#80286 BridgeCard
21 messages in this thread
Just checked with Family Computing on the Bridgecard. My 8088 card came in and
their word is that the 80286 Bridgecard is still about 6 months away from being
distributed. Commodore has just started showing the new card, so past
experience suggests it will be awhile yet before the users actually see it
(darn!!;). FC also said they are still getting shipments of the 8088 card, so
they don't see Commodore stopping production on it at least yet. Maybe the
other store decided to stop selling the 8088 card on their own??
David Masterson
David, I'll find out what the story is the store is The Byte Shop in Merrick,
NY. Glad your card finally came in. Marlene
David,
To be honest, even if and when CBM comes out with the '286 card, I
think they'll still sell the '088 card. It's like IBM (and the clone makers)
still selling low and high end machines. Each has it's own use.
Admittedly, the '088 card is definately low end as far as speed goes,
pure IBM PC/XT class 4.77Mhz, but up until the PS/2 line, IBM was still selling
lots of XT's.
I also presume there will be a price difference between the '088 card
and the '286 card, perhaps as much as a couple of hundred. That would also
mean that they should keep making the '088 card for those who don't need the
expense of the faster card. Also, there's only 2 AT style slots, and one of
them is taken by the BridgeBoard itself. You can use PC devices in an AT, but
you are limiting yourself.
Finaly, the '088 card appears to be selling very well. My local dealer
can't keep them in stock. It wouldn't be very smart to drop a good selling
product for some possible future product.
Don
Don, why buy the bridgeboard for about $550 when one can get the Commodore
PC-10 or the Blue Chip for under $450??
Ting,
Add to that cost of $450 the cost of an extra desk and/or larger deskspace.
Price is more favorable now, no?
..Bob
Bob, let us say 'what if u do have the extra deskspace' is it still a
good??/ex
Ting,
I guess it boils down to personal preferences. Personally, I'd be extremely
leary of the real low-end Clones. I also like the convenience of using a
single keyboard and work-space. For me, the decision is clear. For you or
others, whatever you perceive to be the best solution to your problems at hand.
Nice to have choices, isn't it?
..Bob
U sure r rite about that….AH…AMERICA !!!!!
EX
Ting,
Hmm… what about hard drives, monitor, parallel card, etc., desk space, and
the one thing that you can't do with a separate clone, tight (very tight)
coupling of the two machines?
Regards, Larry.
Larry, u have a point about the hard drives…but cant u share the monitor with
the Amiga and besides, the systems I've mentioned comes with a monochrome
monitor and parallel card. Not trying to be funny, but why wud one want "tight
coupling" of the 2 machines ???
Ting,
You can indeed share the monitor. The Bridge display is on the Amiga monitor.
Tight coupling means that you can communicate at very high rates of speed
between the two machines, and they are two machines. While this is good for
data sharing and not much else right now, I think you'll see some programs soo
that will put the coupling to good use. Think of all the specialized IO that
you can buy cheaply for the IBMPC(lones) for a start.
Regards, Larry.
TKS LARRY WUD U KNOW IF THE 1080 MONITOR IS COMPATIBLE WITH CLONES??
Don't really know Ting. I never had the need to try to hook anything up to a
clone.
Regards, Larry.
Sure you can share the monitor with the Amiga – that's exactly how it works!
Also you can share the drives, and tight coupling is that which allows you to
have the machines talk to each other at high speeds for data transfer and
resource sharing. –Ben–
TKS BEN FOR THE INFO
Ting,
I haven't read the other answers yet…but my reason for buying a
bridge card is that with it, I only need 1 HD and can share it between the
Amiga side and the PC side. I only need 1 monitor and can likewise share it, I
only need 1 keyboard, 1 cpu and no room on my cramped desk.
Not only that, but I don't need terminal programs, NULL modem cables,
etc. to transfer files back and forth. I'm fairly sure also that at some
point, someone will come up with some programs that use the 8088 in the Bridge
just like another coprocessor for the Amiga.
In other words, the extra spent for the BridgeBoard was well worth it
for me.
Whoops…also forgot, the PC-10 and the Blue Chip both have monochrome
monitors…the Bridge can be either or both.
Don
TKS DON FOR UR OPIONION
Sure would like to know why they've told 2 stores in my area that they are
dropping it AND that the 286 card will be ready in January.
Marlene
Marlene,
I think some Rep's are using that excuse for their inability to process
orders in a timely fashion. Dropping the '088 card in favor of the '286 card
would be like dropping the 500 in favor of the 2000 (sort of). It just doesn't
make sense to force folks to pay more for power they don't need or want. Even
if the '286 card came out at the same price as the '088 card, all that would
mean is that they should lower the price of the '088 card.
I also think it's bad information spread by Rep's (and other things)
like this that is causing CBM to drop the Rep's and handle distribution on
their own. I've seen earlier messages about some stores not even getting any
A2000's yet, while other stores have gotten lots of them. That too sounds like
a problem with the Rep's and not CBM…althou I can't say that for a fact since
I don't know all the details.
Now, if the '088 card quits selling as soon as the '286 card hits the
market…then that's a whole different story. If the customers themselves vote
with their money not to have a particular product…then so be it.
Don
Don, I'll double check – but I'm not sure it was the REP but CBM who told both
of these stores about dropping the 8088 card. I'll get back to you and let you
know.
Marlene