Date   : Sun, 22 Jul 2007 17:06:42 +0100
From   : info@... (Sprow)
Subject: modern BBC remake

In article <070722145511@...>,
   Jonathan Graham Harston <jgh@...> wrote:
> >    External tube connector configurable as either an IDE interface or 
> >    Tube
>  
> Why either? They aren't mutually incompatible.

Because for it to fit a normal BBC B/B+ case it must use all the existing
holes. The external Tube connector has 40 pins, so does an IDE port, so it
makes sense to multiplex them. An internal Tube connector like the Master
has still allows for a coprocessor.

Is there an internal Z80 coprocessor or had Acorn given up on the Z80 by
then?

> >  * System/user VIA
> >    Possibly no printer port, replaced by a USB PIC and/or PS/2 keyboard
>  
> People keep suggesting ripping out facilities just for the sole
> purpose of ripping them out. Ok, leave it for the user to decide
> whether they solder on a printer socket, but don't remove that
> choice from them.

Again, the space saved by the not having a printer port could leave space
for other interfaces (without needing to drill the case).

In article <46A36F66.1050108@...>,
   Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk@...> wrote:
> >  * 6845/video ULA/Teletext emulated in programmable logic
> >    New set of registers to allow modes up to 1280x1024x256.
>
> Surely it's going to be slow as mole-asses to actually use for anything 
> productive though? Memory's cheap, but bus bandwidth isn't - aren't we 
> still constrained by a relatively-slow 8 bit CPU for display memory
> accesses on the "interactive" side of the system?

I proposed a 14MHz 6502, plus where compatibility is less important (ie. not
games that poke the video RAM directly) the video RAM doesn't need to share
time with the CPU on the main bus - it can be in a 'shadow' RAM area say 32
bits wide. Indeed, the 6845 replacement could accept VDU sequences directly
rather than relying on the MOS to go poking the screen,
Sprow.