UD140469@NDSUVM1.BITNET (10/17/87)
This message is just what it claims to be--a bunch of little bits and pieces
I've been meaning to put up on the net, but haven't had time to until now...
First off, blitter chips. According to a dealer I talked to, the current
rumors go something like this: price--$120-$150, method--piggyback mounting
on one of the chips OR (this is the newest rumor) a motherboard swap--you pay
the $$$ and your old board, and you get a new board, presumably with the
blitter socketed by itself (keep this in mind for an idea of mine that I'll
talk about in a minute). As for when, that's anybodies best guess--remember,
Atari still has to supply the new Megas (and I'll be it's the blitters that's
keeping the supply shorth right now), and also promised free blitters to all
the European and Canadian Megas (right?), so those of us without will probably
be without for quite a while yet...
Now on to that idea I mentioned... This past Wednesday, I was in a funny mood:
I was happy because midterms were almost over and I had just gotten PPascal &
Modula 2 updates to fool with (with two games on the way), but I was still in a
funk about no longer being able to afford a Mega. I'd spent the week since I
found that out deciding what I should do with the money instead--it included
buying a harddisk, massive amounts of RAM, Mac-disk doohickeys, an Amiga 500,
etc--but I changed my mind so much (ever hear of thrashing?) that I finally
said 'd heck w' it, I'll put my money back in the bank and wait to see what
comes out during the next few winter shows. That 'what comes out' part got me
to daydreaming (a real stupid thing to do the night before two midterm tests!)-
-what would I like to see come out (besides already announced/rumored things).
This is what I came up with:
1040STe This is my idea of a "poor-man's Mega." It would have the same looks
of a regular 1040 (one piece keyboard/cpu, built in drive, etc.) but
would have a slightly redesigned motherboard that would include the
blitter, the Mega exapansion slot, and maybe the clock. It would be
nice if Atari implemented a trade in policy for the new machine (your
old 1040 and $500, or something like that). When I first proposed a
trade-in for the Megas a few months ago, the idea was soundly thrashed
by several neters. However, in the intervening months Commodore has
apparently implemented just such a policy--$1000 and your Amiga 1000
gets you an Amiga 2000. So maybe my idea wasn't so bad after all.
Such a machine might not be too hard to make, especially if their
making modifications for the blitter anyway. The expansion slot would
be the hardest to do, I suppose--can we hack the expansion slot onto
our existing machines? BTW, the 'e' in 1040STe stands for 'enhanced.'
1040STex Which means 'enhanced and expandable.' I got a little bit wilder in
dreaming up this machine. Again, it is a 'poor-man's Mega,' but like
Algier story it can grow to great things. It starts out like the
1040STe (same configuration) with a few differences: 1) There's room
on the motherboard for more RAM (this probably means a completely new
motherboard design). Whether the sockets are there, I haven't
decided, but at least the pinouts are. 2) There's a jack where you
can plug in a separate keyboard (could two keyboards work at once or
would you have to shut one off?). 3) How about a socket for a math
coprocessor, or ability to plug in a 68020 *on-board* (this would mean
another update, or at least a hack, to GEM, I'm told). 4) Of course,
it could handle any cards for the Mega (although maybe it will need an
external card cage--have the expansion slot lead directly outside,
like the A500 & A1000). 5) If we want to get really wild, why don't
we include space for plugging in the Magic Sac chip and Mac ROMs (with
complete instructions in the 1040STex operators guide on how to take
the ROMs out of your Mac and installing them on your ST :). This, of
course would be worked out with DP... 6) Again, maybe you could
install the fan or clock later.
Remember, none of this extra stuff is included at the start (unless
you want to buy it then)--this lets you get in cheap and early and
lets you pay for the goodies later.
I just thought I'd kind of throw these ideas out to see what people think of
them.
****************WARNING--this last part is a commercial message, of sorts.
As I posted a few weeks ago, I've decided to sell off some of my software. In
an attempt to get it moving, I decided to repost the list, but this time
include some prices. I went through recent magazines and tried to price well
below discount prices for the games new. I'd be willing to part with the whole
shebang for $215 (which is $62 less than you'd pay for them individually).
Harrier Strike Mission--$20
Winter Games--$17
Silent Service--$22
Star Glider--$22 ****currently this one's spoken for, but check w/ me anyway
Expert Opinion--$50
HiSoft Devpac ST--$32
Rogue--$17
MCC Macro Assembler--$38
Brattacus--$20
King's Quest II--$22
These prices are negotiable (as is the package price). Note that as individual
programs sell, the package price will also drop, but you'll begin to loose your
package savings...
****************end of commercial
Have a nice weekend everybody!
Scott Udell
UD140469@NDSUVM1.BITNET
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