Re: [ql-users] Wherefor art thou, GoldFire?
Peter Graf wrote: Nasta wrote: Snip In the QL scene we have got (in our own style) what the Atari has not. Maybe we have the fastest 68K computer there ever was. It is reality and it works. And now? Are we proud? Is there a lot of interest? A lot of noise? Not yet. I get some positive response, but I also hear voices like: "Maybe the Q60 is magnitudes faster under SMSQ than anything else. I might be interested, but Q60 will be too expensive, I could get a very modern Windows PC for the same money." Hard times for QL hard-ware these days. Peter We hear you We sympathise We are very grateful We buy what we can We can't buy the stuff for the rest though. All the best - Bill
Re: [ql-users] Wherefor art thou, GoldFire?
Bill wrote: Hard times for QL hard-ware these days. We hear you We sympathise We are very grateful We buy what we can We can't buy the stuff for the rest though. Thank you very much, Bill! Folks like you are the ones who keep things moving. I shall not forget your encouragement. Peter
Re: [ql-users] Wherefor art thou, GoldFire?
On 2/11/2001 at 1:49 PM Peter Graf wrote: On the Q40 I minimized the availability problems by restricting myself to components especially chosen for that reason. But I had a price to pay: The chips are not cheap (because I use 4 of them) and so small that it was endless work to squeeze the logic into them. And I had almost no flexibility for changes left. (For example Lattice has an example design for a Video controller, but they use two big chips were I need only one small chip.) GoldFire requires the logic to be in one or at most two chips, for one main reason: restricted space. Also, there are several wide busses that actually take a lot of space as tracks on the printed circuit, as well as pins on the various chips. However, if they are all routed within one larger chip, they don't take any extra space as such. It's just a matter of lateral thinking. It takes a bit of time to figure out all costs but I actually did that. That you live in Eastern Europe makes hardware development more difficult. But even here in Germany I would have problems to get some of your chips, for example the MCF5102PV40. I currently live in the US, actually. It's not a problem generally getting any part - as long as you want 50-100 of them! That would not be such a great problem if it didn't imply a lump sum of several thousand $, which even if I did have to spend, would be spent on matter of a higher priority. I went through the loop between the manufacturer telling me to get samples from their distributors, who don't have any and don't keep a stock, who want you to go back to the manufacturer or wait until someone else buys some and has left-overs so many times I'm abut ready to be sick when I even think about it any more. Problem 2: There is simply no way I can do the work on the initialization software and QDOS/SMSQ modifications involved in getting the GoldFire to work. From my own experience I am sorry to have to say: There is probably no other way but to write the initialization and some simple driver software on your own. Well, then, prepare to wait for a couple more years, provided I don't give up before that. This is NOT easy. Unfortunately, this also means that the design itself is really obsolete when it's finished. The MCF 5102 has already been superceeded by two newer CPUs and we can't use it because it's such a problem writing and modifying the necessary software - in fact, it's unlikely that most of the features I've lost a whole lot of time thinking out and designing will ever be used. I can only underline this. Many users think: If a hardware feature is integrated, it will take time, but eventually there will be software for it. It isn't true. Several possibilities of the Q40 will remain unused under SMSQ. Well, i supose it wouldn't be too hard to take out several parts of the GF design such as second/ipgrade CPU support, and just design a simple interface to SDRAM. This means that for a newer ColdFire CPU about half of the logic would have to be redesigned, as well as, of course, the PCB. The PCB is modulairly designed - everything else would still be the same, so that would cut the developement time of a potential successor considerably. I'm willing to take votes on this. With a complex sound chip we probably still would have no SMSQ/QDOS sampled sound support at all. Well, the complex sound chip is not really TAHT complex, fortunately. But in any case, if no new features are added with every, increasingly rare new product, then we might just stop bothering doing anything at all. Yet, on the other hand, people complain about not having the features on the QL they have on the PC. And not only this. Many expect PC prices for QL hardware. No joke. Seconded. But this is, quite frankly, impossible. Hard times for QL hard-ware these days. Well, it's really been that way for years now. Nasta
[ql-users] Wherefor art thou, GoldFire?
With the recent, and not so recent discussions on hardware vs emulators, I decided to update everyone on the status of GoldFire. Especially since my name was pointedly called :-) and I've gotten a few personal mails about it too. Well, folks (yeah, right, now I'm converting into a redneck) the news is that there's really not that much news. Problem 1: Time is short, and money is even shorter (make that VERY short). In fact, I am selling some of my stuff to be able to afford the parts I still need for GoldFire. At this point, I feel I need to get one thing clear - I will not accept any money donations (and I'm saying this because there have been offers). What I will accept is hep at getting some parts, or even the parts themselves. I am still looking for a few samples of the 91C94 or 96, a 144-pin SDRAM SODIMM, M4A3-256/128 CPLDs, and MCF5102PV40 (I only have the 33MHz version), or help at getting them. Also, let me give a small contribution to the developing hardware vs developing software debate: people who have never tried jumping through hoops while bending backwards in order to get the parts they need, at reasonable quantity and reasonable price, will only understand the nerve-wrecking nature of that persuit, when they try it themselves. Problem 2: There is simply no way I can do the work on the initialization software and QDOS/SMSQ modifications involved in getting the GoldFire to work. You see, even when hardware is developed, notning happens if software dose not folow, ar even gets developed side by side, with the hardware. Most of the time spent in designing GoldFire is spent in developing and simulating the programming of the logic chip(s), and even when the simulations run through perfectly, there is no warranty it will work for real. If I have to do the initialization software and the other mods, I might as well forget about the whole project. I would gretly apreciate any help with this. Problem 3: As you can see, it takes years to get something like the GoldFire done because of the above two problems. This of course makes everything much worse - things are not standing still, and everyone has some input on what else should be integrated into a new hardware product. I have gone to great pains to make the design as flexible as possible, to introduce new features (otherwise what would be the point?), but still as compatible with old hardware - all while trying to keep the cost at basically the cost of the parts. This is NOT easy. Unfortunately, this also means that the design itself is really obsolete when it's finished. The MCF 5102 has already been superceeded by two newer CPUs and we can't use it because it's such a problem writing and modifying the necessary software - in fact, it's unlikely that most of the features I've lost a whole lot of time thinking out and designing will ever be used. Yet, on the other hand, people complain about not having the features on the QL they have on the PC. This attitude makes things even more complicated for the developers, as if they were not complicated enough. Contrary to what you may think, no I will not go into the 'why do we need filenames longer than 36 characters' discussion, at this point. But I will be blunt: you can't hold it in and fart at the same time, please excuse my language. Nasta
