From: bull@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: New Amiga(s) Expansion/Future
Date: 13 Oct 92 14:02:10 +1000
Distribution: world
Organization: Computer Centre, Monash University, Australia

Christopher_Thomas_Winward@cup.portal.com blathers:

> Just what is Commodore trying to do? How is it possible to develop completely
> dissimilar products in a single product line simply for the sake of product
> differentiation?  The following examples are what I'm talking about:
>
>    1: The development of the A4000 without a SCSI interface. (Obviously).
>
> This means that an A4000 is a scaled-down A3000 with the AA chipset.  It

        Are you saying that the 68040 is a scaled down 68030?
        Are you saying that the full 32 bit mAotherboard is a scaled
        down 16/32 bit A3000 motherboard? A[A

> has a missing interface port, that highly useful SCSI port, that makes the
> A3000 a truly powerful and extensible system.  '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.

        That's absolute crap. SCSI device manufacturers don't go to the
trouble of making devices specifically for machine X unless there's a lot
of money to be made, and the Amiga market is a very small part of the total
SCSI market. A SCSI disk is a SCSI disk is a SCSI disk. Whether the
A4000 has a SCSI interface on the motherboard or not isn't going to make
a noticable impression on the SCSI market. The whole purpose of SCSI is to
be a "one protocal fits all" for any system which has a SCSI interface.
The fact that the interface is on the motherboard or on an expansion card
is totally irrelevent from the viewpoint of SCSI device manufacturers and
developers.

>    2: The development of the A600 with fully surface-mounted components.
>
> The A500 is more powerful than this machine because of its sockets and
> expandability.  The missing expansion port is another inconvenience.
> The PCMCIA connector slot that this machine has is definitely a step
> towards the future, and I suppose a version to connect to the A500 could
> be worked out, but this still means that there are going to be very few
> products for a while for that machine.                            A[AA

      Surface mounting cuts manufacturing costs and improves reliability.
The A600 should really be thought of as a new generation C-64. The vast
majority of A600 owners will buy it as their first computer, or as an
upgrade from a C-64.

>    4: Producing two completely different standards for 'high-end'
>       machines vs. 'low-end'.
>
>    There is no AA chipset in the A600.  There is no 68030 in the A600.
>    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.

        See my previous comments on the A600. Motherboard swapping is not
isolated to the Amiga. It shows that C= is keeping abreast of
manufacturing technology. Would you prefer that C= ignore new advances
in manufacturing technology?

> 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?  No real applications will become available to make
> use of the new chips unless they become standard.  How does Commodore

        The entire Amiga is "non-standard" compared to other systems, but
that hasn't stopped people from developing "real applications" for it.

> figure that making their own machines non-standard in their own product
> line will help them?  The A600 is the machine that will define what types

        Are you naturally stupid or are you just practicing for some
special reason. It doesn't matter what C= does with the custom chips. As
long as they maintain consistent software compatibility, and as long as
programmers make the effort to stick to C='s software routines, the
hardware used becomes largely irrelevent. Lower end machines will miss
out on some features, but if you want every machine to have every
feature you really only have 1 machine, and what do you use for an entry
level system then?

        You also seem to be assuming that the same people developed
both the A4000 and the A600. I believe the A600 was designed in
Germany(?) and the A4000 in the USA.

> of programs will be written for the Amiga line.  Using old, dead processors
> like the original MC68000 along with the ancient 16-bit chipset is not
> going to do anything to advance their state-of-the-art machines.

         High performance, low cost, pick one.

> Why do they find it necessary to take a step backwards for every step they
> take forwards?  And then they think they're moving? Somebody needs to give
> them a clue at marketing and show them how to get off of the treadmill
> (I KNOW you're running faster, but YOU AREN'T GETTING ANYWHERE *SLAP*).

        So now you're a marketing expert as well as a computer hardware
guru ?

>    The number of A3000s sold, and the response to its introduction, proves
> that there is a real market out there for the more powerful machines. C=
> now backs away from the power users a bit and gives us a taste of ancient
> technology in their new machines.  The A3000 was and still is a true
> innovation in power from C=.  The A4000 is an A3000 without the SCSI port,
> (but with a removable processor module), with a 68040 (you don't need an
> A4000 for this), and the AA chipset (you can do a motherboard swap for
> this (?)).  Overall, the A3000 looks like an expandable A4000 to me.
> Gives us all lots of reasons to buy the 4000, doesn't it?

        I hereby award the second "Hillbilly Bob's Correspondence School
of Computer Design and Development, clueless posting of the week" to:

        Cristopher Thomas Winward.

           Bull@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au  OR  bull@monu1.cc.monash.oz
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