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From: sentinel@killer.UUCP (The Sentinel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: GEOS 128
Message-ID: <1352@killer.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Aug-87 05:06:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: killer.1352
Posted: Tue Aug 18 05:06:59 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 20-Aug-87 06:30:25 EDT
References: <3877@garfield.UUCP>
Organization: A Un*x Box in Texas
Lines: 76
In article <3877@garfield.UUCP>, sean1@garfield.UUCP (Sean Huxter) writes:
>
> I just saw GEOS for the Commodore 128 and I was totally impressed!
I just got it a couple of days ago, and I am equally impressed...
>
[some comments deleted to save space]
>
> All of the same applications are there, and the best part of the whole thing is
> that all the old applications/desk accessories can work on GEOS 128 ( without
> modification, I believe.)
More or less. You cannot use them in 80-column mode. If you try to run a
40 column application while in 80 column mode, a dialog box informing you of
that fact will pop up and ask you if you wish to switch modes. If you click
YES, the screen will switch and the program will be loaded. If you click NO,
nothing further will happen. Programs for 80 column mode include code to
check the screen mode and adjust their displays accordingly, and have a flag
set in the information block to inform GEOS 128 of this fact.
There is only one other restriction. Any GEOS 64 program which uses the
C-64's ROM will not work. The reasons for this should be obvious. Most
programs don't use the ROM directly, so this isn't a big problem. The only
things this seems to affect are programs that do floating point math using the
BASIC routines... this includes the Calculator, GeoCalc, and GeoFile.
> I personally can't wait to get mine. If you like GEOS 64 and you own a 128,
> then upgrade immediately, as you get all of the GEOS 64 benefits (40 column
> screen, color changing, mouse pointer changing, etc...) plus the added 80
> column capability which provides an unbelieveably sharp picture!
Well, they HAVE added a few more improvements which will be of benefit
even if you don't use the 80 column screen...
1) Extra memory swap space: instead of writing a swap file to disk every time
you open a desk accessory, GEOS 128 saves it in the other memory bank.
This doubles the speed of opening desk accessories and makes closing
them almost instantaneous. It also means you can open DA's on a write
protected disk.
2) Drive support: GEOS 128 supports the 1571 in double-sided mode, and the
1581. Also, RAMdisks residing in memory expansion modules can be
the size of a 1571 if you wish... a 1750 has room for one RAM 1571 or
two RAM 1541's (which can be used as actual or shadow drives).
With as much as 800k on a drive now, the programmed-in limits on
fonts (8) and desk accessories (16) are beginning to look a little
tight...
3) Speed: need I say more? GEOS 128 in 80 column mode is nice and fast.
I have heard many people complain about GEOS 64 being slow... GEOS
128 should change some of their minds. It actually does 80-column
screen action faster than the corresponding 40-column actions. I
know they have twice as much CPU speed to work with, but I
honestly didn't think the 80-column screen could move that fast.
4) Other minor differences:
o The Desktop uses the 128's other RAM bank as a file copying buffer.
o There are a bunch of new GEOS Kernal routines... 17, by my count.
o GEOS 128 uses the same printer drivers, but needs its own custom
input drivers. Probably because of the MMU register at $ff00.
[NOTE: All of the above information comes from my own personal observations
after owning GEOS 128 for a few days... I have no actual documentation
on it other than the manual it came with, which doesn't mention a lot of
the things I noticed.]
> --
> "And remember, Evil will always prevail because Good is dumb!" - Dark Helmet
> "Smoke 'em if ya got 'em." - Dark Helmet / Elliot Ness / Colonel Hogan
--
Rob Tillotson ...ihnp4!killer!sentinel
3922-1 Newport Ave. -or-
Fort Wayne, IN 46805 ...rutgers!unirot!sentinel
(219) 483-2722 (top one preferred)