wkc@ARDC.ARPA (07/25/84)
From: "William K. Cadwallender" (LCWSL) <wkc@ARDC.ARPA>
Our lab purchased a Dimension to run a thermographic camera. The machine has been delivered, and here are some preliminary commen
SOFTWARE The machine comes with CPM/68k (O.S.,Assembler,editor,a new
release of the C language, etc.). The C compiler is supposed to have the float-
ing point extensions, but I haven't tried it. The BASIC ("Unibasic") is a clone
of applesoft. At the present time FORTRAN77 and CBASIC, at ~$600 and $395
respectively, are available for the machine. The local distributor says that the company is paying for a UNIX port (available Realever does, and the basic seems to be reasonably bug free.
HARDWARE The machine is well made and reasonably rugged. The 400k disks we bought are fairly quiet and fast. I would reccommend be bought with less than 512k, as the FORTRAN seems to require this. The basic
machine with 2 400k drives and 512k cost us $4k, and the distributor threw in
an Amdek monochrome monitor. There is room in the machine cabinet for an addit-
ional 2 floppy drives or a hard disk, which is currently available. The emulator cards cost $495 each (not $1k), and they do work are plugged in, the native 68000 runs the disks and I/O. The distributor came
in and gave us a demo, and the Dimension ran everything from DBII to the
Microsoft Flight Demonstrator perfectly. Graphics are very good !, with the
maximum monochrome resolution being 650x400. An RGB color card is available with the same resolution for $495. Wirewrap cards are being introduced next quarter, again at $495.
SUPPORT We have no experience with Micro-Craft, but the local
distributor, Inflow, has been extremely supportive. They have paid for a port
of MINCE to the Dimension, which we are purchasing to replace the CPM editor.
The system documentation consists of the CPM/68k manual set plus a
100 page book describing system operation and UNIBASIC. For an additional $99
plus a non-disclosure agreement, you can get the system schematics and the BIOS
source. I found the documentation adequate, but sketchy; in short, just what youwould expect from computer manufacturers nowdays.
In summary, we are happy with our purchase. The Dimension offers a
capable 16 bit processor at a reasonable price, with an adequate (but only
adequate) set of software tools. It is definately a hacker's machine in the
native mode. One only hopes that the software and documentation will catch
up to the quality of the hardware.
Bill Cadwallender (wkc@ARDC)
P.S. I have no connection, financially or otherwise with Micro Craft or any
distributor (I'm just damn impressed with the machine). My views are not
necessarily those of the US Government or ARDC.