v8803330@cc.nu.oz.au (10/29/90)
I have seen the TC9 from Frank Hogg Lab. mentioned several times. Does anyone Have some detailed info on this computer, or have the address of Frank Hogg Labs So I can get some info from there.
knudsen@cbnewsd.att.com (michael.j.knudsen) (10/31/90)
In article <2989.272c8e83@cc.nu.oz.au>, v8803330@cc.nu.oz.au writes: > I have seen the TC9 from Frank Hogg Lab. mentioned several times. Does anyone > Have some detailed info on this computer, or have the address of Frank Hogg Labs Frank Hogg Laboratory, Inc 204 Windemere Road Syracuse, NY 13205 USA Note that the TC9 is strictly a 6809 computer. If you want to move up to OSK on a 680x0, Frank Hogg has the TC-70 bus card. But if you want a compact system at lower cost, ask about the MM/1 Computer from: Interactive Media Systems 238 Catawba Ave. Davidson, NC 28036 USA These people do not have a 6809 machine. -- "Round and round the while() loop goes; Whether it stops," Turing says, "no one knows."
skeppeljones@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Stephen Keppel-Jones) (10/31/90)
****** ANNOUNCEMENT ******
Kenneth-Leigh Enterprises in association with Interactive Media
Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce the MM/1(tm), the next
computer of choice for Color Computer users.
The MM/1 is a stand-alone system that can also be used with a
customer's existing Color Computer 3 for complete OS-9 Level 2
compatibility. It accepts existing RGB Analog monitors such as
the Magnavox and Tandy models popular with CoCo users. Most Tandy
drives and the Tandy Hi-Res mouse are also useable.
Several solutions are being weighed that offer a level of RS-DOS
(Disk Extended Color Basic) compatibility as well.
Four fully-functional prototypes of the MM/1 were demonstrated at
the Chicago RainbowFest April 6 - 8, 1990. Units are being
shipped to developers in April in order to assure prompt
availability of top-quality software. Planned software projects
will make popular Color Computer(tm), Amiga(tm), and MS-DOS(tm)
programs available to you on the MM/1.
Kenneth-Leigh Enterprises and Interactive Media Systems, Inc.
would like to thank the vendors and developers who have worked
closely and quietly with us for the last six months to produce
the MM/1 computer and its software. Their expertise and
enthusiasm made the Chicago Rainbowfest an exciting debut for the
MM/1.
The Technical Specs
===================
Signetics 68070 CPU (Motorola 68000 compatible) at 15 MHz
Graphics resolution from 320x200 to 720x540 (interlaced)
From 16 to 256 colors on-screen, depending on resolution mode
Two serial ports: DB-9 and DB-25 (DB-25 configurable for
MIDI -- the Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
PC keyboard port for 101-key XT-style keyboard
RGB-Analog output for your CM-8 or Magnavox monitor
Operating system included
Direct Memory Access (DMA) floppy disk controller
3.5" 1.44 MB floppy drive with 3 ms access track-to-track
1 MB RAM
Technical Specs for Optional Input/Output Board
===============================================
DMA SCSI host adapter built in -- supports hard drives, CD-ROM
drives, and other 8-bit SCSI-compatible devices; transfer at
2 MBytes/sec or faster
Memory upgradeable to 2 or 8 MB with SIMM memory
Stereo 8-bit DMA port for sound sampling and playback
Two parallel ports for parallel printer and OS/Gateway support
CoCo joystick port with 8-bit resolution
Hi-res Tandy mouse port
Real-time clock, battery-backed with 56 bytes of non-volatile
memory
Technical Notes:
================
Graphics
--------
The MM/1 can display up to 256 colors on screen simultaneously in
each of two resolutions -- 320x200 and 320x400.
It can also display 16 colors in each of the higher resolutions
-- 640x200, 640x400, and 720x540.
On the first board is a header for a palette controller that
extends the palette of available colors to 16 million.
Much of the graphics is controlled by a special graphics chip
specifically designed to work with the MM/1's CPU. This chip
executes graphics logic extremely fast and includes a pixel
accelerator that substantially reduces CPU overhead.
Both the CPU and the graphics chip were designed by Signetics, a
Philips subsidiary, for the upcoming Compact Disk-Interactive
devices. This is the first home system to our knowledge that has
been based on this cutting-edge technology.
The higher resolution modes are possible with an interlace mode.
Unlike interlace mode on the Commodore Amiga, the MM/1 interlace
mode displays virtually no flicker.
In interlace mode and with a montitor that supports overscan
(such as the multisynchronizing monitors from NEC), a customer
can view up to 720x540 pixels on one screen. This is an ideal
mode for previewing documents in desktop publishing applications
or CAD. For comparison, this mode has three times the number of
pixels as the Color Computer hi-res mode. It can show up to 60
lines of text.
CPU
---
The Signetics 68070 is a Motorola compatible CPU in a quad
flat-pack design. Extra features support DMA. It runs at 15 MHz,
providing an optimal system throughput of over 1000 Dhrystones
(for comparison, the Atari ST running OS-9 logs in at around 750
Dhrystones).
Optimal speed is reached when you have both the CPU board and the
I/O board working together.
The CPU is proving to be a very popular chip for embedded
applications.
I/O Support
-----------
The MM/1 has unprecedented support for peripherals and sound. A
fully-configured system has three serial ports, two parallel
ports, PC keyboard port, RGB-A port, DMA sound (data acquisition
port).
Many of the ports are expressly designed to support your
existing investment in hardware including MIDI and Tandy Hi-Res
mouse support. You can also use a Logitech serial mouse on this
system. It is trivial to use a terminal on the DB9 port, making a
multiuser system both low cost and simple.
On the first board, you will see two serial ports, one a DB9 and
one a DB25. The DB25 can be modified (either at the factory or by
the customer) to be a MIDI port with optional low-cost MIDI
hardware.
As mentioned, the DB9 can be used for a terminal.
The PC keyboard port is designed for standard XT-style keyboards.
Customers can take advantage of pricing competition in the PC
market, where excellent keyboards are extremely affordable.
Floppy disk controller is included at no extra charge. Also, a
1.4 Megabyte floppy drive is included. These drives are the
popular 3.5" variety that provide fast and reliable performance.
One disk contains as much data as nine (9) standard Tandy format
disks, or four (4) double-sided disks.
The MM/1 floppy controller uses DMA to access memory. This improves
system performance and makes for smoother multitasking. DMA permits
applications to play back sound while accessing large data or
graphics files.
The header for the daughterboard allows the factory or customer
to easily add a palette chip that lets one choose any 256 colors
from a palette of 16 million. (Graphics in the 320x400 mode
are breathtaking with 256 colors.)
The RGB-A port allows the use of your existing Tandy CM-8 or
Magnavox 8515 monitor. RGB-A to composite converters are already
available from Color Computer vendors if you wish to use an
inexpensive monochrome composite monitor on the MM/1.
DMA port
--------
The DMA port on the MM/1 is a multifunction port that samples at
line levels at 350 KHz or faster. This allows the sampling of
sound from cassette decks or synthesizers for playback on cue.
The DMA port uses dual (stereo) AD/DA converters. Sampling rate
is variable so that the customer can select the optimum rate
(faster rates use more memory but record and playback higher
frequency sound).
The DMA port can also be used for data acquisition. The MM/1 is
already considered a viable platform for medical and industrial
data acq applications.
Joystick/mouse ports
--------------------
The second board contains a CoCo joystick port with 8-bit
resolution. This makes for smooth game playing. A port is provided
for the Tandy Hi-res mouse, too. A powered DB-9 port allows the
use of a professional Logitech serial mouse. These mice come in a
wide variety of packaging and features, and are competitively
priced.
Miscellaneous
-------------
The MM/1's second board contains a real-time clock that is
battery backed and contains some memory for variable storage.
This is included at the express request of the majority of
respondents to the Kenneth-Leigh Enterprises/Interactive Media
Systems, Inc. survey taken last October.
The MM/1 comes with 1 Megabyte of RAM (256x4). The second board
accepts modern, inexpensive SIMMs (1 Megabyte x 8) that can
expand the system up to nine Megabytes total.
The first Megabyte is used for video memory once the second board
has been added. Otherwise, the system and video share the first
Megabyte.
Software support
----------------
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. is implementing a developers
program. Titled The MM/1 Early Developers Program, it provides
full MM/1s to developers, with operating system and languages, at
about 20% off of list prices. Members in the program receive
system software updates, information about the hardware that may
be required, on-line and telephone support, and advance notice of
many new products. At the end of the development, Interactive
Media Systems, Inc. guarantees a purchase of finished units for
reselling. This encourages developers to produce salable
products and reduces the ultimate cost of the computer to them.
For more information, please contact the address below.
In addition to work that current developers are planning,
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. is working with software
engineers from the Color Computer, IBM, and Amiga markets.
Planned projects include DOS emulation, versatile windowing
system with a mainstream Graphical User Interface (GUI),
hypertext, and multimedia support. Other plans include porting
major DOS development environments over to the MM/1, allowing key
players in the DOS world to simply recompile their source code on
the MM/1.
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. is aggressively supporting the
MM/1 in order to provide an irresistable value to Color Computer
owners who are ready to move up into the 680x0 world.
Expandibility
-------------
While the two-board MM/1 system does not require a bus, one will
be available in 1990. Designed as a single-master 96-pin 32-bit
bus, it will provide performance and flexibility unmatched in
home computers -- and in many office computers as well.
When the customer wishes to purchase the bus, he or she can
easily install it into the case, adding the two-board system on
the bus card.
The specification for the bus will be published to encourage
third-party developers to create interesting and useful add-on
boards. Possible boards may include digitizers, tape backup to
streaming tape units or VCRs, networking support, additional I/O
for more involved setups (more users, more printers, and so on),
and even other processing units.
When a customer wishes to upgrade to another CPU and graphics
board, the two-board MM/1 can be removed from the case, inserted
in another with its own power supply, and used as a graphics
terminal.
Graphics terminals such as this can be created at low cost to
construct a multiuser/networking environment ideal for small
offices and education.
Pricing
-------
In this price-sensitive market, Interactive Media Systems, Inc.
is offering a low-cost machine with high functionality. To keep
the price as low as possible, IMS is negotiating favorable
contracts with software vendors to ensure the best value for our
customers. As a result, all prices are preliminary.
The preliminary list price is $899 for the base system, $1199 for
the full system with more memory.
Street prices in the Color Computer market will be much lower,
with anticipated discounts of twenty percent off of list price.
Availability
------------
The MM/1 and all other home computer systems must be FCC approved
to be sold legally. (Many products are sold illegally without
FCC approval. Interactive Media Systems, Inc. will not sell
illegal products.)
As a result, the MM/1 may not be generally available until late
summer, with an anticipated debut date of August 1, 1990.
Plans for debuting the MM/1 include VIP parties in North
Carolina, Chicago, New York, Quebec, and Washington, DC. Interested
potential customers should be sure to send in their name and
address to Kenneth-Leigh Enterprises to be invited to these
celebrations. Kenneth-Leigh Enterprises is handling the
marketing for Interactive Media Systems, Inc.
For more information contact:
Kenneth-Leigh Enterprises
1840 Biltmore Avenue NW
Suite 10
Washington, DC 20009
Interested parties can subscribe to The Insider(c), a publication
of Interactive Media Systems, covering the MM/1 and other
multimedia topics. Cost is $9.95 for four quarterly issues.
Stay tuned for the video of the MM/1!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>> ANNOUNCEMENT <<<<<<<<
Frank Hogg Laboratory is pleased to announce the TC70, the
68K computer of choice for Tomcat/Color Computer/68K users.
The TC70 is the latest in our line of K-Bus compatible
products, providing the greatest flexibility and expansion
for the OS9/OSK community.
The TC70 is a stand-alone system that can also be used with
the TC9 Tomcat for complete OS-9 Level 2 compatibility. It is
fully expandable via the K-Bus to over 14+ megabytes of RAM
and 60+ ports and is the lowest cost of any system available.
These TC70 in conjunction with the TC9 provides both CoCo
compatibility as well as OS9/68K. The Tomcat is the most
flexible and expandable of any computer system available
today.
The TC70 has 50% more built in RAM, a better AT
keyboard interface, is more cost effective, and is more
standard with K-Bus compatibility than other 68070 based
single board computers announced or on the market.
The Technical Specs
------------------
Signetics 68070 CPU (Motorola 68000 compatible) at 15 MHz
1.5 MB RAM (1,536K)
Memory upgradeable to 14+ MB via K-Bus
Graphics resolution from 320x200 to 720x540 (interlaced)
From 16 to 256 colors on-screen, depending on resolution mode
Three serial ports expandable to 60 via K-Bus
PC keyboard port for 101-key AT-style keyboard
RGB-Analog output for CM-8 Style monitor and RGB TTL for PC monitors
OS9/68K Professional Version with C and Basic included
Direct Memory Access (DMA) floppy disk controller
DMA SCSI host adapter built in for hard drives and tape
K-Bus compatible
TC9 compatible (CoCo 3)
8-bit D to A port
8-bit port A to D (CoCo joystick)
1 parallel port for parallel printer expandable to 60 via K-Bus
Serial mouse port
Real-time battery-backed clock
CPU
---
The Signetics 68070 is a Motorola compatible CPU running at 15 MHz
I/O Support
-----------
The PC keyboard port is designed for standard AT-style
keyboards. The AT-style keyboards are available in a better
quality than XT keyboards and also provide bi-directional
control of the keyboard LEDs from the computer. This way
CAPS lock etc can be tied into each window.
Floppy disk controller is included at no extra charge.
Supports both 3.5 and 5.25 drives and ALL OS9-OSK disk
formats including CoCo, Mizar, Atari, Motorola etc etc. Also
supports our PC Utility for using PC DOS disks.
The TC70 floppy controller uses separate DMA from the SCSI
port allowing very fast transfer from hard disk to floppy,
great for backups. Our SCSI drivers, proven by over 6 years
of use supports all SCSI hard drives, tape drives and most
SASI/SCSI controllers including XEBEC, OMTI, Adaptec,
Western Digital etc.
Software support
----------------
Microwares OS9/68000 Professional version with C and BASIC
is
included. Our port of OS9/68K is a mature port with over 6
years of proven reliability. Additional utilities only
available for the Tomcat system extend OS9/68K to the
utmost.
Expansion
---------
The TC70 can be expanded with K-Bus cards.
Physical specs
--------------
The TC70 is 5.25 X 8 (The same size as a 5.25 disk drive)
and has mounting holes that allow mounting to a 5.25 drive.
This allows very flexible mounting. The TC70 will fit in and
is an upgrade to the QT, QT Plus and QT 00x. The TC70 also
mounts in the K-Bus and will work with the TC9 board and
other K-Bus cards.
Pricing
-------
The preliminary price is $999.99 for the TC70 board and
software. Complete system prices and final specifications
will be uploaded later. Consult the Tomcat brochure for TC9
pricing.
Availability
------------
The TC70 will be available late July 1990.
For more information or to be placed on the waiting list for
any of our Tomcat computers contact:
Frank Hogg 70310,317
Frank Hogg Laboratory, Inc.
204 Windemere Rd.
Syracuse NY 13205
315/469-7364
FAX 315/469-8537
Prices and specifications are of course subject to change
without notice.
Date of this notice: 5/29/90
Thanks
Frank
May 25, 1990 Washington DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HyperTech Software of Las Vegas announces its support of the
Interactive Media System, Inc. MM/1.
Michael Haaland of HyperTech, the author of the OS-9 graphics
package MVCanvas(tm), said today that a graphics editor will be
bundled at no charge in the MM/1 package. HyperTech has become one
of the leading graphics vendors for the Color Computer.
"The greatest thing about the MM/1 is that it is fast, colorful,
and standardized," said Haaland today. "A programmer knows
exactly what to program for. With the color and resolution
support of the MM/1, I know I'll just be the first of many
graphics programmers to jump over to the MM/1."
The MM/1 personal multimedia computer offers five resolution
modes up to 720 x 540. Several modes are interlaced, giving
high resolution with cost-effective hardware.
Paul Ward, President of IMS, said, "We are honored to have Mike's
work bundled for free with the MM/1. It's a symbol of the
enthusiasm that the Tandy Color Computer market has for our product."
Haaland said he's supporting the MM/1 as the obvious next choice
for Color Computer owners. "CoCo owners bought their CoCo because
they wanted a great computer, great color, and a great value. The
MM/1 is all these, too."
Ward added, "HyperTech has always been one of our favorite Color
Computer software vendors. We are pleased to add HyperTech to the
list of vendors from the OSK and CoCo worlds who have lined up
behind our MM/1."
For more information, please call 202/232-4246.
May 25, 1990 Washington DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. of North Carolina, announced the
hiring of A. Max Bryant as Vice President of Operations and
Finance.
Mr. Bryant has an Masters of Business Administration from George
Washington University in Washington DC and an undergraduate
degree in Chemistry from Henderson State University in Arkansas.
For 14 years he was active in research and development at Texas
Instruments where he used early mainframe computers for data
aquisition in development of semiconductor materials including
pioneering work with Gallium Arsenide. As senior engineer at TI,
Mr. Bryant took a variety of products from the research and
development phase to manufacturing and sales.
Mr. Bryant most recently worked at ARS where he managed
operations in this microcomputer firm with 400+ employees.
Specializing in MS-DOS computers and networking, ARS used Mr.
Bryant's talents in manufacturing management to coordinate a
large PC clone manufacturing business.
Mr. Bryant reached the rank of Army Colonel in active duty, and
is now is in Retired Reserve.
Mr. Bryant is active in his community and church, prividing
advice and counseling in the areas of finance and family issues.
Paul K. Ward, the President of Interactive Media Systems, Inc.,
said, "Max is a great asset for Interactive Media Systems. We
have some exciting projects that require a deft hand at
management and finances. In addition to our new MM/1 multimedia
personal computer, we have major software projects underway.
We've slated several new hardware add-ons to the computer. Max is
perfectly suited for all this activity."
The MM/1 is the first personal computer in the United States to
be designed around the two chief processors found in Compact
Disk-Interactive devices. The CPU is a Signetics 68070, a
Motorola 68000-compatible "brain" that includes an on-board
serial port and direct-memory access capabilities. The Signetics
VSC graphics chip works in tandem with the 68070 to create vivid
graphics effects such as dissolves and scrolls. It runs at 15
Mhz, the fastest rated speed for the 68070.
Other products in development are a software user interface for
the MM/1 that will sport a UNIX-style appearance. This interface
will be based on Open Look, the standard interface for the new
UNIX System V, Revision 4 endorsed by AT&T, Sun, Sony, Motorola,
Toshiba, and Xerox, among others.
Mr. Bryant said, "Open Look is key to our strategy for the MM/1.
It'll make it a sure bet in the education market. We think a good
number of engineers will want the system, too. The MM/1 runs at
15 MHz, so it should be powerful enough for many engineering
applications."
Networking is also in the R & D plans for the MM/1. Says Ward,
"Max's previous job had 80 computers hooked up to an ethernet
network. He knows what the standards of performance are for this
kind of computer."
"We look forward to working closely with Max to ensure that
Interactive Media Systems gets its professional products to our
customer quickly and at low cost."
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. was established in North Carolina
to provide modern small systems for multitasking and multimedia
applications.
May 25, 1990 Washington DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Computer system manufacturer hires sales director from
IBM/Siemens"
In Washington, DC today, Interactive Media Systems, Inc.
announced that M. K. Weglein of Baltimore MD would become Sales
Director in June 1990. Ms. Weglein previous position was as account
representative at IBM/Siemens. Ms. Weglein sold state-of-the-art
phone and data systems to corporate and federal clients. "One of
our systems lets you put computer data and voice on the same
lines, so that you can hook up a terminal to your telephone. It's
convenient, cost-effective, and easy to install." Familiar with
high technology and with providing solutions to customers, Ms.
Weglein will begin marketing IMS computer products to computer
franchises, education, and value-added-resellers.
Ms. Weglein was a top sales person to the US Government and
to commercial clients before deciding to leave IBM/Siemens for
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. "High-dollar phone systems are no
longer a growth market. Multitasking PCs will be the growth
market for the Nineties."
According to Paul K. Ward, President of IMS, "Higher
education institutions have already been receptive to our MM/1,"
referring to the IMS multimedia personal computer. "The
proliferation of workstations is increasing students' demands on
their own personal computers. The MM/1 meets that demand nicely.
Mark Sheffield, a principal at IMS, adds, "I think there is
growing concern about our economy, so universities have to spend
more carefully when buying computer solutions. But they can't
ignore the recent push for better engineers and programmers. The
MM/1 is perfect for that. We also feel that Ms. Weglein will be
instrumental in getting the MM/1 to undergraduate students around
the United States."
Weglein has been involved in sales for eight years in
telecommunications and high-technology fields. She anticipates a
busy time ahead marketing the IMS MM/1 personal computer. "With
the MM/1 and OS-9/68000, we've got a winning combination," she
states. The MM/1 has analog-to-digital conversion capability that
makes it a natural choice for university science labs.
Weglein will also be in charge of placing the MM/1 in
strategic computer franchises. These franchises will provide
local support to purchasers of the MM/1, and will add value to
the sale with special promotions and aggressive customer
relations. "We see the MM/1 as being available in about twenty to
forty franchise stores across the United States very soon." These
stores will be selected based on proximity to major universities
and to clusters of Tandy Color Computer owners. "The CoCo market
is our bread and butter for now. They are a great group of
people, and we truly enjoy supporting them," said Ward.
Interactive Media Systems, Inc. was established in North
Carolina and is dedicated to small multitasking computer systems
for office, education, and home use.
--
Brian White
(Using a friends account)skeppeljones@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Stephen Keppel-Jones) (10/31/90)
68070/VSC Specifications and Features ===================================== I hope I'm not rocking any boats, but alot of people are curious about 68070/VSC specs, and nobody "in the know" has revealed much. So I'm gonna blow the doors off the SIG and reveal all. Note: while I think every fact in this file is correct, I wouldn't bet $1000 on it! I place this file totally in the public domain... copy away! Matthew Thompson Ottawa, Ontario, Canada The SCC68070 festures: ---------------------- - Made by Signetics (Philips), uses CMOS tecnology (low 45mA current drain). - 99.9999% MC68000 software compatability. Exceptions: - Implements full bus recovery (like the MC68010), adding a measure of crash-proofing to the system. However it only stacks 17 words during recovery, instead of the 68010's 29 (which the 070 manual claims is redundant, anyways). - In the System State the 68070 stacks four words (like the 68010), instead of the 68000's three. - Other than that, they are identical. - Runs at 15 MHz, about twice as fast as standard 68000-based Amigas, Macs, and Ataris. - Cycle times for 68070 instructions are different than on a 68000, though. Most instuctions take more. But at 15 MHz, they're all faster than any of the above 68000 systems (heh heh). A Bus Cycle is 4 Clock Cycles, while a Machine Cycle is 3 Clock Cycles. Most of the handiest instructions have been cranked somewhat faster, such as MOVE. - Two high speed DMA channels, each capable of 2.5 Mega-xfer/sec I/O from/to RAM xfers (one channel at a time, of course). Channel 1 has a higher priority than channel 2, and channel 2 can also do 1.25 Mega-xfer/sec RAM to RAM block copies*. Xfers can either be in bytes or words. Supports daisy chaining to external DMA chips for more channels. The DMA ports on the 68070 are identical in register structure and function as the Motorola MC68430/40/50 DMA chips. All arbitration is handled by the 68070. *:Equivalent to copying thirty-nine 320 x 200 x 256-color screens per sec! - I^2C bus interface (I^2C is an industry standard ~100kbaud serial interface intended for el-cheapo chip interfaces. Instead of complex decoding chips and parallel bus wiring, any I^2C device (such as configuration EPROMS, time clock ICs, serial port chips, joystick control chips, etc., etc.) can all be hooked together by a couple common wires, and then everything is handled & figured out by on-chip arbitration circuitry. Major reductions in wiring and design complexity are achieved.). - On-chip serial interface. Features seperate baud rates for receive and xmit; can generate interrupt at any priority level; Odd/Even/No parity; 7/8 bits; built in CTS and RTS lines; full/half duplex operation; framing error detection; and more. Using an external clock of 4.9152MHz, you can get baud rates of 75, 150, 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 and 19200. Using a clock of 8MHz you can also get 31,250 baud (MIDI speed). - Also has built in MMU, with 8 descriptors on-chip, up to 128 with external bipolar RAM. Supports intermodule protection; stack overflow protection; and also controls read/write/execute/supervisor access to any segment of memory. OS/K wisely does not use the MMU, however, since like most MMUs on high-speed CPUs it throws in an extra wait-state, slowing the CPU by as much as 20 percent. - Three 16-bit timers on-chip. All have a programmable increment time down to a minimum of 6.51uS. One is a free-running counter with auto-reload. Two are capture counters, which are controlled by seperate I/O pins on the chip. They can generate pulses, or count the time between input transistions, or even count the number of input transistions. All timers can generate an interrupt to the CPU. - Built-in prefetch cache speeds things up a bit. - All this on just one 84-pin, square, surface-mount flat-pack chip. - Clearly designed with one single purpose in mind: to cram as much power on one chip at the lowest cost. Hence its use in our low-cost, but high performance, MM/1 and TC070 computers. The VSC chip features: ---------------------- - Real part number (hidden until now from Delphi members) is the SCC66470, (not 68470) and is a 124-pin flat-pack CMOS chip from Signetics (Philips). - Runs at up to 30MHz. - Max 768 by 560 resolution. - Max 256 colors at 384 by 560, 16 at 768 by 560, 256 at 768 by 560 if a second 66470 is connected in more-or-less parallel. I am not sure if such a piggybacking scheme will be officially supported for the MM/1 or TC070 (this is not the same as the palette board being offered). - Supports 31.5 kHz horizontal scan if your monitor can crank it. - Has on-chip DRAM and SRAM controller which supports bit, nybble, page and dual port RAMs. - Max 1 Meg video RAM, extra 0.5 Meg DRAM and 0.5 Meg SRAM supported. - Built in Blitter (PIXAC - PIXel ACcelerator). - Has all kinds of blitting features that make block and pixel blitting fast and easy. Each blitting operation affects a word value (ie up to 2 or 4 pixels depending on mode) at a time, and each word "takes less than 500nS to process." For instance, the 66470 can take a one-pixel- per-bit image definition (such as a font), convert those bits into nybbles or bytes of the correct foreground, and blit the result on the screen while masking the background using a transparent color, so that only those bits that were set affect the screen. On top off all this a programmable logic operation between the source and destination pixels can be thrown in for good measure. A 64 x 64 screen blit on a 16-color screen would only take (a guesstimated) 512uS or less. About the only way to blit faster is if all you want to do is a plain vanilla copy, thus the DMA could copy a 64 x 64 16-color block in about 45 uS. Anything else would require a fancy CPU algorithm that would take mega time. And while the VSC is blitting, the CPU can do other things. The VSC blitter can also allign source nybbles to destination nybbles, so that any pixel boundary can be used. - Block blit functions include COPY (raw), PATCH (raw with xparent masking), EXCHANGE (switch two image areas), SWAP (switch with xparent masking), COLOR1 (take all non-xparent source pixels and turn destination into foreground color), COLOR2 (like COLOR1 except xparent pixels -> background), BCOLOR1 (like COLOR1, except performs bit-to-nybble or bit-to-byte expansion), BCOLOR2 (combo of COLOR2 and BCOLOR1), COMPARE (compare pixels, set flag if match), and COMPACT (compare pixels, create a table of flags). - The reccommended color sceme is RGBI for 16-color screens, and RRRGGGBB for 256-color screens (blue is less noticeable hence it is allotted two bits of resulution). - Also supports smooth scrolls and virtual windowing. - Can also shrink or zoom by a factor of two independently in the horizontal and vertical directions during all blits. Instant multisize fonts! - The Amiga's blitter is a "monochrome" blitter. To affect a mutlicolor screen it has to blit each Amiga bit plane seperately. The VSC uses a nybble/byte scheme and does all color computation in one access. The Amiga's blitter is also so complicated to program that the current release of the operating system uses the CPU to blit text, because it takes so long to set up the blitter that it would actually take longer. The VSC was made for blitting text, and for all kinds of block copies and exchanges. The Amiga's blitter may still be faster at one-pixel-wide operations, like random-angle diagonal lines, or curved lines. I won't know till I see the bottom lines for the two machines. - Pixel and block testing, making collision detection in games and etc. incredibly fast. - On average 3 to 8 times as fast as a 68000 alone, even more. - Can cut algorithm sizes by up to 98%. - Genlock and frame grabbing support with some extra logic and a PLL, and for frame grabbing, a flash-ADC convertor. Real-time, 60 frame-per-second image digitization is easily possible. - Based on the specs for this baby, we ought to see some impressive graphics games, like Microsoft Flightsim V4.0 out running on a 320 by 200 by 16-color screen at a frame rate of, oh, say... 10 per second!? - Also has built in reset ciruitry, eliminating more discrete parts. - Support for watchdog timer. - Designed with one purpose in mind: to crank the graphics speed to the max at the lowest cost. And since it is designed to work hand-in-hand with the 68070, it's the obvious choice for a gfx chip for the TC070 and MM/1. Note that the MM/1 and TC070 only go to 480 vertical resolution max because to get 560 you have to use a 625-line 50Hz-scan standard like PAL (but the flicker would be bad). NTSC is 525 lines at 60Hz. The max horizontal is 720 for similar reasons. Also, note that normally the 66470 arbitrates between itself and the 68070 as to whose turn it is to look at RAM. It does this in the single-board version of the MM/1. But both the full MM/1 and TC070, which support over 2 Meg (way beyond the 66470 DRAM controller), obviously have seperate DRAM controllers and semi-seperate buses. The VSC gets a Meg to itself, the CPU, gets the rest to itself, and they both crank along at maximum, zero-wait-state speed. The 68070 doesn't have to wait for the VSC to grab a video word, and the VSC no longer has to wait for the CPU to be finished to get or put a blitting word. So they BOTH speed up (despite some kidding on the forum!). The 68070 can still access the video RAM, of course, but it might have to wait (a VSC bus access is 4 clock cycles, the same as the CPU). Put it this way: With these two chips at the heart of the MM/1 and TC070, it will quite some time before the competition gets as much speed and features for as low a cost as either system! -- Brian White (Using a friends account)
skeppeljones@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Stephen Keppel-Jones) (10/31/90)
Some more notes about the respective computers... MM/1: - When additional RAM is used (via second board), the original 1Meg becomes dedicated video RAM. Then, with the two chips no longer competing for memory, average throughput can increase as much as 50% - The palette controller is now standard so the 16/256 colors can be chosen from 16 million (2^24). TC070: - No mention has ever been made regarding whether of not this computer makes use of a palette controller (as the MM/1) or if it just uses a fixed 16/256 colors. If you have any questions, send news, not E-Mail! -- Brian White (Using a friends account)
jeffr@bcs800.UUCP (Jeff Riegel) (10/31/90)
In <2989.272c8e83@cc.nu.oz.au> v8803330@cc.nu.oz.au writes: >I have seen the TC9 from Frank Hogg Lab. mentioned several times. Does anyone >Have some detailed info on this computer, or have the address of Frank Hogg Labs >So I can get some info from there. The Tomcat has 1024k (1mg) on the main board, 2 serial ports, 1 parallel port, It supports a a serial mouse, 8 bit D to A and 8 bit A to D for better sound, joystick resolution of 256 pixels. It uses a PC-AT style keyboard and a PC style power supply, K-bus and you can use a 68000 or 68030 CPU it can support up to 16 megabytes os which 14 is RAM.... Frank Hogg Laboratory 204 Windemere Road Syracuse, NY 13205 FAX 315/469-8537 PHONE 315/469-7364 -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jeff Riegel | uucp: ...!gatech!emory!bcs800!jeffr Technical Support | delphi: j2 tel: +800 444 3070 | A process is a terrible thing to waste!
knudsen@cbnewsd.att.com (michael.j.knudsen) (11/03/90)
Last I heard, only the MM/1 was including the palette chip
as part of the regular price.
I *assume* that the TC-70 has a socket or pin-header where
it can be installed as an extra-cost option.
Since the TC-70 is not in production yet, anything could happen,
including an announcement by FHL that the palette will be thrown in
as part of the $999 board price. For that kind of money,
it should be.
--
"Round and round the while() loop goes;
Whether it stops," Turing says, "no one knows."v8803330@cc.nu.oz.au (11/03/90)
So does anyone actually have one of these beasts. Realistically, how does it compare with an Amiga for software support etc?
jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES FREDERICK BEAM) (11/08/90)
--------------------
As far as I have heard from IMS, the MM/1 is not "on" the market...
YET. They have the com. intro. scheduled for next fall {I think}. The
only one's that are floating around are the demostration models.
=====================================
= jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu =
=====================================
Ricky Beam
Box 15240
118B Bragaw, NCSU
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-8554
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| And, just remember... |
| |
| Everything has and end... EXCEPT sausage, and it has TWO... |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) (11/08/90)
In article <1990Nov7.212403.29226@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES FREDERICK BEAM) writes: >-------------------- > As far as I have heard from IMS, the MM/1 is not "on" the market... >YET. They have the com. intro. scheduled for next fall {I think}. The >only one's that are floating around are the demostration models. Most recent stuff I've heard is that IMS is waiting for the FCC to do whatever it does to make Part 15 Class whatever-the-home-version-is Type Acceptance official, at which point they can go into serious production. I really doubt that will take until next fall. :-) James Jones (I have an MM/1 on order, and it does run OS-9, but aside from that, I'm not associated with IMS...)
SJS132@psuvm.psu.edu (11/09/90)
The Problem with the MM/1 is that everytime something is due (ie.. The
Vid. Tape, and the Newsletter...) They give a billion excuses as to
why they didnt get it out... I just wish They would SAY "Hey, Were a
rather Small Company compared to Tandy or IBM, and it a bit harder to
Get a system out because of that. PLEASE Bear with us..." NOOOO...
They have to say.. "Oh, Well We Should have it in September...no, Make
that October... Better yet, if we wait to get a software contract, we
can have a newer version of Donkey Kong packaged with it, so It won't
be till November cause This kind of contracting is very Touchy, and
we cant rush it...."
Although It may seem like I'm picking on them, out of the few running
for dibs on the CoCo 4, I honestly wish they get the most support.. I
AM behind them, and not frank's HOG labatory...I cant wait for a good
version of OS-9 on an affordible Computer... (Not including the present
systems--ie CoCo's with OS-9)...
Since there are a few people that are on here that have or are
experienced with CoCo's, Why dont we try and get others to look at this
area of the net??? I stumbled on to it by accident!!! Why not put
lots of messages here so they say :
"Hey.... Whats THAT big Jucy Data area?"
/--------------------------------------------------------------\
/ Did you ever notice that the "4" <Shifted> in CoCo 4 is "$" \
/ _________________________________________________________________\
/Steven Shimatzki / * * * * |+| SJS132@PSUVM.PSU.EDU \
/ RD#1 Box 20-A / * W *ish-* B *ringer__|_|________________________\
/Dunbar, Pa 15431 / * * * * | Disclaimer: "ME RESPONSIBLE?!?!"\
/--------------------------------------------------------------------------\jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES FREDERICK BEAM) (11/10/90)
---------- In article <3812@mcrware.UUCP>, jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) writes: > In article <1990Nov7.212403.29226@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES FREDERICK BEAM) writes: > >-------------------- > > As far as I have heard from IMS, the MM/1 is not "on" the market... > >YET. They have the com. intro. scheduled for next fall {I think}. The > >only one's that are floating around are the demostration models. > > Most recent stuff I've heard is that IMS is waiting for the FCC to do whatever > it does to make Part 15 Class whatever-the-home-version-is Type Acceptance > official, at which point they can go into serious production. I really doubt > that will take until next fall. :-) > > James Jones (I have an MM/1 on order, and it does run OS-9, but aside > from that, I'm not associated with IMS...) ---------------- I stand corrected, the MM/1 is being shipped out this month!!! >-------As Sent to cocoiii2catt.ncsu.edu-------< >> As I said, I think it will be next fall, but, as usual, I tought wrong. >> IMS has the MM/1's going out as we "speak". I thought that they would give the >> software developers more time to work with the machine a re-work the software. >> I HAVE BEEN talking with Bill Willis at ECO (one of the EOS ops.) about the >> MM/1 and it's future with NCSU... >> >> Let me know when the MM/1 gets here... I would really like to see and here and >> touch and so forth the future... >> -------------------------------- jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu -------------------------------- Ricky Beam Box 15240 118B Bragaw, NCSU Raleigh, NC 27607 (919) 828-8554 -------------------------------
jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (JAMES FREDERICK BEAM) (11/10/90)
------ Which is exactly why I though IMS would not release the MM/1 until next fall... to let the software developers do their jobs... ===================================== = jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu = ===================================== Ricky Beam Box 15240 118B Bragaw, NCSU Raleigh, NC 27607 (919) 828-8554 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | And, just remember... | | | | Everything has and end... EXCEPT sausage, and it has TWO... | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
v8803330@cc.nu.oz.au (11/15/90)
I have a friend here in Oz who owns an Amiga. Everytime the subject of the MM/1
comes up, he points out several facts that make the Amiga sound like a much
better proposition. These are:
1) Software support.
2) After sales support.
3) User base.
How can I be sure that the MM/1 can satisfy all these points down here in
Australia? I don't want to spend my money and then find that I have to ship it
back to the states for repairs.
Any help would be appreciated.
BTW, are there plans to release the MM/1 in Australia considering the different
power standards we have (ie 240V 50Hz)?kdarling@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) (11/15/90)
In <4038.27426cdc@cc.nu.oz.au>: > I have a friend here in Oz who owns an Amiga. Everytime the subject of > the MM/1 comes up, he points out several facts that make the Amiga sound > like a much better proposition. These are: > 1) Software support. > 2) After sales support. > 3) User base. I'm sure these same questions were asked when the Amiga was new. Same goes for any new machine. But if those questions were the only guidance people took when buying a computer, then we should all be running CP/M machines ;-). Or PCs. Or C64s. Things look good for an OSK software explosion in the coming year. I believe that you'll also see some of the better Amiga programs ported over... BTW, one problem searching those out has been that you can count the number of major Amiga programs which actually go through the OS for everything, on one hand. Ask your friend what will happen to all his favorite programs if/when the Amy gets higher res gfx boards. Ask him how many computer brands run AmigaDOS. It all depends on your priorities and personal needs. Yes, at least one Australian dealer has expressed wishes to carry the MM/1 (and perhaps some of the others). best - kev | Kevin Darling | Internet: kdarling@catt.ncsu.edu | OS-9 & | 919-872-7986 anytime | CIS: 76703,4227 Delphi:OS9ugpres | 680x(x)
griffith@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Spectre of Death) (11/15/90)
v8803330@cc.nu.oz.au writes: >I have a friend here in Oz who owns an Amiga. Everytime the subject of the MM/1 >comes up, he points out several facts that make the Amiga sound like a much >better proposition. These are: > 1) Software support. > 2) After sales support. > 3) User base. Okay. I'll deal with these in order: 1) Software support: your friend is right in some respects, although as I have heard it there is a large base of source code and pet projects running on OS9/OSK which should work as is or with little effort in modification. Still, it is interesting to hear these points being made, as these were the sames ones being made when I considered which machine to buy. I bought an Amiga. I'm now looking into the MM/1 as my next machine. (Note: I'm not going to give up the Amiga though. I want 'em both!) My guess is that the Amiga has better hardware, but that the MM/1 has a better operating system. Personally, the closer to Unix the better. Of course, I could run Unix on a big fat 020 or 030 Amiga box, but hey, I'm poor. So, I think it really depends on what you want to do with it. If you are an inexperienced user type, I'd suggest the Amiga right now. If you're more the software/hardware hacker I'd put money on the MM/1. 2) After sales support: IMHO, the support for the Amiga could be a hell of a lot better. My dealings with my dealer have been horrific. It took about a month to get a monitor fixed and in the end they sent it to another company to get it done. This isn't a large factor when I make a purchase, but it may be in yours. I haven't needed to go to Commodore, so I don't know what they're like. The MM/1 people were friendly over the phone, but I have no idea how big they are. I really doubt they have an Australian branch unless they are closely held by a larger company. Who knows though, these are just guesses. 3) User support: this one is pretty close to software support. I think the Amiga has a pretty solid set of users, although it isn't any huge number like the MS-DOS clone family (yech!) and will never be without the cloning itself. The MM/1 will probably also develop a small and devout following. With its hardware I doubt it will go the way of the ST here in the US. ST was a bit to IBMish for my tastes with GEM (also available on the ST) and its stupid DOS disk compatibility (I hate short filenames). Anyways, you'll see quite a few CoCo owners I bet. Anybody have an estimate as to how many there are? >How can I be sure that the MM/1 can satisfy all these points down here in >Australia? I don't want to spend my money and then find that I have to ship it >back to the states for repairs. >Any help would be appreciated. >BTW, are there plans to release the MM/1 in Australia considering the different >power standards we have (ie 240V 50Hz)? By my guess you would be better to go the way of the Amiga, unless you're really into hacking hardware and software. That may change in the future, but that's my best prediction. Madame Seer -Knows all but tells nothing | Michael Griffith | If I had an opinion it certainly | | griffith@eecs.ee.pdx.edu | wouldn't be the same one as | | ...!tektronix!psueea!eecs!griffith | Portland State University anyways. |