PSWISNOV@pucc.UUCP (04/02/87)
No, I don't have any: but I would really like some. The prototype
here does not have any demonstrations software, so I have not been
able to look at some of the niftier things about the thing, like
color, sound, and speed (especially graphics).
Also:
Someone posted a request for info on Falcon, an F-16 simulator.
I tried to mail him to find out whether people liked it or not
but have not gotten a response: has anyone out there tried it?
Peter Wisnovsky
Virtual Address: UUCP: ...ihnp4!psuvax1!pswisnov@pucc.bitnet
Also...
pswisnov@pucc.princeton.eduseubank@im4u.UUCP (04/06/87)
In article <2154@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU>, PSWISNOV@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU (Peter Wisnovsky) writes: > No, I don't have any: but I would really like some. The prototype > here does not have any demonstrations software, so I have not been > able to look at some of the niftier things about the thing, like > color, sound, and speed (especially graphics). > Well, this probably isn't what you were looking for, but it's worthwhile nonetheless... I'm posting two versions of a Mandelbrot plotting program to mod.mac.binaries. I realize that this is not a standard benchmark, but I think it's a lot more fun. I hope the Mandelbrot set is fairly familiar to this newsgroup -- if not, go look up Scientific American, August 1985. One version of this code uses the SANE library and works on both the usual Macs and the MAC II, with a noticeable speed-up on the latter. (If you don't notice it, look at the Timing info dialog. :-)) The other version makes direct 881 calls and runs anywhere from 20 to 100 times faster. (Apple has a nifty demo that plots a complicated function and lets you switch between the 881 and SANE in the same code. I don't.) You will see the higher performance if you look at areas that include a lot of the set, since in that case there is a tight loop executing "Max" times for each pixel, where "Max" can be set fairly large. (Say 1000 or so). I have not seen this version running in colors -- if you have a Polaroid or something I would appreciate some pictures. It has been debugged using up to 16 grays. It should run with 256 colors as well, but I run out of storage for the offscreen pixel map, so window updating stops. For the rest of us, it makes nice B&W pictures too, if you have some patience, so you might want to download it even if you don't have a II. It allows the user to open up to six resizeable, scrollable windows. (The smaller the size, the faster the picture develops). Clicking and dragging changes scale, and a coordinate window is available to show where you're pointing. Unfortunately, it doesn't support the clipboard or printing, though command-shift-3 and 4 should work fine. An easy way to set up interesting pictures is to start with a small window, with "Max" set low, find the region you want to look at, make a new window, set Max up to 150 and leave it on overnight. On the Mac II, I'm having some trouble creating the inverse table for my offscreen CGrafPorts. (This with the Beta 7.0 Roms even.) I think I'm being too sloppy with memory allocation, but I just haven't had a chance to chase this one down. If you can't open more than one window, try rebooting the machine -- that seems to let me open four or five. If someone can help me with this problem I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, it handles color pretty well -- when you open a new window, the default colors are set the way the current screen is set. That is, if you change the number of colors in the control panel, open a new window, and recalculate, you'll see the new colors. As for the Apple demos: many of the sound demos seem to be public domain stuff. The digitized pictures of course are not widely available. Have you tried contacting an Apple sales rep in your area who might be demonstrating the machine? Finally, I shoould mention that the timing figures I quote above are for this specific code. I haven't run any other benchmarks, but I think this is a pretty good indicator of the kind of results to expect for scientific type calculations. Oh, yeah -- just for grins I put in a hierarchical menu. It does not conform to the user interface in that it's pointless, but it lets you see what they look like. On a regular Mac it leads to a funny looking icon in the menu. Sorry, but I wanted to use the exact same code and resources. -- "Wake up to find out Stephen Eubank That you are Physics Dept. The eyes of the world" UT Austin
caufield@bnl.UUCP (04/06/87)
> > Also: > Someone posted a request for info on Falcon, an F-16 simulator. > I tried to mail him to find out whether people liked it or not > but have not gotten a response: has anyone out there tried it? > > Peter Wisnovsky > Virtual Address: UUCP: ...ihnp4!psuvax1!pswisnov@pucc.bitnet > Also... > pswisnov@pucc.princeton.edu I wish I could buy it to try it! With the exception of a MACUSER ad a month or so ago, I haven't heard a word about 'Falcon'. Repeated calls to 'MacConnection' confirm that they have no information as well. Is this another example of a pre-pre-release, or vapoware? Anyone have more info? Jim Caufield Brookhaven Lab
lsr@apple.UUCP (04/08/87)
In article <1693@im4u.UUCP> seubank@im4u.UUCP (Stephen Eubank) writes: > >As for the Apple demos: many of the sound demos seem to be >public domain stuff. The digitized pictures of course are not >widely available. None of the demo programs themselves are public domain. Many of the digitized images were of photographs brought in by people at Apple. The ray traced images were generated at Apple (on the Cray, I believe). Some of the other images were licensed by Apple for use at the demo. Finding the digitized music was a problem because it is hard to find non-copyrighted sounds of a high enough quality to show off the machine. A couple of the people here composed one of the pieces used at AppleWorld, and we got permission to use a couple of other pieces for the demos. -- Larry Rosenstein Object Specialist Apple Computer AppleLink: Rosenstein1 UUCP: {sun, voder, nsc, mtxinu, dual}!apple!lsr CSNET: lsr@Apple.CSNET