This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (176 messages)
Re: how soon… – real soon now! – seriously, I don't know exactly, probably 2-3 months.
#EGS card from GVP
Message #107857
Not sure how the subject became "HDDRIVE…", anyway – yes, we'll have an EGS card that will be A3000 compatible (and A4000, and A2000 without requiring the Combo card like our current blazingly fast EGS110/24). Re: trading in IV24 for new card – I don't know what our policies will…
Ah, not quite sure I follow the thread, but we (GVP) intend to come out with a card real soon that is definitely NOT an IV24. It will provide very high speed graphics capabilities (up to 24 bit) for probably less than $600. This card will work in A2000, A3000,…
Hi Eric. The GVP MIDI expansion box for the IOExtender is still not available, I'm afraid, and I don't have an availability date for you. There are a number of issues with it, including software support, and casework (the MIDI box will be rack mountable). Responding to the other question…
Hi Mark. The Indy certainly does seem VERY cool. Contrary to Apple and Commodore, SGI's stock has doubled in the past year. I believe SGI is the most innovative, visionary and strategically coordinated computer company out there today. They will certainly be attacked on an ongoing basis by IBM (RS/6000…
One major issue here. Apparently a CD32 disk can hold up to 75 minutes of MPEG video I believe, which is much shorter than the average movie, thereby making it useless as an alternative to VHS.
Re: " it is an Indian name" – Shiraz Shivji. Not sure if I have the spelling right. Very smart guy, as were the other engineers that went from C= to Atari around that time.
Hi Leslie, you'll note that I said "(400, 800, and later ST, etc)." That is, I realized the ST came AFTER the acquisition. And no, Atari didn't steal the ST away from Commodore, trust me. Some good C= engineers did go there though, that is for sure. Paul.
That is an extremely smart strategy by Apple. By ensuring all future installed base will have CD-ROM drives, software developers will be more enticed into doing titles for Macs and away from the giant Windows lure. For Apple to survive, it must either change its business model (some have suggested…
If you have 32 bit memory above the autoconfig space, yes, you can have the full 8MB of "fast" (i.e., non-CHIP) 16 bit memory. Our Combo boards have a jumper that designates the first 8MB to be autoconfig or not. Anything beyond 8MB is always what we call extended (i.e.,…
Disneyland is Anaheim, not Pasadena. Last year it was at the Pasadena convention center. A fairly nice facility, although I wasn't impressed with Pasadena itself.
The basis of things like Frame is "workflow management". You'll hear a lot about such amazing tools in the coming years. Company's that don't move toward putting in technology that functions as interdepartmental glue, handling resource management, project scheduling and tracking are going to be in big trouble. It's kind…
I'm glad it struck a chord. It's like someone saying they want to be like everyone else but "special". The person who wants to take a different path takes one that is necessarily less travelled.
Hi Tom. First, yes, I work for GVP. Although I am not that familiar with the A3001, I believe all memory on that board is mapped into the Autoconfig space, i.e., the 8MB space you mentioned, and therefore not the MMU, or anything else, can map it elsewhere. Sorry. Only…
Hi gcb: 1. Yes, I was at the WOC in Pasadena last year. They're pretty much like any Amiga show – fun! Commodore usually has a large booth, and there's 30-50 other booths, I'd guess including 3rd party vendors, user groups, and magazines. The seminars are put on by 3rd…
But you can't write letters on it – it doesn't have a keyboard. The game console seems like a 1200 with a CD and without a keyboard. Could be a winner, but it depends on two things: 1) exciting titles, and 2) good marketing. It's possible that both could happen.…
Hi Steve. First of all, I want to say that we DO USE Amigas for a lot of things. We use ImageFX for a lot of our advertising production. We use PageStream for all of our manuals. We use terminal software for uploads and downloads all over the world. We…
I guess I don't believe that marketing alone can make people consciously desire to get away from linear thinking as it's been referred to here. Some people like doing multiple things at once, and they'll embrace it. In the workplace, I do see people who like to multitask, like the…
I wish NeXT well, and you make a good point. I guess I'm just hoping the world will have fewer GUI's over time, and that the differences between them are actually pretty small and will probably get smaller. NeXTStep has some good features, but there's nothing profound about it, I…
Well I expect Microsoft to fail in terms of selling the virtues of NT to the masses. It will get used for power applications (engineering, desktop publishing, multimedia) but will not be installed widely because it simply eats too many resources. Windows 4.0 will bring more power to the masses…
The possibility of "feature abuse" is definitely there. It's the role of managers to make sure people don't waste time with power tools. I've definitely seen people creating memos that look like ransom notes too. "Use the force wisely…"
Hi Erik. I think we're talking about different user types here, so there's not much point in getting into this much further. Obviously a lot of people DON'T need to type of power that a Word or AmiPro has, but a lot DO. For those that do, $129 or $495…
You're tempted because you're "into" UI's. NeXTStep is cool, definitely, but it's basically dead. Yeah, some interesting mission critical corporate apps are being done with it, but that's a tiny number of users, I suspect. Also, I've heard that their Intel version really isn't that snappy (surprise, surprise), so I…
Sir, I think your comments are profound (i.e., I agree with them ). You said… "Most people, only use their computers to do one, possibly two things and thus don't care about things like multitasking or an efficient or intelligent O/S." Sad, but true. It's like many things. Take cars…
I'm glad the plant is closed! I bought a set of Tripledge wipers (only thing I ever bought on impulse after seeing the high pressure ad), and they STUNK. They're very sneaky about their money back guarantee also. They say you must send them back within 30 days. They also…
Here I must disagree with you Erik. Windows Write may be tolerable for writing to pen pals, but it's not powerful enough in today's business world. High power communication tools are very important in business now, and people who don't learn to use them are not going to go far…
Let me just clear this up. When the Tramiel's bought Atari around 1984, they didn't buy the coin-op division, i.e., the ARCADE games division. What they did buy was doing game consoles (2600, 5200, 7800, etc.) and computers (400, 800, and later ST, etc). Atari (what Tramiel's have) is still…
I hope IBM checked their (Atari's) credit carefully! IBM can't go on losing billions forever.
No, it would not be possible to upgrade our PC286. Among the many issues, the processor is surface mounted. Sorry, Paul.
What would be the point of detaching the keyboard on the A1200 (i.e., to make this 1400 you spoke of)? I can only assume that means it will then get a slot of two. If so, that would be good. Sounds like it will look like an A1000 🙂
I think it's becoming fairly clear that Apple is more interested in PowerPC than 68060 moving forward. The PowerPC family looks like it will be great. If I were Apple I'd be working hard to get the Mac OS running on it, not working on hardware based around a 68060…
Hi Nick. Only a small amount of 16 bit RAM (512K) is required to make PhonePak work in an A3000. We do not guarantee the PhonePak works in any A3000 without the 16 bit RAM, although I have seen it work. We cannot fix the problem because it lies in…
Unfortanately, you cannot just change the processor and clock crystal, because the PALs would need to be upgraded also. You should call GVP regarding upgrade paths however, because we like to be as flexible as possible and may be able to work something out for you. Regards, Paul.
Thought I'd like to let a cat out of the bag here as a public service … We (GVP) have a board coming VERY SOON that will have blazingly fast high resolution graphics, will be able to auto-switch between the output of the regular Amiga video port and its own,…
Publicly, I would like to state that working for Commodore was wonderful. I was there from 1979 to the end of 1991 with a one year break in 1987. As you and others may know, I'm English, and without Commodore, I'd probably still be in the UK. Instead, I worked…
I assume it's PC based, right? Why are you now ashamed you mentioned C= to your boss? I don't understand. Because you don't think the Amiga could live up to what you saw on the Sears system? Just curious. Paul.
I don't think that's right. Machines like CDTV are sort of razors. It is imperative that one makes the real money from razor blades (i.e., CDs). Commodore did set it up this way (licensing), so they would need to sell millions of CDs, but not necessarily millions of machines. Believe…
Well, I checked out the specs of Elite II drives. Impressive, but nowhere near 8MB/second. Theoretically it could do 5'ish, but even then, not sustained. I'd guess closer to 3 sustained. Paul.
Why will you have to shed your A3000? What is that you need/want to do? Paul.
CD-ROM is EXPLODING on PCs right now. Many clone makers are putting in CD-ROMs to differentiate. Gateway for example is now putting it in almost all of their systems. Did you realize Gateway is almost as big as Commodore!?!? Also, Apple offers Macs with CD-ROM drives installed, which is great…
Right, millions would be outstanding, but that's dreaming given the "Stealth Marketing Campaign."
Hundreds won't cut the mustard. For CDTV to be a "success" to Commodore, they must sell tens of thousands.
Now what controller was this on that you read a 200MB file in at 8MB / second?
Doesn't work in A3000 without some Zorro II (16 bit) RAM installed, due to DMA problem in A3000.
Right. As I'm sure you know, the purpose for having 50 pins on SCSI (and all ribbon cables) is to get a ground between EVERY signal. The 50 pin "DB-like" connector is a high density connector, similar in nature to a VGA connector, which is NOT a DB-15, but has…
Larry, I really don't think the Elite II drive is capable of 8MB / second, except from the drive's cache to the host. That is certainly only a momentary burst, and cannot be sustained. I guess I'll have to check the docs at work (we have them for just about…
I don't think I said there weren't drives that could exceed 1MB / second, but if I did I didn't mean to give that impression? Our 040 Combo card can read over 2MB / second SUSTAINED easily on a Maxtor 540MB drive. This I have seen over and over. This…
Joanne – great to "see" you! Re: Seagate, we've certainly been unimpressed until recently. Can you tell me what Micropolis models are really fast? Thanks, Paul.
Hi Mark. As a biased observer (I work at GVP), I just wanted to mention that I think the A530 is one of the best products we've ever done. It makes an A500 feel truly wonderful. The A530 has probably gotten the best reviews of any product we've ever done.…
I like your thinking . The basic situation though is that putting out a Zorro III product that would require users to replace their motherboard doesn't make a lot of business sense. Commodore seems to be over this now with the A4000 (i.e., new machines being shipped now don't have…
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