CompuServe Messages

As I mentioned in my previous message, I want a nice programming environment for writing LISP applications. A Symbolics would be nice, but the price is out of the question. To that effect, I need a 68020 board that supports the 68851 MMU as well as a math coprocessor (when I'm writing some math intensive simulations – not necessarily in LISP). I want the fast memory access that a 32 bit bus provides – I don't like the fact that to get all this I need to pay $2000 for the "previlege." After all, one of the reasons that Apple continues to ask a high price for the Mac II is the sheer amount of software that has been and is being developed for the Macintosh line. Specifically, I need programs such as Smalltalk-80 from Parc Place Systems or Coral Common Lisp (Allegro CL) running on a 68020 board. I'm afraid that such tools will be a long time coming to the Amiga, especially now that Commodore has targeted the machine for home (and office) use. I was talking to one of the owners of a Macintosh firm that develops AI tools for that machine – there are no immediate plans for product development for the Amiga until a time they deem there's a market for a powerful AI tool. Will such a market develop? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath. (probably not) MIT Press has delayed release of Wisdom Prolog for the Amiga, for example. With the exception of Cambridge LISP (which I don't really like), there isn't much in the way of tools that I can use. If a 68020 board were to come in cheap, there may at least be a chance that it's popularity will spur development of programming tools that I described above. Winston