Never ceases to amaze

[Robert Kennedy]

--- Charles Steinkuehler <charles at steinkuehler.net>
wrote:
> Robert Kennedy wrote:
> > While not hot plugable, the Amiga OS & hardware
first used the term plug & play about 1987 and meant
it. When the system powered up it inquired 'Who, What,
> > Where & What do you need?' to anything attached to
> >the Zorro bus. Then it sorted things out, assigned
> > resources and finished booting. Got ram on three
> > cards, plus the motherboard? No problem
> >Autoconfig(r) pools it and assigns it where needed.
Done with a resource? Intuition(r) puts it out for
reuse. Two programs need to use the widget.library?
(think .dll) Sure, throw it into memory and every
program can use the same one copy. We don't need no
stinking extra .dll copies!
> > 
> I *LOVED* the Amiga's Zorro bus, and even designed
> several add-on cards 
> for it (which auto-config'd, of course!).  The cool
> thing about the 
> Amiga design is the "smarts" (including the 'ROM'
> which contained the cards requirements/functions)
could be implemented in a cheap PAL (ie about 50-100
"real" logic gates).  A PCI interface takes tens of 
thousands of gates to do the same thing (typically
10-30K gates).
> 
> Oh, and the Amiga could auto-config all attached
> hardware, and boot into  the graphical user
interface faster than a modern HDD spins up.  I 
> really miss that feature on my current PC's, which
> have 2-3 orders of  magnitude more "speed", but
still take MINUTES to boot into a GUI...<sigh>
> 
> Hmm...kind of sounds like I'm turning into an old
> fogie.  I guess 35 is 
> getting pretty ancient in the computer world...
> 
> -- 
> Charles Steinkuehler
> charles at steinkuehler.net

Charles,

In a small way the Classic Amiga is still at it.

Search for Individual Computers. Jens Schoenfield, the
 owner, in case you don't already know, makes the
Swiss Army Knives of computer boards. Last year he
updated his Catweasel floppy controller cards. (Need
to read your C64 disks? Atari? Amiga? 3"? 5"?, maybe
8"? check out the Catweasel.) The new 'Flipper'
version has a Zorro bus on top and a PCI bus on the
bottom. Or was it the other way around? Linux drivers
are available.

Jens is also going to manufacture the American
designed CommodoreOne board that brings the C64 OS
into the 21st Century. If you think Amigans like me
are a bit different, check out the C64 hobby world.
You have been warned.

Best,

Bob Kennedy

BTW, at work I have to turn on the HD array at least
30 seconds before I power up the Amiga 4000 Tower with
the Video Flyer in it. Otherwise it boots too fast to
recognize the video drives.

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