On Mon, 31 Dec 2001, Peter Graf wrote:
> Of course there are some things that could be improved, if there
> was a market. But I don't see a real big gap in the hardware, which,
> if closed, would turn it into a "modern day super-QL".
>
> If you see it, let me know ;-)
My comments are more a reflection on the lack of explanation given on the
site ;)
I see a single card with a single interface, 2 SIMM slots and two ISA
slots. I worked on the assumption that if I paid the... well, there was no
price I could find on the web site... if I paid the mystery amount, I
would get that board, and have to provide for my own interfaces. That's
just the first impression the site gave. The board does have a very nice
spec though... :o)
> What do you mean by "ambiguous"?
There are four lattice FPGAs? What do they do? I'm assuming you are very
familiar with the hardware.
> Yep. MF II Keyboard-IF, sampled sound IF, and directly QL hardware-
> compatible graphic chipset are onboard. I didn't use PC stuff
> for the graphics and that proved to be a wise decision :-)
I'm guessing these are at those pins on the top left, but as they aren't
labelled... ;) However, I can fully understand your design decisions -
they make good sense...
> The reason why we don't emphasize the slots are the current lack
> of QL software drivers for anything but IDE, FLP, SER, PAR.
The only thing I can see missing from that list that I consider important
is ethernet.
Thanks for the info, and for correcting some of my misunderstandings.
What's the likelihood of the site being updated a little to include more
information?
Also, is there room for an open hardware development site, so we could try
to co-operatively develop a board with basic features like IDE and
ethernet on the board, and possibly a defined expansion connector with all
the necessary address/data lines? This would then find a market not just
to QL enthusiasts but also to the SBC marketplace... I would quite like to
be involved with something like that :o)
Dave
