The A1200's trapdoor slot is just like a Zorro 2 isn't it? I can see
that you'd have to get an accelerator and GFX chipset onto one card
but isn't that how the Cyberstorm works?
Doesn't the CyberVision (/3D) plug into the Cyberstorm?
I can see how it would be unfeasable in the trapdoor slot but still,
if you wanted a GFX card for the A1200 at one point you had to tower,
then get a busboard, then an A4000 GFX card. This left the MAJORITY of
home users with AGA only.
No wonder things went pear shaped.
Back in 1996 when the Picasso IV was launched they were putting
extremely small GFX chipsets into games consoles such as the
Playstation and Saturn so why couldn't a decent one have been put into
the A1200! IBM would have been able to miniaturise something I'm sure.
With regards to the power limitations, I'm sure if a PowerPC 603e @
240Mhz, a 68060 @ 50Mhz, 256Mb RAM, fan and Permedia 2 with 8Mb could
fit in there... then VillageTronic could have made a Picasso-2 FOR
THE PEOPLE!
Not for the big-box elite.
You can after all fit a PowerPC + BVision into a desktop A1200. But
that came too expensive, too late.
I think an A1200 loses all it's character in a Power Tower and
suchlike. The whole design concept of an A1200 is what Apple are
trying with the new iMac today (where's the computer!?)
That's very interesting what you say about the Pentium 4... but the
Transmeta Crusoe beats them all hands down on power requirements.
That's why Sony picked it for the Vaio.
Originally the Amiga MMC was going to have a Crusoe and Radeon, it's
in Amiga Format. It looked suspiciously like what the
X-Box/Playstation2 look like today. We missed the boat there!
I'm sure there was something about the Crusoe where it could run it's
own code and emulate x86. Better than PC-Task right? Especially at
today's Crusoe speeds of 1Ghz+...