tim hall wrote: > Last Wednesday 06 October 2004 18:21, Brett W. McCoy was like: > >>>>I used Aztec C Compiler on the Amiga, but otherwise... yeah... >>> >>>Actually I used the SAS compiler before I got a good gcc build, but that >>>isn't as amusing :) >> >>I bet I still have a manual lying around somewhere for the AmigaBASIC >>which was originally implemented by *gasp* Microsoft! > > > I still have a manual for cubase 2.01 ;D > I've often wondered about the old ATARIs, I mean I know editing was a pain, > but they usually played the flipping thing flawlessly without falling over. > How come? as far as I can tell it's the HW design. the old 'home' computers (pretty much everything from 8 bits to amigas) were designed kinda like consoles are today (compare the graphics on console and even pretty good PC setup - console graphics is a lot smoother (watch the animations) - part of it is less data moving around (lower resolution) , part of it is the way the individual components are connected). i.e. the architecture is not that flexible but the pipes are generally exactly the same size the data being pushed (and you know how much data needs to be pushed), everything is handled by separate dedicated chips etc. The OS (or lack of) is also designed for realtime operation (or it is (almost) not there so it doesn't get in the way). erik