From: bgrubb@dante.nmsu.edu (GRUBB)
Subject: Re: Need to convince boss 486's are *not* way to go...
Organization: New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 03:39:47 GMT

howard@netcom.com (Howard Berkey) writes
>What you just said is wrong.  It's like saying that since an SE/30 has
>32 bit quickdraw, all of it's mono pixels are 32 bits deep.  Guess
>again.

>Or better yet, try and learn something about what you are talking
>about.
I got an even BETTER idea.  How about READING Mac & IBM info?
Especially the Hardware 
Color Support/Display section to whit:
" Mac: All present Macs except the Classic support the use of 32-bit color in 
hardware. This is done in ROM by 32-bit color QuickDraw, which allows programs 
to use 32-bit color even if the monitor does not display it; older machines 
that supported color {SE/30, II, IIX, and IIcx} had only 8-bit color in ROM 
and needed a software patch to use 32-bit color. (MacUser Special 1993: 28-29)  
To keep costs down and speed up most Macs have only 8 or 16 bit display 
capability built in, but most of those can be expanded to display 24 bit 
color.  32-bit color QuickDraw allows an almost transparent capability to 
display and edit X-bit images in Y-bit color [Where X and Y are 1, 2, 4, 8, or 
32 in any combination] regardless of monitor resolution {63 dpi [12" color] to 
94 dpi [PaletteBook]} though QuickDraw is optimized for 72 dpi display; 
QuickDraw QX will, hopefully, change this.
This means that even though you can use only 256 or 32,768 of the colors at a 
time, all 16,777,216 colors are still available and are simulated at lower 
resolutions by dithering. {This is the reason for CLUTS, so the program knows 
which set of colors to use with a picture and what 32-bit colors the dithers 
really are.}  It also allows, with a hardware video adaptor and no added 
software, a Mac with monitor support to use an Autosynchronous Monitor {Range 
must include 66.7 hz vertically and 35 hz horizontally and the monitor must be 
VGA, MCGA and/or SVGA compatible} as if it was a Mac monitor (MacUser  August 
1992: 158-176)  So present Macs can view and edit 32-bit color pictures on 
some VGA, MCGA and SVGA monitors just as if they were equivalent Mac monitors 
though the Macs runs with a Pixel Clock of 30.24.
In addition, QuickDraw allows, in Macs with a NuBus slot, more then one 
monitor to be used in any combination, from a mirrored screen to a virtural 
screen {Two or more monitors acting as one large monitor}."
So while a IIci DISPLAYS only 256 colors at a time {or a SE/30 just 2 colors}
32-bit images can be worked with {Though it would somewhat of a pain and 
slower than heck on some machines ;-)} So on a SE/30 editing a 32-bit picture
the INFOMATION on each pixel IS 32-bit deep even though the screen can show
on 2-bit of the info through dithers.

On a side note the ranking of avalible software by OS and machine might be fun.
I suppect that the list would go something like this:
IBM-DOS
Mac
 System 6.0.X
 System 7.X
IBM-Windows
NeXT
 DOS
 Mac 
 Windows
 NeXT OS
IBM-OS/2 2.0
Mac-A/UX 3.0
IBM-AIX
Taligent OS prototype (PowerOpen}

Note by avalable I am including going to a mall and finding software.
Mail order is a little more dicy anybody know what the Windows, A/UX, AIX,
NeXT ranking is?