Note: This article was excerpted from : "Software Power! The
Summer Consumer Electronics Show".
COMPUTE!, August 1984, p. 32
Posslbly The Most Advanced Personal Computer Ever
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Some of the most fascinating computers at this CES were under wraps,
available for inspection only to a privileged few. For exarriple, the new
high-end Atari computer was shown only to software developers, and most
of the Japanese MSX standard home computers due in the U.S. next year were
seen only at a private party thrown by Microsoft. Likewise, what might
be the most advanced personal computer ever designed was shown behind closed
doors inside the Amiga exhibit.
The computer is code-named the Amiga Lorraine, and right now it exists
only in prototype form. But if it ever reaches production, and at a price
even close to what is promised, it could signal the beginning of a completely
new generation of personal computers.
The Lorraine's graphics are a whole step ahead of any personal computer
now on the market. This computer is potentially powerful enough to make
an IBM-PC look like a four-function calculator. Judge for yourself.Standard
features include:
A Motorola 68000 microprocessor chip for the central processing unit.
This is the same 16/32-bit chip found in the Apple Macintosh.
128K of RAM, expandable to 512K internally and several megabytes (lOOOK)
externally. 64K of ROM, with built-in BASIC and speech software, including
a text-to-speech pro gram. We heard the Lorraine talk in its male and female
voices, and both were quite understandable. The BASIC language is said
to be very fast and compatible with Applesoft, though with extra commands
for graphics and other capabilities.
Built-in 320K double-sided disk drive; IBM compatible. A second external
drive can be powered by the internal power supp!y.
Built-in 300-bps (bits per second) modem, replaceable with a 1200-bps
modem.
Parallel and serial interface ports, a top "chimney port" for individually
powered expansion modules, including more RAM and a hard disk drive; and
a front cartridge slot for ROM software or coprocessors, such as an 8088
module for IBM/MS-DOS compatibility.
Four sound channels, with music capabilities comparable to the Commodore
64's SID chip. We heard this demonstrated with a plug-in organ keyboard;
the sound was very impressive. (One sound channel is used by the speech
software.)
Medium-resolution graphics of 320 X 200 pixels (screen dots), and hi-res
graphics of 640 X 200 pixels, with a total-of 4096 colors. (That's not
a typo. We saw a dramatic rainbow demo which supposedly displayed all 4096
colors on the screen simultaneously, though we didn't have time to count
them.)
Eight sprites (up to 16 colors each) with collision detection and display
priorities. Plus another feature called "frame-buffer animation," which
lets you pick up any piece of the screen and move it anywhere else. Plus
built-in commands for line-drawing, fills, and both horizontal and vertical
fine scrolling. Plus split-screen graphics, with each screen "window" capable
of displaying different graphics modes while operating independently, even
with fine scrolling.
Outputs for TV, composite video, and two types of RGB (red-green-blue)
direct-drive monitors. The TV output shown to us was so pure that 80-column
text (also standard) was almost readable from across the room.
On top of all this, Amiga claims the Lorraine will come bundled with
software, including a disk operating system, word processor, and spreadsheet.
So how much will this wonderbox cost? According to Amiga, only $1500.
Amiga also claims the Lorraine will be ready for shipment by Christmas.
However, there's a big difference between design engineering and production
engineering, The Lorraine at the June CES was such a rough prototype that
it was operated from a remoye terminal. To gear up for production in less
than six months will take a herculean effort, and lots of capital.
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