New Capabilities (Poll)

[Omega-TI]

It's anonymous, so feel free to answer truthfully.

I think many of us would really like this one answered.

 

[+Ksarul]

I had to answer other for just about everything, as the real answer is "it depends." Sometimes you need to stay in spec with original equipment to maintain compatibility. Sometimes, you can spring far beyond the limits of the original system--but even there, as the system expected the DSR to be on the card in the PEB, even springing beyond the limits was well within the future plans for the system (just maybe in a different direction than we are going now. I say this based on all of the prototype (and limited production) cards TI had out there, like FORTI, DSDD Controller, 1200 BAUD Modem, EPROM Burner, IEEE-488, Video Controller, 128K Super RAM, and the 64K Extra RAM. I have most of these. There was also documentation for a Hard Disk Controller that they were working on, but they apparently decided that it was easier to contract that work out to Myarc and just buy SASI Personality Cards from them, so the TI card apparently never made it past the specifications stage.

 

On software, it should be able to use the new capabilities where possible, but it should also be able to work without those new capabilities. Turbo Forth, fB Forth, RXB, and others are great examples of software that does both if you need the extra capability--but they all work fine without it too.

 

As to enjoyment--I really enjoy designing stuff in general, but my main wellspring of pure hobby enjoyment is my collection of TI hardware and software, and all of the fun I can have using it.

[Tursi]

Always in favor of expansion. Just don't have time to support any of it!

[Asmusr]

Software that exploits new hardware is fine, it's just more cool if you can find a way to accomplish the same on the old hardware.

[+jedimatt42]

I've always thought TI's OS design toward hardware was genious. Drivers on the cards, paged in on demand. Or simply memory-mapped as needed. Very expandable. Today still you basically have stream i/o and random access i/o. When I read the specifications for expansion hardware design, I don't see any limitations being imposed.

 

-M@

[atrax27407]

Rasmus,

 

I would like to see your 'Games" series work with a 9938/9958 like the AVPC or EVPC1/2/

[Asmusr]

Rasmus,

 

I would like to see your 'Games" series work with a 9938/9958 like the AVPC or EVPC1/2/

 

The way I read the results of the survey most people would second that .

[RickyDean]

 

The way I read the results of the survey most people would second that .

Or TIM.

[atrax27407]

I know that TITANIUM works fine on the AVPC - not sure about some of the others.

[+mizapf]

I would like to see your 'Games" series work with a 9938/9958 like the AVPC or EVPC1/2/

 

Or Geneve, of course.

[RickyDean]

I believe it would be very hard to remain 100% compatible when you have memory on the TI, being expanded, I am envisioning a GUI of some type, running a disk manager and basic word processing and so forth maybe similar to a older version of Mac OS or Win 1, well you know what I mean. I do not see a way of doing something like this and remaining 100% compatible.

Even a much easier to use Disk manager maybe utilizing a mouse similar to old DOS programs would probably need more memory. I favor doing software to meet the hardware requirements, so that you are not stuck at a certain level, unless you choose to be.

[Omega-TI]

I believe it would be very hard to remain 100% compatible when you have memory on the TI, being expanded...

 

I agree with with your statement.

 

Sometimes it comes down the how big the user base for a specific upgrade is as well. Some programmers may not want to waste months on a program that only a handful of people will be able to use. I believe this to be the case, with the exception of the F18A or course. Most people here on Atari Age have and use the F18A, so any programs written to exploit it's extended capabilities would be well received by the majority.

 

It's been a while since I ran a poll of user upgrades, and since then we've had a some new items released. I'll try to find some time this evening or tomorrow to work up a new poll so we can get a 'snapshot' of what people have, that way potential programmers can get an idea of what the user base looks like. Check message below.

Edited September 23, 2016 by --- Ω ---

[Omega-TI]

Scratch that... I just did a poll about four months ago. << HERE >>

[Keatah]

I believe that any expansion for any classic system can get out of hand. An add-on made today can become so sophisticated and complex that your old system is relegated to nothing more than a terminal.

 

..like sticking an R-Pi into an Apple II. The Apple II has become a host terminal to a whole different computer.

[Omega-TI]

I believe that any expansion for any classic system can get out of hand. An add-on made today can become so sophisticated and complex that your old system is relegated to nothing more than a terminal.

 

 

True, that is one path I will personally never go down. So far the TI community has kept it sane and within reason.

[am1933]

I am largely in favour of new facilities that are compatible with the existing hardware, it's only really in the past few years that we have seen what the native hardware was actually capable of. If hardware developments come along that derive too much from the original spec-would we not be just as well developing a new machine and sticking a TI badge on it?

[Omega-TI]

Yes, that is one reason I've been avoiding one specific topic and expansion method. While it's 'not for me' on a personal level, I know others may think differently.

[Keatah]

Even us Apple users that think differently can see the issues.

[Sinphaltimus]

I would love to be able to develop directly on my ti with the speed, efficiency and capabilities that I can with my pc.

 

In other words, huge amount of ram and fast speed storage with a much faster cpu, keyboard, mouse, internet and display features to develop standard 16 and 32k programs directly on real iron.

 

Basically a modern day TI with full backwards compatibility.

 

Even if it meant a dual boot system between classic and modern OS.

[+mizapf]

I am largely in favour of new facilities that are compatible with the existing hardware, it's only really in the past few years that we have seen what the native hardware was actually capable of. If hardware developments come along that derive too much from the original spec-would we not be just as well developing a new machine and sticking a TI badge on it?

 

This is exactly how I argued some time ago, when I proposed to think about a new name for a massively expanded TI console, e.g. like TI-99/18A, but according to the poll the majority prefers to keep the old name. Maybe we should consider to think about two "leagues", like "classic" and "advanced"; would be better than declaring the new improvements as the "new standard".

[sometimes99er]

I would love to be able to develop directly on my ti with the speed, efficiency and capabilities that I can with my pc.

 

In other words, huge amount of ram and fast speed storage with a much faster cpu, keyboard, mouse, internet and display features to develop standard 16 and 32k programs directly on real iron.

 

Basically a modern day TI with full backwards compatibility.

 

Even if it meant a dual boot system between classic and modern OS.

 

Well, you could prototype TI games in GML or almost any other system (platform and language) including AMOS. Of course you have to restrict yourself accordingly. More so if the target is TI Basic or XB, opposed to Wilhelm's Compiled XB or Assembler. With the latter you could settle for F18A specs. One benefit is that you can easily deploy your TI games to other platforms for much more exposure / bigger audience. Pixel games are relatively hot. My Restless II game is finished and released for Google Chrome / Adobe Flash Player. Getting it done in TI Assembler is something for a rainy day.

 

 

http://sometimes.planet-99.net/pic/restless2.swf

[sometimes99er]

I believe that any expansion for any classic system can get out of hand. An add-on made today can become so sophisticated and complex that your old system is relegated to nothing more than a terminal.

 

..like sticking an R-Pi into an Apple II. The Apple II has become a host terminal to a whole different computer.

 

Like sticking a human inside a droid ...

 

 

 

 

[Sinphaltimus]

When I'm done with my current round of hardware changes, you'll kind if see me living the dream almost. I'm not a "collector" by the traditional sense I guess. I have no issues modding except when I get it wrong. Hopefully in a month or so I'll have my TI, Amiga, Win-98 pc and modern pc all together in one space so I can bounce from one to the other without leaving my chair. They'll all share screens with my main pc. Amiga connected to main pc via serial null modem, ti connected via cassette data cable to main pc audio, both with gotek drives, win 98 pc connected to main pc via Ethernet file share and rdp. Amiga and win98 share zip disks via crossdoss. Then, I'll need to get an hdmi switch box so I can connect an x-box 360 and ps3 to my main monitor. And finally connect an av switch box so the ti and Atari 2600 can share an rca video input.

 

Once I get an F18A, I'll connect the ti to the hdmi switch box as well.

 

One master control station to rule them all. Bwahahahaha!

 

Just because I can envision it and to me it's an exciting challenge.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Sinphaltimus

[sometimes99er]

This is exactly how I argued some time ago, when I proposed to think about a new name for a massively expanded TI console, e.g. like TI-99/18A, but according to the poll the majority prefers to keep the old name. Maybe we should consider to think about two "leagues", like "classic" and "advanced"; would be better than declaring the new improvements as the "new standard".

 

Yes. And you could argue that "emulation" is more standard than both "classic" and "advanced".

[Sinphaltimus]

 

Well, you could prototype TI games in GML or almost any other system (platform and language) including AMOS. Of course you have to restrict yourself accordingly. More so if the target is TI Basic or XB, opposed to Wilhelm's Compiled XB or Assembler. With the latter you could settle for F18A specs.

 

No doubt. I have a secret. I'm prototyping on the TI maybe. that is to say I am going to finish my zombi game on the ti, then use the tidbit source to frame out a pc version via gml. Amiga development is a desire but I want to focus on the TI first. Mainly for E/A learning.

 

I never did computer science. For Shame, I should have.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2016 by Sinphaltimus