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© 1997-2006
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Table of Contents1 Introduction
2 General
3 Hardware
4 Software
5 Companies6 Miscellaneous1 Introduction1.1 What is this FAQ about?These are the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the subject of the new computer called the PIOS ONE from PIOS Computer AG, Germany.To keep people from frequently answering these FAQs, this FAQ has been errected. 1.2 Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?http://www.emsnet.de/~gerpen is the most recent version of this FAQ.1.3 Where can I get further information about the PIOS ONE?There is the "TeamONE" mailing list where topics related to the PIOS ONE are discussed. Just send a message with this body text:add myname@my.domain.here TeamONEto this listserver address: listserv@nostromo.gate.netYou may of course also look at the PIOS webpages (http://www.pios.de/). These contain links to web pages on the PPC, BeOS, etc. Additional sources are listed in chapter 5. The PIOS ONE is also discussed on Usenet, you may find PIOS-related postings in the BeOS [comp.sys.be.*], PowerPC [comp.sys.powerpc.*] and Amiga [(de.)comp.sys.amiga.*] hierachies. If you are really desperate, you can always visit Alta Vista (http://www.altavista.com/) or DejaNews (http://www.dejanews.com/) and search for whatever you like. 2 General2.1 When can I buy a PIOS ONE?No final release date was announced yet. But now it seems to be around September 1997...Dave Haynie in <199704070624.CAA02825@zeus.jersey.net>:
[Note well, this is only about the "null series"] Dr. Peter Kittel wrote in <m0wEGJ6-001jS2C@mail.bs.tpl.net>:
and in <m0wjQcT-0006PxC@mail.bs.tpl.net>:
2.2 Where can I buy a PIOS ONE?At almost all the old Amiga dealers plus all Apple dealers in Germany.2.3 What's the current state of the PIOS ONE?The hardware is being debugged. When this is done, and there are no major bugs in the prototypes, the "null series" will be shipped to some developers (and to all those people who could not wait any longer :-).If the "null series" are still not perfect, some further modifications will be made on the PIOS ONE. And then it will be released to the public. 2.4 What's the difference between the transAM and the Maxxtrem packages?The PIOS ONE will be available in two versions; The transAM and the Maxxtrem.The transAM is intended for Amiga users and will ship with an "Amiga to PIOS ONE"-adaptor; the Siamese System. The Maxxtrem is for the Apple Macintosh market. The two systems differ in these ways: (for a full list of hardware present on both, see 3.6)
2.5 Where may I see pictures of the system?Look at the PIOS homepage (http://www.pios.de/).2.6 But what will it all cost?Dave Haynie said in <199703211801.NAA51736@inca.gate.net>:"The current plan is to offer three basic bundles. For under $1000, you can get a stripped PIOS One with 133MHz MPU, board set and casework only. You fill in the graphics, memory, hard disc, CD-ROM, etc. Of course, it comes with all the software. There will be two 200MHz bundles, as talked about at CeBIT. The transAM system is targeted at Amiga users, the Maxxtrem is targeted at the MacOS market. These will come with memory, graphics card, discs, etc. The target price here is under $1500." 2.7 Isn't there a "bare bones" version?Yes, there is. It will include the mainboard and the MPU board, case, cables and the software (operating systems). It will NOT include graphics card, harddisk, floppy, keyboard, mouse. It will feature a PPC 603e MPU at 133 MHz and 8 MB of RAM.The bare bones variant is meant for dealers, so that they can add the rest of the needed hardware and configure it to the customer's wishes. 2.8 Is it possible to get the TransAM without the Siamese system?No. It seems that PIOS has an agreement with the producer to ship every transAM with the Siamese System. After all it would not make much sense to call the machine "transAM" if it did not include some Amiga-related hardware (i.e. the Siamese System).Dr. Peter Kittel wrote in <m0wD4c1-001jS5C@mail.bs.tpl.net>:
3 Hardware3.1 What's on the microprocessing module?A microprocessing module plugs into the mainboard MPU module slot. The MPU module contains more than just the MPU(s):
3.1.1 What MPU does the PIOS ONE MPU module use?The first versions of the PIOS ONE will feature a PPC 603e from Motorola at either 133 or 200 MHz. After that there will be multiprocessor cards with faster processors from the PPC series.The MPU module of the PIOS ONE allows for other PPCs models like for example the 604 or the yet-to-be-released G3-MPUs. It may even use processors from a completely different chip-family. 3.1.2 When will multiprocessor cards be available?Dave Haynie in <199704140353.XAA20508@zeus.jersey.net>:"As early as "sometime this summer". Cost isn't yet determined, but we do hope to keep these on the "affordable" side as well. Obviously, if you have to pay twice as much for a multiprocessor system, you're not getting a good deal." 3.1.3 Is it possible to upgrade without changing the MPU module?Dave Haynie wrote in <199703231944.OAA09757@zeus.jersey.net>:"There's a fair chance you'll have some basic upgrade capability on the initial uniprocessor board. We had to add a socket for hook up logic analyzers, and Motorola has produced a specification for just such a socket, which can also be used for limited upgrades." and in <33b773aa.438806370@news.jersey.net>:
The PPC604/PPC604e will plug into the initial MPU card. 3.1.4 Is the L2 cache on the PIOS ONE synchronous or asynchronous?Dave Haynie wrote in <199705150505.BAA25316@zeus.jersey.net>:"Pipelined burst synchronous cache. It runs 3:1:1:1 or 4:1:1:1 random cycles, 1:1:1:1 pipelined cycles, at 66MHz (well, at any MHz, though if and when we promote a faster clock speed, faster cache will accompany it)." 3.1.5 Are other companies planing a MPU module for the PIOS ONE?Dave Haynie wrote in <199705162000.QAA25383@zeus.jersey.net>:"None yet. I haven't formally published the CPU module specs, though it's pretty clearly based on PCI if you look at the block diagram on our Web site." 3.2 How's the memory configuration?There are three slots for 64-bit 3.3V DIMMs on the MPU module. This will allow up to 384 MB of memory (by inserting up to three 128 MB modules at maximum).Dave Haynie in <199705122054.QAA21806@zeus.jersey.net>:
3.2.1 Why not more memory slots?Dave Haynie wrote in <199705140544.BAA49360@inca.gate.net>:"The problem with too many DIMM sockets (other than obvious lack of space on a CPU card), is the size and loading of the bus you get that way. We're going 66MHz, and looking forward to running faster. That's not going to happen if you put in eight DIMM modules, there will just be too much delay in line lengths and loading." 3.2.2 Is the PIOS ONE able to use SDRAM?Dave Haynie in <199703231944.OAA09727@zeus.jersey.net>:"The design supports SDRAM (one of two primary reasons for using the DIMM, the other being that's nearly double the board density for 64-bit systems), but Motorola's current revision of the "Grackle" chip (MPC106) does not. It does support EDO and FPM, though. SDRAM support is coming in a future release of the Grackle chip." and in <199704161932.PAA00156@zeus.jersey.net>:
3.2.3 Can I mix different memory module types and sizes?Yes, this will work, with these exceptions and limitations:
3.2.4 What is memory going to cost me?Dave Haynie wrote in <199705122054.QAA21806@zeus.jersey.net>:"Right now, DIMMs are a bit more expensive than SIMMs for the same size, maybe 10%-20% [...], and SDRAM is more expensive than EDO DRAM." and: "The nice thing about Intel's pushing for 3.3V DIMMs, and SDRAM as well, is that, given their dominance in the PClone board market, these parts won't command a premium for long." 3.2.5 How many DIMM modules will the PIOS ONE have?Dave Haynie wrote in <199705150417.AAA22420@zeus.jersey.net>:"I expect we'll just ship with one DIMM; there's no reason for two, and we can get a single DIMM in any memory size we'd like." 3.3 What's CHRP?That is short for "Common Hardware Reference Platform". This standard describes the basic features of a CHRP-compliant system (e.g. PIOS ONE).This allows for the use of CHRP-style operating systems like the CHRP version of MacOS. Because several hard-/software companies support CHRP the user is not as much tied to a specific machine or OS. CHRP is the same as PPCP ("PowerPC Common Hardware Platform") but not the same as PReP ("PowerPC Reference Platform"), which was some early PPC standard, but because Apple - as the biggest PPC manufacturer - did not quite agree with PReP it was replaced by CHRP. CHRP is often pronounced "chirp". 3.4 What's the "null series"?These are the very first models of the PIOS ONE (after PIOS internal prototypes). They are/will only be shipped to those people who subscribed for them, because they needed a PIOS ONE fast (e.g. for development).These machines will already come with the MPC 106 (first the MPC 105 was announced). The "null series" will come in two versions, the "bare bones" and the fully configured variant. These machines will only be available in limited numbers and they are hand-signed by Dave Haynie. For further infos (pricing, configuration etc.) look at http://www.pios.de/uk/PIOSONEAngeb.html 3.5 What is the Siamese System?Dave Haynie in <199704101824.OAA14249@zeus.jersey.net>:"The Siamese system integrates your existing A1200 into the PIOS One system, basically. It lets you use the same keyboard and mouse for both systems, lets the A1200 use the PIOS One's disk space and other I/O capabilities, switches video between the two. The point being, you already have an Amiga, why throw it away? As emulation technology improves, as the native OSs get better support, you may not need your A1200 as much. But it's a reasonable option today to keep your legacy programs around." More information on this subject may be found at the webapges of HiQ, the producer of the Siamese System (http://www.hiq.co.uk/). 3.6 What's on the mainboard?(this part is under construction)
3.6.1 What's that IrDa header?IrDa is an organization (InfraRed Data Association) that specifies infrared wireless communication standards for computers and pheripherals. The header found on the PIOS ONE can be used to drive an IrDa compliant tranceiver and can obtain data speeds up to 4 Mbit/s. See http://www.irda.org/.Also, the controller will allow the much slower data rates used by common infrared remote controllers. You need a hardware add-on, and appropriate driver software to be able to use this header. 3.7 What does the graphic hardware look like?There is no graphics nor video custom hardware on the PIOS ONE mainboard. Graphics hardware can be plugged into a PCI slot. Full versions of the PIOS will come with such a PCI card.For bare bones models, you basically pick the PCI graphic card that best suits your needs, and that is supported by the operating systems you're planning to run. 3.7.1 What graphics card will the PIOS ONE have?It is not yet decided which of the available PCI-cards PIOS will choose. This depends on the graphics card drivers supplied with the operating systems, especially with BeOS.3.7.2 Why don't they build custom graphics chips?Because it is too expensive and the custom chips probably would not be better than those from the graphics chip companies.Dave Haynie in <199704130311.XAA14840@zeus.jersey.net>:
3.8 What case will the PIOS ONE have?As the PIOS ONE motherboard complies with the ATX standard, you will be able to use any ATX case you like. (There's a caveat however, read on).But there is also a special ATX case (four 3,5" and three 5,25" bays) for the PIOS ONE from PIOS with their logo on it. Dr. Peter Kittel said in <m0wHqN2-000lEfC@mail.bs.tpl.net>:
and in <m0wHs8B-000lEXC@mail.bs.tpl.net>:
and in <m0wJK2J-000lEhC@mail.bs.tpl.net>:
Although the PIOS ONE mainboard complies with the ATX standard, the second row of external connectors (MIDI, SCSI-2), which are situated above the PCB-leveled ATX-knockout, do not fit in most other ATX cases. This does not hold you from using another case, but you would have to cheat by using the available knockouts to suite you best in order to get things connected. Dave Haynie on this in <199704171702.NAA07939@zeus.jersey.net>:
Read more about ATX at http://www.teleport.com/~atx. 3.9 What are PIOS' future plans?
Dave Haynie on this in <33b773aa.438806370@news.jersey.net>:
3.10 May the PIOS ONE use those PCI and ISA cards from the PC?Yes, there are both PCI and ISA slots on the motherboard. The question is whether your OS (BeOS, pOS, Linux, MacOS, etc.) has driver-support for the card, because the drivers that come with the hardware are usually for MS-DOS and Windows.3.11 Where to find technical references about PIOS ONE ?For techies, here's a (preliminary) list of links to technical data on the major components, and their manufacturers, used in the PIOS ONE:
4 Software4.1 Will I be able to stay Amiga compatible?There are three ways of some sort of Amiga compatibility:
4.2 Operating systems4.2.1 Available OSs for the PIOS machinesNone so far.4.2.2 OSs being ported to the PIOS machinesThe planned OSs for the PIOS ONE are:
MacOS CHRP is supposed to run out-of-the-box once available and will be shipped with the Maxxtrem. pOS will be shipped with the TransAM package. Differing from earlier statements pOS will not run on top of BeOS but get its own kernel right from the start. 4.2.3 Will I be able to choose the operating system at startup?Yes, on the final CHRP compliant version, you can choose which operating system to boot with. You cannot run multiple OSs concurrently, however.4.3 Software developmentFred Fish is coming with a set of GNU tools, like it existed in the form of the Amiga Developer Environment, for the new OSs and PowerPC. The latest ADE snapshots and the Geek Gadgets CD-ROM volume 2 are supposed to incorporate p.OS development tools.
The Linux port will probably also have GCC. StormC (Haage & Partner) is an C/C++ IDE for p.OS. It will also allow for easy porting of AmigaOS applications to p.OS to PPC. 4.4 But how about real productivity applications?This is always a weak point with new systems, because they usually lack a large software pool.The PIOS ONE has an advantage over other platforms because you can run various operating systems on it. If an application is not (yet) available for an OS, you may find it on some other OS. The PIOS ONE will come with StarOffice 3.1 for Linux. Along with the DR9 of BeOS there will also be some productivity software. Microsoft recently licensed the WinWord file-format to one BeOS developer. If you run MacOS on a PIOS ONE (either you got it with the Maxxtrem or you bought it for the transAM) you will be able to use the MacOS applications that are available for PowerMacs. 5 Companies5.1 PIOS Computer AGPIOS (5.2 Be Inc.Be Inc. (http://www.be.com/)is the company behind the BeOS, a modern and lean operating system. Their website contains a large FAQ on the OS.The latest news on BeOS and the PPC scene in general may be found at Beforever. 5.3 MotorolaMotorola (http://www.mot.com/) is, among other things, one of the developers of the PowerPC MPU series. They plan to release the first G3 MPUs this year. G3 is the next generation of microprocessors after the G2 chips (e.g. PPC603e) which will be used in the first PIOS ONE MPU module.5.4 proDadproDad (http://www.prodad.de/) does graphics/video software and develops the AmigaOS clone pOS, a portable operating system with enhancements over the original AmigaOS.6 Miscellaneous6.1 What are all those abbrevations?
6.2 Things that do not suck [tm]As people got bored waiting for the PIOS ONE computer they spent their time with :
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