From: mascot@bnr.ca (Scott Mason)
Subject: Re: New Amiga(s) Expansion/Future
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 19:40:05 GMT

In article <67346@cup.portal.com> Christopher_Thomas_Winward@cup.portal.com writes:
>
>Just what is Commodore trying to do?

Note the followup-to. This belongs in csa.advocacy.

>How is it possible to develop completely
>dissimilar products in a single product line simply for the sake of product
>differentiation?

Products in a product line get targeted at different markets.  Not
every MS-DOS user wants or can afford a 486DX-50 w/ an ATI Graphics
Ultra, a SB-Pro, and EISA. In addition to my Amiga, I have a 286 with
EGA and no sound card.  I don't feel burnt due to the lack of 386
protected mode, VGA, or decent sound because I paid peanuts for my
system and it suits my needs.

>   1: The development of the A4000 without a SCSI interface. (Obviously).

This decision was not well received. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon
for a vendor to start getting nervous about the price of a
do-everything system and start to cut a few corners. If there hadn't
been an important need to keep the design details quiet, they might
have received informed customer feedback before committing to IDE.
It happens.

>'But you can buy one as an
>interface board'.  This may be true, but we all know that more devices
>(and useful ones at that) are able to be produced when developers know
>that their target machines will definitely have hardware built in that
>they can support.

In this case, the A600 and A4000 IDE interfaces emulate SCSI for the
fixed disks, so software developers at least can assume it is
available.

>   2: The development of the A600 with fully surface-mounted components.

The A600 is very cost sensitive. Expect a vendor to make all
optimizations that do not degrade operation.

>The A500 is more powerful than this machine because of its sockets and
>expandability.

The A600 makes no claims to be ultimately expandable and is
specifically optimized for price. It may not suit your needs, but it is
not without I/O ports. Note also that the A500 just happens to be more
established at this time. The A600HD also significantly raises the ante
for a base system by including a fixed disk. Don't expect CBM or any
vendor to support expansion boards that install in the processor or
ASIC sockets.

>   3: The development of a CDTV/CD-ROM device for the A500.

This one is a mystery.

>   4: Producing two completely different standards for 'high-end'
>      machines vs. 'low-end'.

>   There is no AA chipset in the A600.  

One standard is a strict super-set. That is appropriate in my mind.
Other platforms are usually not as backwards-compatible in their
upgrades.

>   There is no 68030 in the A600.

For cost reasons. All reports point to new mid-range units.

>   There is no way to upgrade any chips other than the processor in
>   ANY of the new surface mount Amigas other than a motherboard swap.
>

I just swapped the motherboard in my MS-DOS machine this week.  I
didn't feel cheated.

>Who in their right mind would ever dare to develop specifically for the
>A4000 and AA chipset when it only comes on one or two of the most
>expensive machines?

Again, expect new mid-range units with AGA.

>Three technical questions to Commodore: (postage paid to
>                                         cbmvax.commodore.com)

Sorry, I don't work for CBM. Isn't this a public forum?

>   2: Zorro IV slots?
>
>Would it even be useful to come up with a Zorro IV standard for a 64-bit bus

Not likely at this time. The Zorro bus is primarily an I/O bus, and
Zorro III is very satisfactory for a desktop application.

>   3: Why not include chipset-expansion cards?

Video on a separate card is a nice feature. It is not appropriate for
extreme low cost models, like the A600, but it might be appropriate in
all models that feature expansion slots.

>Disclaimer: I have never seen an A4000

Me, neither, but I have some sympathy for the people specifying and
designing new models. Sometimes, though, I do get the impression that
CBM optimize each model in isolation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
#include <disclaimer.h>                          Bell-Northern Research
Scott Mason                                      P.O. Box 3511 Station C
Internet: mascot@bnr.ca                          Ottawa, Canada, K1Y 4H7