From: skip@tacky.cs.olemiss.edu (Skip Sauls)
Subject: Re: IFF database of .advocacy folks
Organization: University of Mississippi, Dept. of Computer Science
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 19:57:54 GMT

In article <1992Sep6.182709.16659@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de> mlelstv@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de (Michael van Elst) writes:
>In <1992Sep6.165134.15699@ra.msstate.edu> skip@tacky.cs.olemiss.edu (Skip Sauls) writes:
>>CGA         320x200       4 colors, really ugly palette combos
>
>If I remember right this is 320x200 15 colors with no real palette.
>(Some kind of true color with 1 bit per color + anti-halfbrite :-))

There have been a few "SuperCGA" modes from Tandy, AT&T, and others,
but the stock CGA can only handle 4 colors at a time in graphics mode.
This is actually 3 colors plus black, and there are a few different
combinations (3 or 4 I think).  Not really a palette, but it did give
the user a choice of a few ugly colors.  In the text mode, CGA did
support 8 colors plus 8 more when the intensity bit was set.

>>actually OK as long as you don't mind the 64 color palette.  BTW, the
>>ECS also uses a 64 color palette, truly pitiful in this day and age.
>
>ECS uses a 64 color palette in productivity mode. Could be better, but
>for productivity this isn't a problem.

I have to disagree because I've actually used this mode and it is
irritating to have the Workbench colors translated down to what the
ECS can display.  I'd love to use 640x480 instead of the 700x460 
that I do know for more reasons than one.  First off, the damn half-line
flicker really drives me nuts and I have to adjust my monitor so that
there is no vertical border to get rid of it.  Second, I make a living
programming PCs, but use the Amiga for image processing.  The goofy
non-square aspect ratio really sucks when you are trying to draw
something that is going to be displayed on VGA/SVGA.  I could adjust
the Amiga's monitor to display sqare pixels, but it means living with
the half-line flicker.  The 8bit Productivity mode in the AA chipset
is going to make things much nicer on the Amiga.

>>VGA is pretty much the LCD for PC clones if any sort of graphical work
>>is involved.  It may not have the highest resolution and number of colors,
>>but Amiga owners should be aware that it holds its own against the modes
>>supported by current Amiga hardware.  If Amiga owners will think about it,
>>they'll realize that the Amiga's standard modes are essentially CGA with
>>more bit planes, interlace, and overscan.  :-)
>
>What is VGA ? CGA with more bitplanes and higher vertical resolution.

I did include a smiley.  

>So where is the major difference ? The Amiga display is highly superior to
>CGA as is VGA. VGA concentrates on still images (with higher resolution)
>while the Amiga concentrates on speed. SVGA is better than both, but so
>is AA.

I'd bet that AA is going to be superior to SVGA except for displaying
really high-res graphics.  However, if there is ever a SVGA LocalBus
standard, the Amiga may not look so hot even with the AA chipset.

>>that the drivers will be available.  And if C= doesn't have some sort
>>of RTG or other solution, there will be more Windows apps which use the 
>>SVGA modes than there will be Amiga programs that use the AA modes...
>
>Nope, AA doesn't need RTG, it just needs the limited version of RTG
>that supports AA. It is much easier to support different screen modes
>and resolutions than supporting different fonts.

I just hope that more software will support it.  There is still a
tendancy for many applications to open their own screen using the
size and depth that they want.  The end-user should have ultimate
control over this, not the application programmer.  Also, every
application should be able to run on the Workbench if the user so
desires, making it easier to use the third-party hacks such as
those from GVP and DMI.

>Regards,
>-- 
>Michael van Elst

Skip Sauls
skip@tacky.cs.olemiss.edu