Date   : Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:22:30 -0500
From   : julesrichardsonuk@... (Jules Richardson)
Subject: modern BBC remake

Sprow wrote:
>    Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk@...> wrote:
>> I have a feeling that Sprow's MiniB is tied to using the LCD, and has no 
>> 'full' expansion support (just the 1MHz bus), so it can't be expanded with 
>> additional hardware to make it look like a full BBC.
> 
> True, but that's by design rather than because it can't be done.

Sure... but I meant that I don't think the functionality is quite there in 
MiniB because (correct me if I'm wrong) it lacks a full 6502-esque expansion 
bus, so people can't go randomly adding extra beeb functionality to it which 
would appear to be 100% compatible at the OS / application level.

In other words, it's not possible to shortcut the process by taking a MiniB, 
rustling up some FDC / Econet / whatever hardware for it, dropping in a stock 
ADFS ROM, and ending up with an instant 100%-compatible "modern" BBC micro. To 
do that needs new hardware designed from the ground up.

> I wrote a simple windowing interface once ("SOS" - Sprow's OS)

SOS? Apple beat you to it ;)

 > and it ran
> soooo slowly as to not be useful. In hindsight some bus bandwidth
> calculations could probably have told me that and saved me some time.

Although I suppose people managed it when using a second processor for the 
grunt work and the beeb as a display (e.g. GEM on the M512). I wonder what 
would be possible with a lowly 6502 copro...