New eFlasher available

[platon42]

Sorry, I can't resist some trolling...

> The eFlasher program features:
> · supports the BoingBag-1 and BoingBag-2 AmigaOS ROM Updates,

Algor/Romulus supports this since nearly one  year  --  also  updating  the
exec.library,  which  is  a  bit tricky! Can anyone confirm eFlash supports
this?

> · works with any resident modules,

Same for Algor/Romulus. Isn't that what it's supposed to do? No support for
BlizKick modules, eh? Pity.

> · supports multiple modules in one file,

Same for Algor/Romulus...

> The computer could be booted from mass storage devices connected through
> various PCI controllers, e.g. Spider Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cards and
> Ultra-ATA/133 PCI controllers, when drivers are available.

"When drivers are available"? So this doesn't work yet?  Booting  from  USB
works for Algor since a year now.

> Thanks to the extremely fast design and the linear memory addressing,

Uuuuuuh

> the
> eFlash 4000 card can be also used as a very fast non-volatile memory for
> storing the data, whose reading is time critical. FlashROM memory installed
> on the eFlash 4000 card allows also direct execution of programs stored in
> this memory without the necessity of copying programs code to the system
> Fast memory.

Nice idea, but a waste of valuable flash rom memory  and...  is  there  any
software provided to actually *use* this feature?

> eFlashConfig is an easy to use script to enable managing contents of
> memory in FlashROM of the eFlash 4000.

Sounds not very user friendly to me. Compare this to a  fully  fledged  MUI
driver  flashing  utility  as  provided  with Algor/Romulus. And a long and
complete manual.

> The access time to the FlashROM memory of the eFlash 4000 Zorro III card
> is over ten times faster than the access time to FlashROM of the Flash
> Zorro II cards.

Oh right. Give some proof, will ya? Algor reads the flash  memory  at  full
Zorro  II  speed,  which is 2.8 MB/sec. Zorro III does >30MB/sec in non-DMA
mode? And the flashrom also attains that speed?

Anyway, reading 512KB out of the flashrom once at boot  up  is  not  really
that  time  critical  (<0.2secs).  I've been told the eFlash always reboots
once after powering up to install the rom contents? Well,  the  Algor  only
has  to if exec.library is going to be replaced. Hence, lost your Zorro III
speed gain again ;-P

> It is not only because Zorro III protocol is much faster
> than offered by Zorro II. It is also because the FlashROM of the eFlash
> 4000 card is directly readable in one megabyte of linear memory space with
> the 32-bit datapatch, while in Flash Zorro II cards the FlashROM is
> readable through sixteen kilobytes memory window with the 8-bit datapatch.

I wonder -- where did Elbox get this information from? The  Algor  has  the
full  16  bit  ZorroII  datapath and reads the flashrom in 32-bit accesses,
attaining maximum copyspeed. And if using a memory window would be so  much
slower, how come the Mediator uses it for its PCI boards constantly?

Again, is Elbox selling products for more than they're worth? I'd  like  to
see  an  independent review in a magazine first. User comments haven't been
positive so far.

[platon42]

@Rassilon:
Why should Elbox get away with their fairy tales and other product bashing? They've been playing their game of deception long enough. This is just a warning to people not to believe all the {bleep} they're posting in their "press releases". If you they want competition, they should do it in a fair way and not by claiming things, giving wrong and unproven numbers or using puppets like Rat.

[platon42]

@rat:
> Elbox customers may count on new updates and new products.

Yeah, they're counting... like the number of months that have passed after announcing products like the SharkPPC, which will never see the light of day with working software, or the eFlash1200, which was announced in Aug2003. Or the MPEG decoder TV drivers, announced last year. Or any functional (!) (that means, not mere bugfixing) driver update within the last six months. Or are they counting the number of lockups of the 100mbit drivers, or the lockups that occur with Warp3D?

>Bad news for you: eFlash 4000 SUPPORTS updating exec.library during booting.

Any proof for this? You don't have any credibility here. Any user that can confirm this? E.g. by turning on the machine, booting without startup-sequence and entering "version exec.library"

> Only 2.8MB/s with Algor?

Yeah, bloke, that's the max the bus supports.

> Well-designed Zorro II cards (e.g. Picasso IV) can easily reach transfers much over 3MB/s.

Du träumst auch von den nackten Weißwürschten in der Nacht, heh?

> Not to mention Zorro II cards supporting Fast Zorro II transfers in ZIV boards.

Zorro "IV" is not Zorro, but a hack.

> Which processor card for A3/4000 supports transfers over 30 MB/s from Zorro III slots in non-DMA mode?

Well, didn't Elbox say that their card does over ten times the bandwidth than other zorro II flashrom solutions? As this includes the Algor, and the Algor does 2.8MB/sec, Elbox claim to have about 30MB/sec transfer rate.

> Who is talking here about Zorro II controllers of the outdated USB 1.1 standard?

Elbox is talking about "flash solutions" and "flash zorro II cards". This of course also includes the Algor card (or the highway with romulus extension), which offers so much more for the price, than just simply blocking a valuable zorro slot with a mere flashrom functionality. And for $66,00 that BR has paid for his eFlash4000, you nearly get the complete Algor board with the nice and working USB1.1 controller and actually even more FlashRom space (due to the optional compression). And the software works quite well and is user friendly, compared to some other Zorro III flashrom product (hey rassilon, I managed not to mention the product name!).

> Who gave you right to say about the value of someone else's work?

Who gave that right to YOU? You were the one that started all that constantly non-Elbox product bashing! You don't have a CLUE about the time and effort that was involved in those products and how much they are worth, but instead, you use every single chance to bad-mouth them. So I'm just shooting back.

> You can read in news lists that a definite majority of comments from users of Elbox products is very positive.

Give me just ONE positive statement from a user with a working eFlash4000 card.

> I also have only positive impressions from using Elbox products, which I have many.

Blimey! How come I am not surprised!

[platon42]

@Rassilon:

> The difference between Elbox's post and your own, is that you named competing products and they didn't.

No -- they prefer bashing products without naming them (but as there are not too many other products out there, it is evident which products are meant). Which is legally safer, but morally equivalent.

> They may well post adverts that you don't agree with, dispute, or believe to be a downright lie

Some just *are* plain false information. Like:

> FlashROM memory installed on the eFlash 4000 card allows also direct execution of programs stored in this memory without the necessity of copying programs code to the system Fast memory.

This is plain wrong -- because 99,999% of the programs on the Amiga are *not* PC relative binaries and need to be relocated. And this needs to be done in the target memory (and don't come and tell me -- hey, this can be done, /before/ flashing the data into the FlashRom, because this gets really messy with chipram and BSS hunk).

Another example? They claiming that booting off USB mass storage devices works. Poseidon cannot be flashed into the eFlash. I won't tell why (and no, this is no provision added on purpose to make it NOT work for the eFlash).

> I had a look at the press releases for the Algor/Subway/highway etc. I didn't see anyone from Elbox jumping in and bashing your post!

Elbox never do this dirty work themselves. They have Rat aka Tjaoz for this purpose. As a recent example, see the thread about redrumloa buying the Prometheus stock on amiga.org and ann.lu (also ann.lu contains various comments threads with Rat bashing other products without agitation).

> Just calm down, and do what you do best - i.e.continue writing a bloody good USB stack!!!

I think we agree in this point! All this {bleep}ing does not yield anything positive -- Moreover, Elbox will be gone at the end of April anyway, so these things are not too important

[platon42]

@a rat aka tjaoz:
> They made it clear many times that there will be no Shark before OS is released.

Because the Shark is never going to work? In which dream world are you living that Hyperion is going to port OS4 to a card that has a ZERO user base and that will not support mainboard access, thus is as valuable as a PC running a Sonnet card? And sorry, IMHO no one at Elbox is capable of writing complex software.

> You are running so fast that you have not noticed that you comment on a news informing about new software from Elbox.

About features that should have been there right from the beginning and 90% advertising and other products bashing.

> I have a 100Mbps card and I have not had any lockup for over a year. You must change your anty-Elbox FUDs' issues. That one is very outdated.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amiga-Mediator/messagesearch?query=lockup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amiga-Mediator/messagesearch?query=100mb

Nice try, Rat :-P

> Elbox paid for preparing Warp 3D for Mediators, but Warp 3D was prepared by Hyperion and not by Elbox. So if you want to spread gossips about bugs in this software, you should rather find a different thread.

Strange that these bugs only occur on the Mediator, huh?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amiga-Mediator/messagesearch?query=warp

> > Elbox is talking about "flash solutions"

> Can you indicate the place in the announcement where this is used?

Sure, if you have problems with reading, just look at the last line. I'll quote it again for you:

> "If your Amiga is equipped with Zorro III bus, the eFlash 4000 card is the best FLASH solution for you!"

You seem to have the strange habit of talking elbollocks. Moreover, I'm really disappointed about your efforts -- you were better in the past. Getting a bit old, huh?