cloos@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (James H. Cloos Jr.) (04/11/89)
I've been thinking a bit about the Pixar color board we are all awaiting for the NeXTs. Coincidentally, I was flipping through an old issue of one of the Mac magazines (11.1988 issue of either MacWorld or MacUser), which has a blurb about a product that interfaces a MacII with a Pixar II. I had somehow missed this back in November, but it got me thinking harder. The Pixar II is exclusively for creating color images, uses 48 bits (12 bits each of Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha), comes with 12 to 100+ Megs, and has a parallel architecture with one processor for each of the 4 channels. (The processors are integrated onto a single chip, but act in parallel.) Now, if Pixar can squeeze this onto a single board, perhaps increasing channel size to 16 bits, and add support for DPS as well as RenderMan (or via RenderMan) we would have one great color system! They could even use NeXT's surface mount technology to manufacture the boards. (As a sidenote, when Jobs toured our public NeXT facility, we had a q/a session. His answer re: color support was of course to mention the Pixar board. The interesting thing, though, was the extreme anticipation apparent on his face. Now, IMHO, Jobs loves beeing oohed and ahhhed at. (Can't say I blame him.) I therefore think he expects the color board will be the cause of much oohhing and ahhing. A board like the above (or better) would be the source of many oohhs and ahhhs in his direction, don't you think?) If I'm guessing at all corectly, this color board will be something to look forward to. Also, if it does have 16 bit channels for the color, we get 16 bit grey-scales. If the Pixar board will drive the current monitor at that level, you would have a very nice 2 monitor system, without having to purchase 2 more monitors. Also, 4 color WorkBench will work nicely as 1/3 and 2/3 grey levels map well onto a 16 bit display. P.S. As an interesting sidenote, the Pixar machine as pictured was a cube about 12" or so on a side, and had a monitor almost exactly the same dimentions as the NeXT's monitor. Disclaimer: The info above re: the Pixar machine is what I gleamed from reading the article mentioned; therefore it may be incorrect. Further, I may have the name of the machine wrong, but I think it said Pixar II. Also, nothing I've said (incl. my commentary on Jobs) reflects in any way University opinion/policy. -JimC -- James H. Cloos, Jr. "Entropy isn't what it used to be." jhc@Crnlvax5.BITNET --c/o Fortune @ batcomputer.UUCP jhc@Vax5.CCS.Cornell.ED #include <std_disclaimers.h> cornell!vax1!vax5.cit.cornell.edu!jhc@rochester.UUCP B-7 Upson Hall, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853 +1 607 272 4519 Urgent mail to: cloos@TcGould.TN.Cornell.EDU cloos@CrnlThry.BITNET or: batcomputer!cloos@cornell.UUCP