mboen@nixpbe.UUCP (Martin Boening) (08/28/89)
There's been some interest in the TT expressed in this newsgroup. So, I'm
going to have a try at translating the two-page ad Atari passed along at
the Duesseldorf fair. This might be quite bad but it might give US Atarians
something to read.
Here goes (This is a 1 to 1 quote, remember! Imagine it in two columns.):
------ Atari TT -------
[In bold letters the headline]: The power of a workstation
[In the lefthand column:]
The new Atari TT Computer
Premiere at the Duesseldorf Atari Fair: With the processor Motorola MC68030
the TT continues the ST class upward as a 32-bit-computer and achieves
approximately 4 times the computing power, otherwise being fully compatible
to the existing TOS.
In the TT the CPU MC68030 is driven at 16MHz clockrate, it has Memory
Management unit, instruction- and data cache integrated on the chip. In
addition the TT motherboard has a 'slot' [what's "Sockel" in English - a
question for all you electrical engineers] for a floating point processor
(MC68881/MC68882) available. The standard RAM of 2 MB is accessed both by the
video system and the rest of the system in turns set off from each other
by 250 ns using a time slice method.
The RAM can be upgraded to up to 8 MB (and even 26 MB using 4 Megabit Chips)
The ROM of 512 Kilobytes consists of four 1-Megabit-Chips.
The machine has a (single) slot in VME-standard format.
[This is where we get to the second column]:
There are manifold interfaces on the TT: besides a parallel Centronics-inter-
face and two asynchronous serial interfaces as well as MIDI-interfaces and
the Atari ACSI-DMA-Channel (for Atari Harddisks, -Laserprinter or CD-ROM)
the 32-bit-machines also have either two highspeed SDLC Interfaces or one
of those and a LAN connection; in addition a SCSI-Interface was integrated
in form of a 25-pin Sub-D Connector
A MEGA-ST compatible keyboard with plugins for mouse and joystick can be
[hmm. does that mean you could also use other keyboards?] hooked up to the TT
which naturally has an internal speaker and a real time clock.
Sophisticated Soundsystem in 8-bit PCM stereo (Pulse Code Modulation):
One should experience the power of this system which already contains every-
thing ranging from low pass filter ["Tiefpassfilter"] and tone control to
stereo balance by listening on the stereo outlets. The video outlet supports
either RGB or monochrom monitors with analog signals, which brings us to a
special treat: the sensational Video-Modes of the TT. The palette contains
4096 colors, the resolutions range from 320 by 200 pixels over 320 by 480
pixels with 256 colors to 640 by 480 pixels in 16 colors.
[ here we're in the third column ]
In addition there is the extremely highly resolving monochrom mode with an
astounding 1280 by 960 pixels as well as, as an unusual specialty, the
"Duochrome"-mode: 640 by 400 pixels resolution - just like the monochrome
mode of the ST - but programmable in two different colors.
Several HW extensions on the basis of the VME bus are already planned: an
Ethernet-Network connection, a Terminal-Multiplexer and a graphics extension.
The capabilities of a workstation, that the TT offers, are optionally
supported by an industry standard OS. UNIX System V is being ported to the
TT. ALso, X-windows will be available, as well as a user interface based
on X windows which offers all advantages of UNIX to the user without the
problems often occurring.
[ Now we get to a little 'table' ]:
ATARI TT Computer.
High Tech in the Overview:
Compatible to the ST, therefore access to a large software base.
* three additional Grafikmodi
320 x 480 Pixel with 256 out of 4096 colors
640 x 480 Pixel with 16 out of 4096 colors
1280 x 960 high resoltion monochrome mode
* Motorola MC 68030 Processor, with 16 Mhz clock
* DMA with integrated SCSI- and ACSI interface
* two serial ports, extendable to 4 ports
* parallel interface
* separate keyboard
* internal VME-Slot (A 24, D 16)
* prepared for internal hard drive [what? I thought that was standard.]
* 8-bit-Stereo-PCM-Sound
* 2 MB RAM, extendable to 8 MB (26 MB when using 4Mbit DRAMs)
* free 'slot' for mathematical coprocessor MC 68881/2
* real time clock with non-volatile RAM
* networking hardware included.
[ And the standard] : ATARI - power without the price.
(All this is as per 8/89 BTW.)
---------- end add -----------
Well, now you know the official Atari info (or maybe my translation was so
bad that you don't.). Anyhow, I'm not going to say anymore. I guess at
6500,-- DM (or 5700,-- DM as the price Roland cited) it's not THAT BAD a
deal. My opinion of course. Also my opinion: WHY, WHY WHY such an UGLY
casing. A nice tower would have been MUCH MUCH BETTER! And maybe three VME
slots to boot - a tower would have given the necessary room.
Anyhow, that's the way I see it. So long [and thanks for all the fish :-)]
Martin
PS: Since I comment on a product - disclaimer: none of the above is the
opinion of my employer, it's MY MY MY opinion. No company policy is stated
hereby.
--
Email: in the USA -> ...!uunet!philabs!linus!nixbur!mboening.pad
outside USA -> {...!mcvax}!unido!nixpbe!mboening.pad
Paper Mail: Martin Boening, Nixdorf Computer AG, DS-CC22,
Pontanusstr. 55, 4790 Paderborn, W.-Germanyscksnsr@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Sean Kelly) (09/02/89)
In article <464@nixpbe.UUCP> mboen@nixpbe.UUCP (Martin Boening) writes: >[...] Also my opinion: WHY, WHY WHY such an UGLY >casing. A nice tower would have been MUCH MUCH BETTER! And maybe three VME >slots to boot - a tower would have given the necessary room. [...] >Martin [...] Okay, okay! I've heard people say the new case is ugly beyond compare, and I've heard some people praise it. Just what does it look like? Would someone describe it, please?!?! Or send me a GIF picture of it? I'd like to see this for myself, and I've got no access to magazines. Please!