989.29612@pilot.njin.net>, limonce@pilot (Tom Limon celli) writes: >Nobody else has answered these so let me take a shot at 'em: Not true. I'm sure I'm not the only one who answered the poster via e-mail instead of posting. "When in doubt, use mail." -- Stephen Walton, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Cal State Univ. Northridge RCKG01M@CALSTATE.BITNET ecphssrw@afws.csun.edu swalton@solar.stanford.edu ...!csun!afws.csun.edu!ecphssrw
bjmills@crocus.waterloo.edu (Brad Mills) (11/28/89)
A few queries: 1) Anybody have any experience with the AMAX Mac simulator? If so, I'd like to hear from you. 2) Is there a cheap source for memory chips that anyone knows of? I intend on purchasing an expansion card, and populating it myself if the cheapest way I know of doing it. Thanks.
lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (07/16/90)
In <51083@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu>, amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Andy Hartman - AmigaMan) writes: > 2) Why (on my 3 meg machine) do I get the following when I type > "avail" > > In-use Largest > ------ ------- > 129648 2041520 > >Where is the 3rd meg? (I interrupt WB immediately upon boot so nothing loads..) >(Note: I left out 2 fields of the actual output.) What's in the fields you left out? Largest refers to the largest single hunk, and is no indication of total memory. The Maximum field tells you how much memory you have. If this is less than 3 megs, on your 3 meg machine, please feel free to ask again, but giving the full output from avail, as well as stating the model of your machine, and what sort of expansion memory and other peripherals you have installed. You will be more likely to get an answer if you supply more information. -larry -- The raytracer of justice recurses slowly, but it renders exceedingly fine. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Andy Hartman - AmigaMan) (07/17/90)
I have a few questions: 1) Is there a program which will un-fragment memory? 2) Why (on my 3 meg machine) do I get the following when I type "avail" In-use Largest ------ ------- 129648 2041520 Where is the 3rd meg? (I interrupt WB immediately upon boot so nothing loads..) (Note: I left out 2 fields of the actual output.) 3) Someone tell me where to get movie! (I can't find it!) Sorry if these have been asked before. Thanks, AMH * Andy Hartman | I'd deny half of this crap anyway!| "Somedays, you just * Indiana University |-----------------------------------| can't get rid of a * // Amiga Man | amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu | bomb!" * \X/ At Large! | AMHARTMA@rose.ucs.indiana.edu | - Batman (original)
jjszucs@cbmvax.commodore.com (John J. Szucs) (07/17/90)
In article <51083@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Andy Hartman - AmigaMan) writes: >I have a few questions: > 1) Is there a program which will un-fragment memory? > Defragmentation of memory by moving allocated blocks in memory (the memory equivalent of disk defragmentation) is not possible under the current Amiga memory management design because applications receive a direct pointer to the memory that they allocate. If that memory is moved, there is no way for the program to know that the pointer they received from Exec when they made the allocation is now invalid. However, Exec will automatically coalesce memory chunks as memory is freed by programs in the system. For example, if a block of memory is allocated as follows: +-----------+---------------------------+-----------+ | 1/2K Free | 1K Allocated by Program A | 1/2K Free | |-----------+---------------------------+-----------+ and program A frees the memory it allocated, the above will be coalesce into one 2K block of free memory. > 2) Why (on my 3 meg machine) do I get the following when I type > "avail" > > In-use Largest > ------ ------- > 129648 2041520 > >Where is the 3rd meg? (I interrupt WB immediately upon boot so nothing loads..) >(Note: I left out 2 fields of the actual output.) The full output from avail is probably similar to this (this is from my 5 meg A2500 with 1 meg of chip RAM running Kickstart/Workbench Release 2.0): Type Available In-Use Maximum Largest chip 715320 332232 1047552 714976 fast 3509536 684768 4194304 3506216 total 4224856 1017000 5241856 3506216 The Available column indicates the currently available number of bytes of chip RAM, fast RAM, and all RAM in the system. The In-Use column indicates the number of bytes of chip RAM, fast RAM, and all RAM currently allocated in the system. The Maximum column indicates the total number of bytes of chip RAM, fast RAM, and all RAM in the system (available or in-use). On a 3MB system, assuming 1MB of chip RAM, and 2MB of fast RAM, the Maximum column should read: Type ... Maximum chip 1047552 fast 2097152 total 3145908 Note that these figures may not exactly match the results on your system, but they should be fairly close. The Largest column indicates the size of the largest contiguous block of memory of chip RAM, fast RAM, or any RAM. For example, if on a 1MB system, the memory is allocated as follows: |--------------------------------1024K-------------------------------| +-----------+--------+--------------+--------+-------------+---------+ |400K system|32K free|135K Program A|96K free|90K Program B|271K free| +-----------+--------+--------------+--------+-------------+---------+ The Largest column would should 271K. >* Andy Hartman | I'd deny half of this crap anyway!| "Somedays, you just ================================================================================ || John J. Szucs || The opinions expressed are my own and || || Systems Evaluation Group || in no way represent the opinions or || || Product Assurance Department || policies of Commodore Technology, Inc. || || Commodore Technology, Inc. || or any associated entity. || ================================================================================ ...{rutgers|uunet|pyramid}!cbmvax!jjszucs jjszucs@cbmvax.commodore.com
amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Andy Hartman - AmigaMan) (07/17/90)
Here is what I got to my questions I asked just yesterday... 1) Is it possible to Un-fragment memory? Answer: No. You would need an MMU to do it and the OS would have to support it. 2) Why do I only have 1790000 for the "Largest" field of the 'avail' command? Answer: It's the largest contiguous block of memory. Fast and chip ram are not contiguous between each other. 3) Where is movie? Answer: FF116 (available from a number of places...) Thanks to all who answered my questions... One more: Why, upon cold-boot, doesn't everything fill up memory from the first address until it runs everything it needs to? Also, what ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE in _chip_ ram? (this could answer part 1) Thanks to all for the help, AMH * Andy Hartman | I'd deny half of this crap anyway!| "Somedays, you just * Indiana University |-----------------------------------| can't get rid of a * // Amiga Man | amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu | bomb!" * \X/ At Large! | AMHARTMA@rose.ucs.indiana.edu | - Batman (original)