grr@cbmvax.UUCP (02/08/87)
In article <4271@utah-cs.UUCP> atwell@utah-cs.UUCP (Bart L. Atwell) writes: > >What about upgrading the current ST's to accept the expansion peripherals >that will be available on the Mega's. It seems like there may be a lot >of yet to be developed peripherals that we will miss out on unless something >is done. (like the Atari Laserprinter, for example) > >Bart Since the laser printer appears to connect to the standard DMA port, it should in theory be compatable with any of the ST series. The rub is that since it doesn't have any intelligence in the printer, you need to have 1-2MB just to store the image bitmap, not to mention to programs. Doing decompression or rendering on the fly can reduce this a good bit, but only if the CPU can keep up with the printer. I don't believe the actual details of the new expansion mechanism for the mega-ST series were publically released at CES. I didn't see anything externally visible on the demo units except what appeared to be the standard cartridge port... Maintaining upward and downward compatiblty is real problem in the micro- computer business. By the time you get your first product to market, the design is already squirming around, looking for new and unplanned ways to grow. Only Apple has done much as far as providing upgrades for existing hardware, but then with the prices they charge, you probably paid for the upgrade the first time around... -- George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)