limoges@ac.dal.ca (04/20/91)
Hi, Just want to clear up a small thing about Excel. You DO NOT need a math coprocessor! If you have one installed though, Excel will take advantage of it. I own Excel 2.2, and it has worked fine on my SE, and gives me no trouble now with my IIsi, which has the NuBus card with the FPU. There is a small problem if you have a 68030 Mac and no FPU: Excel 2.2 checks only for the 68030, and assumes that there is an FPU, which is not always the case, as with a stock IIsi. The fix is to get a corrected release of Excel (I think it's called 2.2a or something like that), or run PseudoFPU. I don't know if this problem is also present with the LC. Hope this clears the air, Bertrand Limoges
alex@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Edmund Davis) (04/26/91)
In article <4497@ac.dal.ca> limoges@ac.dal.ca writes: >Hi, > >Just want to clear up a small thing about Excel. You DO NOT need a math >coprocessor! If you have one installed though, Excel will take advantage of >it. I own Excel 2.2, and it has worked fine on my SE, and gives me no trouble >now with my IIsi, which has the NuBus card with the FPU. > >There is a small problem if you have a 68030 Mac and no FPU: Excel 2.2 checks >only for the 68030, and assumes that there is an FPU, which is not always >the case, as with a stock IIsi. The fix is to get a corrected release of >Excel (I think it's called 2.2a or something like that), or run PseudoFPU. I >don't know if this problem is also present with the LC. > >Hope this clears the air, Bertrand Limoges In fact, the same problem occurs on the LC. Until the new macs came out, Microsoft (among other) assumed that any machine with a 68020 or better would certainly have an FPU. Apple cut the FPU from the LC and IIsi in order to bring the price down. In summary, you have three choices: --buy an fpu --download FPU INIT from sumex --call Microsoft and get the free upgrade alex ---- Edmund A. Davis Internet: alex@eniac.seas.upenn.edu ACIUS Registered Developer Compuserve: 70471,3342 US Mail: 233-F So. Melville St. (215) 386-3305 Philadelphia, PA 19139
jcav@quads.uchicago.edu (john cavallino) (04/26/91)
In article <42004@netnews.upenn.edu> alex@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Edmund Davis) writes: >In fact, the same problem occurs on the LC. Until the new macs came >out, Microsoft (among other) assumed that any machine with a 68020 or >better would certainly have an FPU. Apple cut the FPU from the LC >and IIsi in order to bring the price down. {$SETC __flame__=TRUE} And Microsoft and the others were inexcusably wrong to do so. Since there have been Macintosh FPUs there have been supported ways to use the OS to check for their presence. Apple has ALWAYS said "check for specific functionality". I believe it is also true that Apple at one time said all machines with >= 68020 would have FPUs, but since the specific FPU check is just as easy as the specific processor-type check, there really is no excuse. {$SETC __flame__=FALSE} (yes, I'm a Pascal weenie. So sue me :-)
jcav@quads.uchicago.edu (john cavallino) (05/01/91)
In article <1991Apr25.213253.21845@midway.uchicago.edu> jcav@quads.uchicago.edu (john cavallino) writes: >In article <42004@netnews.upenn.edu> alex@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Edmund Davis) writes: >>In fact, the same problem occurs on the LC. Until the new macs came >>out, Microsoft (among other) assumed that any machine with a 68020 or >>better would certainly have an FPU. Apple cut the FPU from the LC >>and IIsi in order to bring the price down. > >{$SETC __flame__=TRUE} [my tirade deleted] >{$SETC __flame__=FALSE} > >(yes, I'm a Pascal weenie. So sue me :-) I have just received a mail message from a member of the Excel development team, explaining exactly why version 2.2 barfs on the new machines with 68020+ processors but no FPUs. It's apparently >MUCH< simpler and less sinister than paranoid people like me thought. They made NO FPU assumptions based on CPU type. Excel 2.2 DOES call SysEnvirons and DOES attempt to look at the "hasFPU" field, but it tests the field using a TST.W instead of a TST.B, which leads to it assuming that all Color Quickdraw machines have an FPU (the "hasColorQD" field is in the adjacent byte). This is a bug, not a design error. I would be the last to say the Microsoft is without sin, but in this case my flame was unjustified. And anyway, they fixed the problem in a free upgrade. :-) -- John Cavallino | EMail: jcav@midway.uchicago.edu University of Chicago Hospitals | USMail: 5841 S. Maryland Ave, Box 145 Office of Facilities Management | Chicago, IL 60637 B0 f++ w c+ g+ k s(+) e+ h- pv (qv) | Telephone: 312-702-6900