From: kontos@clipper.ingr.com (Thorne Kontos)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: A Commodore Engineer speaks out.
Keywords: Reverse Enginneering AGA - can it be done?
Date: 5 Oct 92 16:04:42 GMT
Organization: Intergraph Advanced Processor Division - Palo Alto, CA

I write: PUBLISH THE SPECS/REGISTERS OF THE AGA CHIPSET
Spence Shannon replies: Shan't!
But he goes on to say: 
Suppose that next year we bring out another machine based on a different chip
set that can do even more wonderful things than AA can. BUT, this new chip set
doesn't have the same registers as AA. Why not? Because our chip designers could
build the new chip set faster and cheaper than if it had to worry about AA
register compatibility. That's reasonable isn't it? After all, only myself and
Chris Green need to know how to program these chips.

Now how are we to take this piece of news?
That an even more advanced chip-set is in the works, that will orphan the
AGA set in a year's time? But why start another rumor...

So lets talk about faster/cheaper.

Faster - do a metal shrink to .5 microns. That should improve speed 8^).
Cheaper - Switch foundries (do some bargain shopping)
Assembly - VLSI has a 95% to 99% success rate (Very little good die loss
           there) But then again, the number of bond wires necessary for
           the Amiga chipset falls far below some of our latest designs.
           So you should be getting 99+% success rate at the assembly
           level. 
But faster and cheaper have nothing to do with the location of the
registers. So a new design in a year seems out of the question. What is
more likely is an improvement to the existing design. Call it BGA to 
follow AGA (Comments about alpha vs. beta are not welcome in this 
discussion.)

So lets talk about reverse engineering.

I think I have enough high speed logic analyzers sitting around the lab
and some spare cash in the budget to even go as far as doing a complete
strip-back. So can the AGA chipset be reverse engineered at a 
professional level of expertise? My answer is yes. But it is more likely
some hacker will do it for fun (and more importantly notoriety). So let
me see, I throw enough test patterns at the chip, and eventually all the
registers fall out. Or I strip it back, and analyze the logic. This does
of course destroys the chip, but it will give me the answers I want.

Let me add one thing to this discussion.
>Hang on a second.  This wonderful whizz-bang AA game of yours doesn't work
>on this new super-duper Amiga, so who do the customers complain to?  Not you.
>Us!

You do not see me complaining about the Game Market. I do not have
the time to waste playing even a tenth of the games that are 
available. I have one favorite, Empire, by Interstel. And every knows
the quality of graphics in that game. What I am saying is that graphics
are becoming the most important thing to the games market today. It is a 
shame that graphics is even replacing quality and new ideas. (The too 
numerous Mario clones being a prime example.) 

Still, the idea of a whizz-bang game or demo IS WHAT PUT YOU WHERE
YOU ARE TODAY. The mere fact that people could create all of the
spectacular effects with an Amiga is what sold them the machine in the
first place. Something that could not be done in the sterile 
environments of the MAC and PC. If, we the customer complain, then
you had better well listen. Your comment sounds like a gripe about
the person who ultimately pays your check. But, if you are sick of
hearing us complain, either give us some solutions or stop reading
the news.


                                            Thorne Kontos
                                            System Engineer
                                            Intergraph 
                                            Advanced Processor Division