| Makes the Amiga 2000 look pretty good, doesn't it? If CBM can get
a 80386 bridge card and a 68020/68881 with an MMU out in less than
a year, they could conceivable put the hurt on Apple with a comparable
system for less than half the price.
Other notes, the Mac ][ does not yet have a blitter chip, and
compatibility is rumored to be quite low, on the order of 25% or
so.
My brother-in-law, who works for Apple, just got back from a week
in Arizona test-driving the new machine. He claimed that the Mac
][ would not be very compatible with older Macs. Besides, think
of all the software that will have to be re-written to use color.
Personally, I don't think the Mac ][ will affect any Amiga sales.
If they want to market it as a workstation, fine. I think it is
a bit pricey to be considered a PC.
Read the Macintosh notes file for a hands on description of the
new machine from some Usenetters.
|
| Well, I just watched a thorough demo of the new Mac ][ on 'The Computer
Show', and damn if it isn't a very impressive machine. The unit
they were using on the show had a 13" color monitor. The video
output was 640 x 480, but it looked like it was an interlaced display.
I say this because they had a Mac SE set up next to it, ant the
mono display was rock solid, but the color display on the Mac ][
was flickering like crazy, as an interlaced display will when filmed
out of sync with a video camera.
Anyway, they had a very beautiful 'Glass' type ray-tracing which
really out Amiga'd the Amiga. At least it looked good on my TV
set. They also had a animated world globe spinning, but I'd say
that the animation was not as smooth as 'Boing' or Juggler. There
was some definate choppiness.
They also were playing some stirring music, and although I'd read
that the Mac ][ used a four voice chip, it sounded more like the
][GS/Ensonique chip.
The killer was the price... $10,000.00 American for the unit that
they were demo'ing. Kinda hard to justify that kind of money for
a desktop PC.
The Amiga still looks pretty damn good for a lousy $1500.00 computer.
And if Apple wants to play technology tag, just wait until the Amiga
3000 comes out. (Don't hold your breath waiting, though).
|