rtb@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Todd) (09/04/87)
Bear with me and you will see why this article is in the Atari ST sig. It seems to me that the new 80386 machines that are hitting the market are redefining the concept of "power without the price". Radio shack is offering one for $2599 and it is possible to get some closer to the $2000 range. Cheetah is supposed to come out with a `386 machine that will be extremely attractive in the power/price category. In less than a year I think you will be able to get a decent `386 box for less than $1500 and Microsoft Windows 386 will be available. These affordable computers offer an incredible amount of power but won't be very appealing to the hobbyists because of lack of sound and graphics. Intel is marketing a graphics coprocessor for the 8**86 line, the 82786. TI also markets a graphics processor chip, the TMS34010. If someone could come up with an EGA graphics/sound board around one of these graphics chips and an appropriate sound chip. I think that such a machine would take the hobbyist market by storm. This board would have to become a defacto standard, but that could happen easily if the board was priced right and powerful enough. The higher priced Mega STs are going to have a hard time competing with these cheaper `386 computers. What does an ST have that a `386 machine running windows (not DOS) have. Remember, the power/ price ratio is dwindling. I think that Atari or a company like Atari is the best candidate to come out with a board like this. After all, they have a lot of experience in graphics hardware. The technology I have discussed is already available. R.T. Bradstrum
bob@wiley.UUCP (Bob Amstadt) (09/08/87)
Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.47.4 of Tue Aug 4 1987 on candi (berkeley-unix)
Maybe you're right, but I'd like to see 68020 based ST first. I
think that Atari would be making a large number of current ST owners
angry if they embarked on a new project before fixing the problems
in the ST.
--
---Bob Amstadt
bob@wiley.uucp
{csvax.caltech.edu,trwrb.uucp}!wiley!bobgreg@xios.XIOS.UUCP (Greg Franks) (09/15/87)
Perhaps if Motorola would get the 68030 out... I guess they don't want any multiplier fiascos :-) -- Greg Franks XIOS Systems Corporation, 1600 Carling Avenue, (613) 725-5411 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Z 8R8 seismo!mnetor!dciem!nrcaer!xios!greg "Vermont ain't flat!"