mp1u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Portuesi) (04/21/88)
lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes (about his VIC 20): > I have considered using it to make tape backups of disks, but > there must be SOMETHING a little more useful it can do. It makes a useful doorstop. Or perhaps you could use it as an attractive "high-tech" bookend... Also, what is this message doing in .tech? You should posted it in comp.sys.amiga where it is at least a little more appropriate, or comp.sys.cbm where it should *really* go. (note this reply has been posted to comp.sys.amiga) --M Michael Portuesi / Carnegie Mellon University ARPA/UUCP: mp1u+@andrew.cmu.edu BITNET: rainwalker@drycas "Memories are uncertain friends, when recalled by messages" -- OMD, "Messages"
schein@cbmvax.UUCP (Dan Schein CATS) (04/22/88)
In article <4WPLaVy00Vs-AAZ4Aa@andrew.cmu.edu> mp1u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Portuesi) writes: >lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes (about his VIC 20): > >> I have considered using it to make tape backups of disks, but >> there must be SOMETHING a little more useful it can do. > >It makes a useful doorstop. Or perhaps you could use it as an >attractive "high-tech" bookend... > >Also, what is this message doing in .tech? You should posted it in >comp.sys.amiga where it is at least a little more appropriate, or >comp.sys.cbm where it should *really* go. (note this reply has been >posted to comp.sys.amiga) > >Michael Portuesi / Carnegie Mellon University Well now that this has been moved OUT of .tech I can add my favorite sick suggestion: Get about 10 more and line them up across your street. They make great speed bumps :-) Uh oh.... Here comes the OW! Let go! I dont like this fancy white coat! Help! Jane stop this crazy thing.... -- Dan "Sneakers" Schein uucp: {ihnp4|allegra|burdvax|rutgers}!cbmvax!schein Commodore AMIGA ARPANET: cbmvax!schein@uunet.uu.net 1200 Wilson Drive Bix: dschein Plink: Dan*CATS West Chester PA 19380 phone: (215) 431-9100 ext. 9542 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Call BERKS AMIGA BBS - 24 Hrs - 3/12/2400 Baud - 40Meg - 215/678-7691 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ I help Commodore by supporting the AMIGA. Commodore supports me by allowing me to form my own suggestions and comments.
lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka) (04/23/88)
Hey, I've got an idea for old VIC's: use them as extra keyboards for
an Amiga. Yeah, let's see, I've got got two VIC's, I could have three
keyboards! Yeah, and I'll make my c64 into a terminal running off of
the serial port, and how 'bout attaching my old Teleray terminal to
the parallel port? Yeah! I could have five keyboards connected to my
Amiga! ;-) Now, the only problem is that I would need to boot up
three of them (booting a keyboard? get serious Chris!). ;-)
I've heard a rumor that Amiga keyboards (at least for the 1000)
actually have a 6502 in them. Which would almost make them as
powerful as my VIC (ahh, yes but my VIC *DOES* have 3k of memory and a
graphics chip!). Is there any truth to this, or have I been
misinformed?
Well I'm game too...what use are VIC's with an Amiga? Or c64's for
that matter? I'd be interested in any views, however bizaare and
twisted they may be. I should be able to do *something* with them....
[Hey, maybe I should start up a war on how Commodore has not supported
VIC programs when moving to the Amiga 2000! AND I SPENT over $300
dollars for my VIC! Naw, better not....]
-Chris
--
Chris Lishka /lishka@uwslh.uucp
Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene <-lishka%uwslh.uucp@rsch.wisc.edu
"My cockatiels control my mind!"\{seismo, harvard,topaz,...}!uwvax!uwslh!lishkaavery@puff.cs.wisc.edu (Aaron Avery) (04/23/88)
In article <320@uwslh.UUCP> lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka) writes: >I've heard a rumor that Amiga keyboards (at least for the 1000) >actually have a 6502 in them. Which would almost make them as >powerful as my VIC (ahh, yes but my VIC *DOES* have 3k of memory and a >graphics chip!). Is there any truth to this, or have I been >misinformed? Well, close. Here's the scoop: The keyboard processor is a Rockwell/NCR/MOS Technologies 6500/1. It contains 2K bytes of ROM, 64 bytes of RAM, and 4 I/O ports of 8 bits each. It also has a 16bit timer and edge detect capability on two of the I/O lines. It has a built-in crystal oscillator which is run at 3.00MHz. This is reprinted without permission from the 1.0 Hardware Manual. They probably don't care anyway, if the 500 and 2000 keyboards are very different from this spec. -- Aaron Avery (avery@puff.cs.wisc.edu) ({seismo,caip,allegra,harvard,rutgers,ihnp4}!uwvax!puff!avery)
thomson@utah-cs.UUCP (Richard A Thomson) (04/24/88)
Better than a VIC-20, I've got a Timex Sinclair ZX81!! Anybody got an idea for THIS monster? The thing can really cook at about 200 IPS* when it's not refreshing the screen! -- Rich * Instructions per Second -- Richard Thomson 3190 MEB, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 thomson@cs.utah.edu (801) 584-4555: Talk to a machine, they're lonely. Gaia: Its not just a hypothesis, its an epistemology.
shah1@houxa.UUCP (J.SHAH) (04/26/88)
> > Well now that this has been moved OUT of .tech I can add my favorite sick > suggestion: > > Get about 10 more and line them up across your street. They make great > speed bumps :-) > > Uh oh.... Here comes the > > OW! Let go! I dont like this fancy white coat! > > Help! Jane stop this crazy thing.... > Sounds like a very unkind remark about a CBM computer from CA employee. I was in the Trenton Computer Fest yesterday and I saw people buying old VIC-20s with cassette drives and game cartidges for $20 or so. One of the buyers was inquiring about a possible memory upgrade for his newly acquired vic-20. The vic-20 is no Amiga but you could still find uses for it. How about using it for learning 6502 assembler or even Basic? My children's first computer was a C-64 and it still beats Amiga in terms of popularity in my household. The kids do not want to use it(Amiga) because it does not have a printer driver for my not so unpopular printer. And the Amiga has not so good peripheral support. For example, autoboot is normal stuff in the IBM and APPLE domain and we always hear about the need for 1.3 to support it. There are few very basic stuff that a computer in 1988 has to support i.e. autobooting harddisks and a large number of printers and the Amiga does not support these very well. The technical gibberish about autoboot, 1.3, Chipram, kickstart makes the Amiga appear as a hackers computer not a machine that any novice user can deal with. As an Amiga user I feel CA peoples' time is better spent on these questions not in badmouthing a piece of computing history: the VIC-20. Shah Jahan AT&T Bell Laboratories HOlmdel, NJ 07733
thomson@utah-cs.UUCP (Richard A Thomson) (04/27/88)
In article <2859@houxa.UUCP> shah1@houxa.UUCP (J.SHAH) writes: >For example, autoboot is normal stuff in the IBM and APPLE domain >and we always hear about the need for 1.3 to support it. There are >few very basic stuff that a computer in 1988 has to support i.e. >autobooting harddisks and a large number of printers and the Amiga >does not support these very well. How many printers can you reliably use with a Mac? I have only seen ImageWriters and LaserWriters. That does not seem to be too many to me. As for IBM and their clones: the reason that they support so many printers is that they treat them with a text-only attitude. For that realm you have to get the software vendor to support your printer. That means that each program has its own configuration software that you run to tell it what kind of screen, printer, etc. you have. By putting these features in the OS the Amiga system allows much more ease-of-programming for the software manufacturer and at the same time ensures that more printers will be supported for ALL applications, not just the ones who can afford to hire a programmer to write 25 variations on a theme for their application. >The technical gibberish about autoboot, >1.3, Chipram, kickstart makes the Amiga appear as a hackers computer >not a machine that any novice user can deal with. Again, have you looked at the IBM world? I worked in a retail computer store where I endlessly had to explain CGA, EGA, VGA, Extended Memory, Expanded Memory, Extended/Expanded Memory, EEMS Memory, etc not to mention the Messy- DOS commands. If the particulars of memory types are bothering you, go get a Mac where you don't have any memory to worry about :-]. Computers, when you get right down to it, are complicated intricate machines and the complexity just doesn't go away if you want to do anything interesting or useful. >As an Amiga user I feel CA peoples' time is better spent on these questions >not in badmouthing a piece of computing history: the VIC-20. As another Amiga user I think your time is better spent not badmouthing a rare priviledge in the computer community. Not every computer user gets to talk to their tech support groups through easily accessible electronic mediums like UseNet and BIX. All these comments about the VIC-20 were made in fun and you should realize that. Please notice the UseNet convention of sarcasm [ the ubiquitous smiley-face :-) ] and the obvously humurous intent of the last few lines. >> Get about 10 more and line them up across your street. They make great >> speed bumps :-) >> Uh oh.... Here comes the >> OW! Let go! I dont like this fancy white coat! >> Help! Jane stop this crazy thing.... >> >Shah Jahan -- Richard Thomson 3190 MEB, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 thomson@cs.utah.edu (801) 584-4555: Talk to a machine, they're lonely. Gaia: Its not just a hypothesis, its an epistemology.
augi@cbmvax.UUCP (Joe Augenbraun) (04/27/88)
In article <5436@utah-cs.UUCP> thomson@cs.utah.edu.UUCP (Richard A Thomson) writes: > Better than a VIC-20, I've got a Timex Sinclair ZX81!! Anybody got an idea > for THIS monster? The thing can really cook at about 200 IPS* when it's not > refreshing the screen! > > -- Rich > * Instructions per Second > -- > Richard Thomson 3190 MEB, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 > thomson@cs.utah.edu (801) 584-4555: Talk to a machine, they're lonely. > Gaia: Its not just a hypothesis, its an epistemology. ZX81's! There is no need to search for a use; We use one daily here at Commodore design engineering. It is used as a wedge to hold an office door open (Dave Haynie's actually). -- Joe Augenbraun ucp: {uunet|ihnp4|rutgers}!cbmvax!augi System Engineering arpa: cbmvax!augi@uunet.uu.net Commodore Business Machines Phone: 215-431-9332
kent@xanth.cs.odu.edu (Kent Paul Dolan) (04/27/88)
Admit it, when you first saw that article title, weren't you just a little bit convinced it was going to be about the retarded siamese twin on the other side of the bridgecard of an A2000? ;-) Kent, the man from xanth. Originator and "candidate" of the Birthright Party. "The Birthright of Humankind is the Stars!" Join us in talk.bizarre and help us plan the politics of a revitalized man into space program. If you care, then your input is needed.
whizzo@eddie.MIT.EDU (David Hardy) (04/27/88)
I suppose I still have a sentimental attachment to the VIC-20, since it was my
first computer, way back when no one had ever HEARD of an Amiga, or even a
C-64. Well, I don't have the '20 any more, but I did see an interesting use for
one the other day, with a Datassette, no less!
The user had somehow interfaced the VIC with his scanner, and had written a
program to control the scanner from the VIC screen. The scanner did not have a
computer interface capability, but somehow he was able to add it. I actually
borrowed the Datassette, to load a program given to me on cassette only. So
I guess there is some life still left in the VIC-20!
>>> Dave
--
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"An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a
proposition. It isn't just contradiction .................. Can be!"
David Hardy (whizzo@EDDIE.MIT.EDU)c60b-gd@buddy.Berkeley.EDU (Ofer Licht) (05/07/88)
All you guys who can't think of anything productive to do with your vic-20-- well i would be happy to accept them gratuitously. I would like to do some tinkering on a simple system and not have to worry about blowing chips, etc. P.S. I lied: I'll pay UPS charges if anybody is seriously interested. Ofer Licht c60b-gd@buddy.berkeley.edu Phone: (415) 540-0266