unocc07@zeus.unl.edu (Dave Caplinger, Microcomputer Specialist) (04/16/89)
In article <3122@watale.waterloo.edu>, engsoc@watale.waterloo.edu (Engineering Society, CPH 1327, x2323) writes: > In article <Apr.11.01.01.35.1989.22877@topaz.rutgers.edu> witting@topaz.rutgers.edu (Paul K Willing) writes: > >>THE IDEA: Take a Mac IIcx box, pull out the 68030, the MMU, the math >>co-processor, and any other expensive bits that aren't required. Drop >>in the standard 6800 and a regular Floppy drive. Actually, Apple may >>etc... > > Apple is trying to establish the 030 (or 020 with 68551 MMU) as it's > lowest common denomenator. What's that you say..."What about the huge > > So, Apple wants to avoid this. Todays computing is demanding power and > multitasking (don't say you don't need it untill you try it - you'll get > hooked very quickly!). You can't do this with a 68000. However, the Ok, how about this: Take the //gs box (about half as small as the Mac IIcx), and put in a 68020-based Macintosh, similar in design, but lower scale, to the "SE classic". Use the SE "Expansion slot" to drive a small (3 or 4 slot?) bus (get this) -- that is //gs compatible. Ok, ok, stop laughing now. That's probably not very likely, is it? :-) Ignore the bus for now and this is what we've got: A 68020-based Mac in a small box. The 68881 (or 68882?) would be optional, and NOT included as standard. The 68851 MPU would be optional as well (to allow what hopefully will eventually be a not-as-expensive upgrade path to the new OS). Make sure there is a ROM SIMM socket. If so, we can put in the Mac Plus' 128k roms by default even, and still allow an upgrade path to the 256k's or whatever is coming down from Apple that prompted ROM SIMMs in the first place. The floppy will obviusly have to be the FDHD, which may or may not be unfortunate for pricing reasons. (I have no idea if they /really/ cost more to make, or..?). The [optional] hard drive would be an SCSI, which is partitionable now with the Apple HD SC Setup program, right? The keyboard and mouse are ADB, of course. So here's the scoop on the internals: Take the video from the "SE minus" and send it to the back of the case, either as monochrome out, or perhaps RF-Modulator as per the //c, but RBG would obviously be better (does the //c have this? I don't own one, sorry! :-). Color would be a plus (especially for what I'm working up to), but not a necessity... obviously, to keep in the spirit of the list so far, it should be upgradable. :-) None of the Apple ][ line comes with color by default, anyway. The moniter is external. (gasp!) Take a "CPU" expansion bus (similar to the two different SE and SE/30 busses), and plug in a "coprocessor board" that is in effect the new //gs. The //gs board (another motherboard in itslef) would run it's own bus for the actual physical slots in the machine, which would therefore be //gs (and //e?) compatible. When you're all done with this magic, you've got "The Golden Gate" project: A "low-end" Mac that runs Apple ][ software, and with a whole load of configuration options. (Creeping featurism, if I ever saw it.. :-) But it does what "needs to be done": a bridge to the past (Apple ][) as well as a ticket into the future (obviously not first class, of course). The software, on the other hand, is a whole different ballgame. I have no idea if another Apple /// -like "Switch to Apple ][ mode" switch would work, or if the two environments should be somehow integrated -- I've never seen GS/OS, so I have no idea how close it is to Finder. Ideally, the "Apple //gs board" and the "SE Minus" should both be peers on a NuBus (wasn't this the whole point of NuBus?), which might give the SE-half of the project some more expansion capability, but how would the NuBus version of the Apple ][ board run its own Apple ][ slots? Would users be totally confused with two different banks of slots? :-) How about 2 "CPU Bus" slots for the SE part, and a bank of 4 or so Apple ][ slots for the GS part. I dunno... Well, anyway (I'm really reaching now), the Apple ][ -on-a-NuBus-card could then be sold for the Mac II line... This brings up all kinds of interesting possibilities.. AppleShare for the Apple ][, etc... (A real mess, in other words..) Anyone remember "Apple Schoolbus" for the original Apple ][ (no "+", no "e", no "c", no "gs", etc)? heh heh... I'm not sure if this is hard to visualize, or if I'm just confusing everyone. So flame me, I guess. :-) PS: If Apple made the "Mega II" chip for the //gs, why haven't we seen it anywhere else yet? Does the //c+ have it? Or is Apple finally going to produce a /truly/ portable Apple ][? (And would it sell, if they did? The //e is /still/ selling... ;-) >>paul [ witting? ] > Jay Gibson Yet another rambling post from: -/ Dave Caplinger /------------------+--"Last of the Apple ][+ user-clan"-- Microcomputer Specialist | Internet: unocc07@zeus.unl.edu "Computing and Data Communications" | UUCP: uunet!btni!unocss!dent University of Nebraska at Omaha | Bitnet: UNOCC07@UNOMA1 Omaha, NE 68182 | or dc3a+@andrew.cmu.edu