mjp@spice.cs.cmu.edu.UUCP (03/01/87)
Keywords: Matt Dillon writes: > Hey! I think it's really neat that something like this hack to > increase the size of the workbench window can come along and be totally > compatible! Another reason I'm so excited about the program is due both to > the simplicity of it, and the fact that the Video Hardware and the OS are > flexable enough to be able to handle it trivialy. Just try doing that on > an Atari or Mac! Actually, the Mac's software is not only able to support screen sizes different than the standard configuration, it can even support non-rectangular bitmaps for its display (witness the Radius full-page display for the Mac and the number of programs that run on it without complaint). The folks who wrote the Mac ROMS did write the code for clipping and region handling very well. Of course, you are correct about the Amiga video hardware being adaptable enough to expand its screen size. But the Atari 8-bits can do that too (through some display list modification and setting a DMA control register). --M -- Mike Portuesi / Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Department ARPA: mjp@spice.cs.cmu.edu UUCP: {harvard | seismo | ucbvax | decwrl}!spice.cs.cmu.edu!mjp BITNET: s314mp1u@cmccvb (but only if you must) "Amiga hackers do it graphically, with lots of sound effects"
dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU.UUCP (03/02/87)
>Actually, the Mac's software is not only able to support screen sizes >different than the standard configuration, it can even support >non-rectangular bitmaps for its display (witness the Radius full-page >display for the Mac and the number of programs that run on it without >complaint). The folks who wrote the Mac ROMS did write the code for >clipping and region handling very well. Of course, you are correct >about the Amiga video hardware being adaptable enough to expand its >screen size. But the Atari 8-bits can do that too (through some >display list modification and setting a DMA control register). > > --M Well, actually, I didn't comment on software support for different configurations, I commented on the flexibility of the Amiga's video hardware. Specifically, the fact that the DMA channel structure is not static like in the ST, and can dynamically distribute the 14Mhz of bandwidth between the many different VLSI chips requiring DMA (video display & sprites, processor, blitter, sound channels, disk, and co-processor). Did I miss anything? -Matt