CompuServe Thread

>>…from the all-night Friday the 13th fest on Sci-Fi<< I've missed you!

I was glad to help in some small way. It looks like you got some good advice here. That's the nice thing about the Amiga, it's makes adding things very easy. Can't say I blame you for not wanting to lug the computer to the dealer it's a pain. Having a 1000, the hard drives are housed in 2 seperate SCSI cases each with fans. The last time I had the SCSI cases open there wasn't much dust, it was the same way for the 1000. So far dust hasn't caused a problem. Richard -> AutoPilot on the A1000

PI >>So what are you saying – that there's no such beast as 16bit RAM?<< Nope, the Amiga has 16bit RAM. The 68000 & 68010 CPUs have a 16bit buss to RAM. — PI >>I'd actually heard that RAM is bitless, that the path width comes on the logic of the card the actual RAM chips are mounted on – such as a SIMM. Is this true? Correct.. Its the individual RAM chips that have width. The DIPs, ZIPs, and SOJs. These RAM chips are either 1 bit wide, or 4 bits wide. — (For my examples, well assume the computer is dealing with 256K of RAM, and that I may have ALL of this wrong…) 😐 Computer code deals with bytes, words, and longwords — which are 8, 16, and 32 bits in length. A CPU will often need to fetch & store data in bytes, words, & longwords, and will need to grab the full 8, 16, or 32 bits before it can preform the operation. A 256×1 chip can store 256 kilobits (262,144 bits). This is about 32K of storage within a single chip, but you have only a 1-bit path into the chip. If you were to store a byte (which are 8 bits in size) within this one chip, you would have chop the byte into 8 bits. and feed each bit to the chip individually — serially. For the CPU to fetch that byte, he would be required to make 8 1-bit grabs to acquire all 8 bits to build the byte. Instead, they can give the CPU an 8-bit buss, it would have eight 1-bit paths for moving bits. They then can align a group of 8 chips (in parallel) — each RAm chip having one 1-bit path. You send the bytes as 8 bits (in parallel) along the paths, so each chip stores 1/8th of the byte. The CPU does only one 8-bit grab to get the whole byte — each of the CPU's paths recieving one bit of the byte. With a 256×4 chip, you have four 256 kilobit areas within the chip allowing 128K of storage within the chip. There are four 1-bit paths, so you would need only two chips aligned to create eight 1-bit paths to the CPU. If you have a CPU with a 16 bit buss (the 68000), you have 16 paths and need the RAM chips organized to align 16 bits. Either 16 256×1 chips, or 4 256×4 chips. The CPU can then store & fetch bytes or words, in one grab. Ever notice that when RAM expanders of the Amiga use 256K chips, they have you add either 16 256×1 (16bits), or 4 256×4 (16bits) at a time. A CPU with a 32-bit buss (the 68020) has 32 paths for collecting the bits. It can fetch a longword in one grab if it has 32 aligned bits of RAM. it can also grab the longword from 16 aligned bits of RAM by doing two grabs. — An 8-bit SIMMs uses either 8 256×1 SOJ chips, or 2 256×4 SOJs chips to provide 8-bits. (If it provides a parity bit, this will be 9 & 3 chips for 9-bits.) If you were going to add 512K, to an 8-bit buss, you would only need two 256K 8-bit SIMMs. To create two banks of 256K. If you were going to add 512K, to a 16-bit buss, you would only need two 256K 8-bit SIMMs. to create one bank of 256K. The two 8-bit SIMMs would give 16-bits. The 32-bit systems usally add RAM starting in 1meg increments. So, four 256K 8-bit SIMMs, would give 1024K with 32-bits. However, with the new 32-bit SIMM standard, you can build a 32-bit system to use one 1024K 32-bit SIMM. — If I understand it correctly, this is how it works. Ron. – ap'ing with AP. (Eagles may fly, but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines.)

VJ >>I don't know the name of my Zorro card. (z-1 or z-2?)<< An A2500 would have Zorro-II cards, which are 16-bit. However, Zorro-II is the name for the general purpose expansion slots on your mother board. if you expansion is on a card in a Zorro-II slot, you will need to examine the card to see if it allows memory expansion using SIMMs, are by plugging in individual chips. There is special slot on the motheboard called the CPU-slot, (also know as a Co-processor slot). A card inserted in this slot, can contain an new CPU that replaces the 68000 one on motherboard. Your CPU-card is 32bit, and should allow either RAM using either 32bit SIMMs, 8bit SIMMs in groups of 4, or a large number of plug in DRAM chips. If only part of the RAM sockets/slots are filled, just look at the numbers printed in the RAM chips used, and note whether they plug straight into the card, or mounted to a SIMM plugged into the card. — VJ >>Speaking of numbers, there is a 16 MBYTE simm advertised in the Tenex catalog for $1179.<< And if its is 32bit SIMM, it might actually give 64 megs of memory, if your computer can handle it. 🙂 Ron. – ap'ing with AP. (Eagles may fly, but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines.)

Vicki, For DTP, I suspect that your best choice might be PageStream – though I bought ProPage early on and have never bought PageStream. Two clubs to which I belong are using PageStream for their newsletters, and the output is great – both the text and the graphics. I've never tried this – but I wonder if a screen-grabber would not make an IFF file from your GIF pictures? Maybe something like SCREENX? It lets you get to the screens by name, which I find easier than some of those that allow me only x seconds to get back to the screen I want grabbed. SCREENX would be in AmigaTech, I believe. It's pretty old, but my version still seems to work fine. It can save any screen to a file, and I think it saves things out in IFF format by default. There are quite a few IFF to GIF converters in the libraries. However, ADPRO or ImageMaster will certainly do the job well for you. —Betty

Vicki: PMJI, but with respect to the sewing guild, this may be of interest: I vaguely recall seeing a message somewhere about an Amiga-based weaving program. It either drove looms directly or did designs. That's all I recall and I may be hallucinating. For what it's worth. BTW, I've installed RAM in Amigas and peripherals and it's no big whoop. You just have to be sure to get the right chips, and the safest course there is to take the manual describing what type is needed into any ordinary computer store. Buy from an Amiga dealer if possible, call MemoryWorld mail order or go to any CompUSA outlet or that sort of place. If you have the RAM config info, they can give you what you need; then it's just a matter of plugging them in properly, in the right orientation, which the instructions should explain. — Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA via Amiga Autopilot 1.72 — the only way to fly

Trent, Does the "slider gadget" available in KinCON, work specifically with the CLI window? Vicki

Trent, Thanks a lot. I missed that one. I'll get it and try it out right away. —Betty

VJ >>When you describe the attributes of each chip it's easy to imagine a story –maybe entire adventures– to complete the picture.<< Adventure? ok… :> Once upon a time, there were seven healers from the east. They had great wealth, and looked to spread it upon the land, and reaper the rewards. They found that many of the people, gained enjoyment through dreams found inside a one-eyed creature. The people could control, and guide the dreams by using magic boxes. They sought to use their wealth to make their own magic boxes to sell to the people. They found a group of master weavers, that desired to weave a great magic box of many colors. The weavers worked many moons, creating the box of dreams, which they had blessed with the name Lorraine. Within Lorrine, there were placed three special stones that held great powers of binding. They were Agnes, Daphine, and Portia. But a great mists seemed to shroud the land, and people no longer looked to there magic boxes for pleasure, and many forgot the dreams. The Healers became fearful, for the their magic box had not yet been finished. The Weavers said, 'Fear not. For this box holds the power of the greater magics, the people have discovered.' But the Weavers needed more time, and the Healers had not the wealth. The Weavers sought wealth from another House. Many turned to glance, but few listened until the House of the Atari. The Weavers had shadows grow upon there hearts, for they had weaved for the Atari before. There was fear that Lorraine would be cast aside, and her three stones — Agnes, Dephine, and Portia, would be enslaved to another magic box. The House of Atari had cast a powerful spell. While the Weavers talked with them, the Atari lent wealth to the Weavers. If the Weavers did not return the wealth, the Atari could take the three hearts of Lorraine as payment — the stones themselves. But then a great Captain sailed down from the north, called the Commodore. He looked upon Lorraine, and saw her power. He lent his wealth to the Weavers, who in turn gave it to the House of Atari. This greatly weakened Atari's spell, and made it not. Soon, the Weavers banded together with the crew of the Commodore's ship. And the power of the Lorraine was released. But having neared death, she had changed. She was given a new name, the name of Weaver's shop — the Amiga. The binding of her stones was made solid, and they became Agnus, Denise, and Paula. After a time, Amiga had taken several forms, and been given many new stones. Many of these stones grew and changed. Agnus, grew into a jewel called Alice. Denise merged with a stone called Amber, and they took a form called Lisa. But in these latter years, the mists had returned — reshaping the dreams of the people — blinding some, while opeing the eyes of others. New magic boxes of different weave spread from many Houses, growing in great numbers throughout the land. The Commodore was old, and his wealth was no longer as great. Many feared he lacked the power to wield the forces of the Amiga. The Commdore grew ill, and his purse low. But he had many children in far lands, that yet may have power & wealth to follow in their fathers steps, knowing merchants of wealth. And the Amiga had brushed with death before, and yet may have the power to escape it again… — VJ >>Do all the different computer platforms have chip and ram stories like the Amiga? Are they similar or very different?<< On yes. The IBM/Clones had a 640K 'conventional' memory area, for running software, and a 384K 'upper' memory area for adding hardware. But they didn't have an easy way to add more memory for software. At least if you were using MS-DOS. We haven't gotten to start using 'cutie names' yet, for there chips, but we have converted them into WIMPy (windows, icons, menus, pointers) users. The Atari ST system have a simular CHIP vs. FAST memory system, but with different problems. Amigas & Atari STs, seem to look at each other as their evil (or pale) not-so-identical twin. The Commdore 128, had the ability to support 512K using eight 64K banks, but shipped with only two banks (128K). The REU (RAM Expansion Units), for the C64/128 could be expanded to 2-megs of memory. There was even a hack to allow the C64 to be expanded to 1-meg, (internally). And I believe the Atari's Jaguar, has custom chips named Tom, & Jerry. — Vj >>What is the name of the "small board containing a 'more enhanced' ECS Agnus"?<< The MegAchip 500/2000, by DKB. They have an area in the AmigaVendor forum. The board allows either the #8372b, or the #8375, version of the ECS Agnus to be plugged into the older Agnus socket. Some refer to these Agnus as the 'Super Agnus' or the "2-meg Agnus'. — VJ >>I can't understand why you compare the Amiga (or is it yourself) to a weasel when it's such a marvelous machine (or you –when remarkably adept at teaching).<< In found it the saying in someone else's tag-line. It reminds me, that sometimes — reguardless of how others look at you — its best to dig your feet into the dirt and hold on, instead letting yourself get sucked into something bigger than you because you had your head in the clouds. Ron. – ap'ing with AP. (Eagles may fly, but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines.)