gore@nucsrl.UUCP (Jacob Gore) (02/23/88)
We have an undergraduate graphics class here (junior-senior level). The
current textbook, for those of you who may be familiar with it, is
_Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics_, by Foley and Van Dam. The
class size is 45, give or take 15.
The class covers such things as world coordinates -> physical coordinates
chain of projections; transformations; clipping; some input stuff. The exact
material depends a lot on who is teaching it.
Doing animation is not really necessary for this class (though students do
find it interesting, if it's easy enough to do).
We are now looking for a suitable lab configuration for this class. I am
considering using Amigas. What do you think? Is it a good idea? What would
be a good configuration? Is there a graphics library that students can call
from their programs?
Let me throw in my initial idea, for the sake of starting the discussion:
* 6-12 A2000's, with monitors (of course :-), I don't know how much memory
* Ethernet hardware, with TCP/IP and NFS software
* Hard disks for shared software, maybe for students' files (or students
can use their own floppies). Two possibilities:
a) Attach hard disk(s) to one or two of them (how much space?)
b) Have one of our VAXes farm out the disk space
If you can point out problems with this plan, I'd appreciate hearing your
thoughts. Is any of this unnecessarily inconvenient? complicated?
underpowered?
Finally, if you think that something other than an Amiga would be better for
this purpose, please let me know why you think so *** BY MAIL *** -- please,
let's not rekindle the wars!
Jacob Gore, Manager
Computer Science & Engineering Lab Gore@EECS.NWU.Edu
Northwestern University {oddjob,gargoyle,ihnp4}!nucsrl!gore
Evanston, IL 60208, USA
P.S. Is there somebody at Commodore we should be talking to about obtaining
this equipment, or should we just go to a local dealer?mike@ames.arpa (Mike Smithwick) (02/24/88)
["all we want is information, information", " YOU won't get it (nyah!)"] In article <10260002@nucsrl.UUCP> gore@nucsrl.UUCP (Jacob Gore) writes: >We have an undergraduate graphics class here (junior-senior level). The > >We are now looking for a suitable lab configuration for this class. I am >considering using Amigas. What do you think? Is it a good idea? > >Jacob Gore, Manager >Computer Science & Engineering Lab Gore@EECS.NWU.Edu >Northwestern University {oddjob,gargoyle,ihnp4}!nucsrl!gore >Evanston, IL 60208, USA There is a local community college using Amigas for a "desktop video" class and I believe also in a generic computer graphics course as well. You may want to contact them and see how they're doing things. It is Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, CA. The instructor is John Berry who wrote "Inside the Amiga with C". Sorry, I don't have a phone number. -- *** mike (Cyberpunk in training) smithwick *** "live long and multi-task" [discalimer : nope, I don't work for NASA, I take full blame for my ideas]
berry@well.UUCP (John Thomas Berry) (03/02/88)
In article <5094@ames.arpa> mike@ames.arc.nasa.gov.UUCP (Mike Smithwick) writes: >There is a local community college using Amigas for a "desktop video" class >and I believe also in a generic computer graphics course as well. You may >want to contact them and see how they're doing things. It is >Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, CA. The instructor >is John Berry who wrote "Inside the Amiga with C". Sorry, I don't have >a phone number. You can reach me through the net address above or through the Foothill College CIS department at: (415)960-4236. They will get a message to me. I'd be glad to tell you about the desktop video class which has been quite successful. By the way, we bought our Amigas at a local dealer and are quite happy with our decision. Commodore's education department has been conspicuously absent from the Amiga marketing arena. Perhaps they should start trying to reach schools -- the Amiga is an ideal machine for the education market. The last time I talked to a Commodore rep -- at a computer show last year -- they seemed unenthusiastic about schools and didn't even know whom I should contact in this area to talk about things like educational discounts. There are lessons to be learned from (dare I say it) Apple in this area. Those folks sure know how to work with schools -- they've even conned people into thinking that the Apple II is a real computer :-).
fiddler%concertina@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) (03/03/88)
In article <5340@well.UUCP>, berry@well.UUCP (John Thomas Berry) writes: > Commodore's education department has > been conspicuously absent from the Amiga marketing arena. Perhaps they > should start trying to reach schools -- the Amiga is an ideal machine > for the education market. The last time I talked to a Commodore rep -- > at a computer show last year -- they seemed unenthusiastic about schools > and didn't even know whom I should contact in this area to talk about > things like educational discounts. They tried it (sort of) a decade ago with the PET. They did a really crummy job...cheap hardware (OK) prices, what software? Support? What's that? (I remember that they had us at Apple worried for a long time.) > There are lessons to be learned from > (dare I say it) Apple in this area. Those folks sure know how to work > with schools -- they've even conned people into thinking that the Apple II > is a real computer :-). The Apple][ *was* a real computer 10 years ago. And for all the schools that use them and the students that learned (and are learning) on them, they still are. Is it their fault that nobody's shown them differently? I'd love to see Amiga 500s in my kid's school (to say nothing about in my house!)...but I'm not holding my breath for C= getting anything going in that area. seh
sdean1@uvicctr.UUCP (Steven A. Dean) (03/04/88)
In article <43843@sun.uucp> fiddler%concertina@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) writes: >In article <5340@well.UUCP>, berry@well.UUCP (John Thomas Berry) writes: >> Commodore's education department has >> been conspicuously absent from the Amiga marketing arena. [...] [...] >[...] I'd love to see Amiga 500s in my kid's school (to say >nothing about in my house!)...but I'm not holding my breath for C= >getting anything going in that area. > > seh Well, up here in Canada, at least, I have seen at least one Commodore push to put Amiga 500's in educational institutions. Their deal up here goes something like this... Buy 2 Amiga500 systems (Amiga 500 and 1084 Monitor) and get one Amiga500 system FREE. Cost (Canadian) $2990 for the lot. The purchasing institution is also exempt from Federal Sales Tax. Offer expires (in a couple of months... I think). This, from the sounds of it, is a pretty good deal since a typical Amiga 500 system is $1599 at a local store... I sure hope UVic tries to take advantage of this deal! I could sure use something better than this cruddy old IBM-PC in my office.... Just thought I'd let you all know.... Steven A. Dean, Consultant, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., GWN All opinions expressed above are mine, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the University of Victoria. sdean1@uvunix.UVic.CDN sdean1@uvunix.BITNET ...uw-beaver!uvicctr!sdean1 ...ubc-vision!uvicctr!sdean1