gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu (05/07/91)
I called up Connectix yesterday about MODE32 and MC73. Seems they're
real products <grin> , and will do exactly what the press release
said (recap at the bottom of this post). The contact there was Roy
McDonald, who was a great person to speak to. They're planning on a
May 30th release date, Roy said, as they want two weeks to run it
through the wringer with the actual release version of System 7.0
before unleashing it on the public.
He also sent me this information (via Applelink) on the pricing, and
encouraged me to post it here to the Net.
Enjoy!
* * *
Jim:
It was a pleasure to talk to you this morning. Here is our
academic/government pricing on MODE32 and MC73. It is available to
all members of acredited academic institutions as well as federal,
state and local government employees. We work with exclusive
distributors overseas, so these prices are only available in North
America. We charge $5 per copy for UPS ground, $7 for FedEx second
day, and $14 for FedEx Next Afternoon delivery. We accept Visa,
MasterCard and American Express, and will accept a university or lab
PO for 5 units or more on net 30 terms. Our sales order phone number
is 800/950-5880 (Canada 415/324-0727) and we can also be reached at
fax 415-324-2958, AppleLink "CONNECTIX", or CompuServe Macintosh Forum
under Connectix.
Category QUANTITY MODE32 PRICE MC73 PRICE
Sugg. Retail One $169 $179
Educational One 99 140
" " 2-9 79 135
" " 10-24 69 130
" " 25-49 59 128
MODE32 is a utility for Mac II, IIx, IIcx, and SE/30 users who want
to use System 7 32-bit mode. It allows these systems to access 32-bit
mode through the standard System 7 memory control panel in the same
fashion as later ROM systems (IIci, IIsi, IIfx and LC). Without
MODE32, the controls for 32-bit mode do not appear on the panel and it
is not possible to use 32-bit mode. MODE32 is an INIT and cdev which
is transparent in normal operation.
MC73 is the Motorola 68851 Paged Memory Management Unit, commonly
known as a PMMU. The PMMU is required in order to run System 7.0 VM
on a standard Mac II. With a PMMU, the Mac II is fully compatible with
standard VM virtual memory, but still needs MODE32 to operate physical
or virtual memory in 32-bit mode. The original 68020-based Mac II
incorporated a motherboard socket specifically designed for this
memory coprocessor. MC73 includes a detailed instruction manual and
grounding strap.
* * *
Jim Gaynor - AgVAX System Manager - Academic Computing - Ohio State University
VMS:<gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu> UNIX:<gaynor@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Disclaimer : All opinions expressed here are mine and only mine. So there!
Witty Quote: "Think, think, think, think..." - Winnie-the-Pooh, Taoist Bear.jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan) (05/08/91)
In article <1991May7.131921.7077@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu> gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu writes: >I called up Connectix yesterday about MODE32 and MC73. Seems they're >real products <grin> , and will do exactly what the press release >said (recap at the bottom of this post). The contact there was Roy >McDonald, who was a great person to speak to. They're planning on a >May 30th release date, Roy said, as they want two weeks to run it >through the wringer with the actual release version of System 7.0 >before unleashing it on the public. > One thing to note about their announcements (read this): >MODE32 is a utility for Mac II, IIx, IIcx, and SE/30 users who want >to use System 7 32-bit mode. It allows these systems to access 32-bit >mode through the standard System 7 memory control panel in the same >fashion as later ROM systems (IIci, IIsi, IIfx and LC). Without >MODE32, the controls for 32-bit mode do not appear on the panel and it >is not possible to use 32-bit mode. MODE32 is an INIT and cdev which >is transparent in normal operation. They don't ever claim that your system is 32-bit clean when using MODE32, just that you can get at the 32-bit controls with a 24-bit machine. So, you can "access 32-bit mode," but is it as stable as Apple's clean-ROM machines running 32-bit mode? I know Connectix has a good rep, but I am a little leery that they'll give me 32-bit clean ROMs when apple won't/can't. I guess time will tell. If it works, it's a pretty decent alternative to upgrading to a IIfx! :-) ;-( jas -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey A. Sullivan | Senior Systems Programmer jas@venera.isi.edu | Information Sciences Institute jas@isi.edu | University of Southern California
lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke) (05/08/91)
jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan) writes: }They don't ever claim that your system is 32-bit clean when using }MODE32, just that you can get at the 32-bit controls with a 24-bit }machine. So, you can "access 32-bit mode," but is it as stable as }Apple's clean-ROM machines running 32-bit mode? What would be the point in simply making the control accessible if the machine didn't work in 32-bit mode? Besides, if all they did was give you a different cdev with the control enabled, I doubt they would try to sell it for $169! :-) }I know Connectix has a good rep, but I am a little leery that they'll }give me 32-bit clean ROMs when apple won't/can't. ^^^^^ It's not that they can't. I think you got it right the first time. }If it works, it's a pretty decent alternative to upgrading to a IIfx! If it works, then that software, combined with a Radius Rocket Accelerator (!) will be a pretty decent (& cost effective) alternative to upgrading to a IIfx! -- ----- Steve Lemke, KC6QDT - Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose ----- ----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com -- U.C. Santa Barbara ECE Class of '89 ----- ----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." -----
des7f@fulton.seas.Virginia.EDU (David E. Sappington) (05/09/91)
In article <1452@radius.com> lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke) writes: [ quote from another article about the clean ROM init/cdev from Connectix] >If it works, then that software, combined with a Radius Rocket Accelerator (!) >will be a pretty decent (& cost effective) alternative to upgrading to a IIfx! I seriously considered buying a Rocket for one of our IIx's but ending up buying a new fx instead. Though it's nice to get another Mac, a major reason for rejecting the Rocket was that we still wouldn't be able to directly access lots o' RAM (i.e. >16M) from within our apps because our ROMs were "unclean." We've got several other IIx's that would be good candidates for a Rocket if cleanliness wasn't a problem. Seems to me that Radius and Connectix should have a serious pow-wow (if they haven't already) to figure out compatibility issues ASAP. Shifting from the Rocket back to the IIx and the II for that matter, does anyone know if there are 4Mb SIMMs out there which work in these machines? Last I heard (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm getting this n-th hand), there was something about those Macs not implementing the test mode of the 4Mb chips correctly which ultimately prevented the Macs from booting. >----- Steve Lemke, KC6QDT - Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose ----- >----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com -- U.C. Santa Barbara ECE Class of '89 ----- >----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." ----- Dave Sappington des7f@virginia.edu Institute for Parallel Computation des7f@virginia.bitnet University of Virginia
lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke) (05/09/91)
des7f@fulton.seas.Virginia.EDU (David E. Sappington) writes: }I seriously considered buying a Rocket for one of our IIx's but ending up }buying a new fx instead. Though it's nice to get another Mac, a major reason }for rejecting the Rocket was that we still wouldn't be able to directly access }lots o' RAM (i.e. >16M) from within our apps because our ROMs were "unclean." }We've got several other IIx's that would be good candidates for a Rocket if }cleanliness wasn't a problem. Seems to me that Radius and Connectix should }have a serious pow-wow (if they haven't already) to figure out compatibility }issues ASAP. While I cannot comment (of course) on unreleased products or updates (either from Connectix *or* Radius), rest assured, the thought *HAS* crossed our mind. If and/or when there's something to report, you'll hear it here first... }Shifting from the Rocket back to the IIx and the II for that matter, does }anyone know if there are 4Mb SIMMs out there which work in these machines? }Last I heard (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm getting this n-th hand), there was }something about those Macs not implementing the test mode of the 4Mb chips }correctly which ultimately prevented the Macs from booting. Sort of. Basically, the refresh circuit in the Mac II can trigger the test mode of standard 4mb simmms. This is because the Mac II was designed before there was a standard for 4mb simms. This can be fixed with special 4mb simms. However, since you only leave 1mb on the motherboard when you install Rocket, and since Rocket uses *STANDARD* 4mb simms, this is *NOT* an issue when using more than 8mb of RAM on a Rocket in a Mac II. The only issue will be software to either clean the Mac II ROM (!) or to use the memory like Maxima does. -- ----- Steve Lemke, KC6QDT - Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose ----- ----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com -- U.C. Santa Barbara ECE Class of '89 ----- ----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." -----