yc58@mrcu (MRC Library) (06/07/91)
Sender:Brian Debenham Followup-To: This newsgroup has been full of messages saying that the Amiga/NeXt/Mac is better than the NeXt/Mac/Amiga. A machine that really ought not be forgotten is the Acorn Archimedes, which incidentally had a model A3000 before Commodore. They are built around Acorn's ARM processor (Acorn RISC machine), recently bought into by Apple, and use a non-preemptive multi-tasking operating system called RISCOS. They are *VERY* fast, especially with the ARM3 processor fitted, which has a built-in cache. Outline fonts are standard - no waiting for system 7 - and a very cost-effective DTP system can be put together; one producer of an magazine, admittedly an Archimedes-covering mag., recently switched production from Macs to the Arc and reckons a 3-fold increase in productivity. File handling is consistent between applications - files are saved by dragging an icon in a save-box to a filer window for the directory to save to, or if the file already exists clicking on the OK button will save to its current directory, or it can be dragged to a different directory if desired. Double- clicking on a data file will load the application that created it. Applications install along an icon-bar at the foot of the screen and are activated by clicking on, or by double-clicking on an existing data-file, or by dragging a data-file to their icon. Data can be saved from one application to another by simply dragging the icon in the save-box to another application; either an open window or to the application's icon on the icon-bar. I save a selection of fields from my database straight into an open DTP document. Between 2M and 16M RAM can be fitted depending on model; hard drives use either ST506, SCSI or IDE (just becoming available). Floppies are double- density; but it is thought the next OS release (October?) will support the new 4M floppies. The current OS is in 1M ROM - the next version will almost certainly be bigger. PC emulation, totally in software, is available; no hardware PC coprocessor is available, but the S/W emulation is good enough for most purposes, and with an ARM3 is about PC-AT speed. The current version of the emulator takes over the whole machine and only emulates CGA; a new version due "any day now" multitasks in a destop window and emulates EGA, without much speed loss. All this and more (8-track stereo sound, MIDI available, 256 colours onscreen, very fast direct-drive laser printers inc. 600 dpi) for from 699 pounds UK. See comp.sys.acorn for more info. and loads more Arc users. Brian PS Note that nowhere in the above have I put any gratuitous insults to other machines or their users; but I was sorely tempted!
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (06/12/91)
In article <954@mrcu> yc58@uk.co.gec-mrc (MRC Library) writes: >Sender:Brian Debenham >This newsgroup has been full of messages saying that the Amiga/NeXt/Mac is >better than the NeXt/Mac/Amiga. A machine that really ought not be forgotten >is the Acorn Archimedes, which incidentally had a model A3000 before >Commodore. Actually, Commodore doesn't have an "A3000", though they do have an "Amiga 3000". I imagine the Apollo 3000, which predates them both, is called the A3000 in Apollo circles, too. >They are built around Acorn's ARM processor (Acorn RISC machine), recently >bought into by Apple, and use a non-preemptive multi-tasking operating >system called RISCOS. They are *VERY* fast, especially with the ARM3 >processor fitted, which has a built-in cache. ARM chips (actually manufactured by LSI Logic, as I recall) are somewhat interesting. They're pretty cheap, which has pushed them to some extent into the low end of the embedded RISCish controller market. The small size of the processor unit let them put lots of cache on the ARM3 (4K of unified cache, as I recall, but it's been awhile). The main problem with them, at present, is their memory management. You need one MMU per 4MB, with a maximum of four. That's acceptible in the personal computer market, but not for workstations. Acorn uses a number of standard, off the shelf PClone parts for them, like floppy controller and (I think) video display, which helps keep the cost down compared to an Amiga or Mac. I never heard any details on expanison bus or other real system hardware on these machines. -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "This is my mistake. Let me make it good." -R.E.M.