Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    
    I recently spoke with Ed Lippert, Lord and Master of C Ltd.  I check
    in regularly with their BBS, and saw the 1.3 release notice posted
    by CBM to USENET.
    
    Ed claimed that the new FFS SCSI drivers (version 3.0) would not
    be available until a week or so AFTER 1.3 is shipping.  This is
    because they'd like to make sure that nothing nefarious happened
    between Gamma 9999999.999 and the released version.
    
    I didn't speak with Ed about autoboot ROMS.  In fact, this is the
    first I've heard of it.
    
    Ed.

	This includes information from GVP about their auto-boot ROMS.

!    Recently I called C. Ltd and recieved the following information.
!    
!    Lee Hopp of C. Ltd. stated in our phone conversation that the new C. 
!    Ltd ROM is out now.  Earlier in the week I got an ad in the mail from 
!    Computer Mart advertising the C. Ltd ROM upgrade for Auto Booting.  I 
!    called them last night and they said that the ROM is not available yet, 
!    but C. Ltd is waiting for Commodore to release the WB 1.3.  Who do I 
!    believe?  It would make sense to wait for the operating system to be 
!    released before selling an upgrade for disk controllers.  Digital has 
!    the same problem with the OSI standards.  You can't meet the standards 
!    until they exist. Or they could change on you.
!    
!    So from my phone conversations this is what I understand.
!
	I talked with the person currently working on the auto-boot
	ROMs for the GVP SCSI controller.
    
!    1.  C. Ltd auto boot ROM is available. Per Lee Hopp:
!
	I was told that Commodore has ROMs that require a 1.2 partition
	to boot from. GVP also has ROMs that will do this. BUT Commodore
	and GVP are working on ROMs to boot directly to FFS partitions.
	Both GVP and Commodore will wait till these ROMs are done before
	they will ship ( Nov 1 ).

!
!    2.  The New drivers will be released via their bulletin board in a few
!        weeks.
!    3.  Commodore will release the WB 1.3 and Amiga DOS 1.3 on Oct. 10,
!        1988. Per Lee Hopp:
	I was told the kits are in production. The Oct 10 date matches
	that.

!    4.  The Computer Mart says the C. Ltd. ROMS are not available yet but 
!        they should cost around $25.00.  (Yet their ad says to call for     
!        information).
!
	This is about the same price as the GVP ROMs.

!    5.  If you did get the new version ROM and driver they would work with 
!        WB 1.2 and the old Amiga DOS file system.

	GVP current driver is fully 1.3/1.2 compatible

!    6.  I just called C. Ltd again and another guy (he was technical) said 
!        the prototype has just been finished and the new ROMS should start
!        shipping in three weeks.

	This is about a week ahead of GVP
    
!    So to sum it up even if you did get the new ROM and drivers from C. 
!    Ltd.  You would still be limited to the non auto boot and old file 
!    system until Commodore releases its new software and firmware.
!    
!    Now you are just as confused as I am.

	Now you can be more confused.
    
!    This information is from the sources indicated so take it for the rumor 
!    it could be.
!    
!    
!    Alan
!    
		Steve Peters
    

Since this has turned into the disk controller autoboot ROM note.

A week or two ago I talked to Lee Adams of Pacific Peripherals
(maker of the Overdrive card).

He said that they had just finished updating the software driver
for their board, and were going to begin distributing it.  He took
my name and address over the phone and said he would send me a copy.
I wasn't sure if the update was a minor one that they were only sending
out to people who requested it, or they were going to distribute
it to all of their registered user base.

I asked them about autoboot ROMs.  He said that when they designed
the board they were very conservative and put almost everything in
sockets.  He said that they would be offering the autoboot ROMs as
soon as 1.3 was officially out.  If I understood him, he said to
install the autoboot ROMs, you pull four chips from the board, and
plug a small daughter board into the then empty sockets.  The daughter
board holds the new ROMs.

He said they planed to sell the board "at cost, about $10 to $15,"
but the exact price hadn't been decided yet.

On a related topic:

In the Amiga Developer's Newsletter, Commodore warned that autoboot
devices would cause Kickstart 1.2 to crash during boot up.  Commodore
recommended that manufacturers of autoboot devices include a jumper
that could be used to disable autoboot so the device would not
crash with the 1.2 ROMs.

I've never heard developers mention this "fact".  Since Commodore can
not have changed the 1.2 ROMs in everyone's machines, I wonder what
the situation is?

 A) Developers are just glossing over this fact.

 B) Commodore changed the autoboot protocol so it doesn't freak out
    Kickstart 1.2.

 C) The Commodore employee who wrote the article had been doing some
    of the free drugs that Apple gave the Bandito.

 D) I misunderstood the article (I walk around in a drugged haze
    without the need for illegal substances).

The following is from the C-Ltd Bulletin Board...

                                       October 18, 1988
C-Ltd and 1.3

As you may of heard Commodore is working on a new operating system, called
"1.3".  This system will include several new things that will effect C-Ltd.
 products.

1. Fast File System (FFS) As of this date we still have to yet receive Final
1.3 from Commodore or from area dealers.  We Do know it is available, in some
areas.

2. AUTOBOOT.  AutoBoot is in Research and Development along with our new HIGH
SPEED AUTOBOOT controller.   We have two different versions planned. Autoboot
hardware add-on and our HIGH SPEED AUTOBOOT SCSICARD. This new high speed
controller will be approximately 10 times faster than our current SCSIDOS
2.06, Workbench1.2, hardware/software configuration.

3. SCSIDOS 3.0
C Ltd. Will start shipping SCSIDOS 3.0 October the 26th.  Cost for this NEW
Dos will be FREE via our BBS, with limited Documentation. Or $20.00 if we ship
it to you with the printed manual.  This two disk set will include a  printed
manual and our full line of SCSIDOS tools and Utilities.  To get your copy
ordered, Please call our sales department at (316) 267-3807
Order Item # 3.0 SCSIDOS

C Ltd. believes in Customer support and has added a 24 hour a day support BBS.
  you can call for the "Latest and Greatest" software anytime day or night.

The C Ltd. support phone # is (316) 267-0202   8:00 - 4:30 CST
The C Ltd. BBS support phone # is (316) 267-1222 1200/2400 baud.

Thanks for you interest.