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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:	AMIGA NOTES
Notice:	Join us in the NEW conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:	HYDRA::MOORE

Created:	Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:	Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5378
Total number of notes:	38326

194.0. "Sidecar Update" by TLE::RMEYERS (Randy Meyers) Sat Nov 29 1986 07:03

The Friday after Thanksgiving I was at the Memory Location.  They
had on display a sidecar and a pre-release version of the sidecar
manual.

At least according to the sidecar owner's manual, the sidecar can
take a hard disk, and the hard disk can be partitioned into an MS/DOS
and an Amiga partition.  Instructions in the manual described running
the utilities to do the partitioning.

Furthermore, one meg of Amiga memory can be added in the sidecar.
The manual described the installation.  (While I was there, someone
else asked if Amiga memory could be put in the sidecar.  One of the
Memory Location owners said, "Sure, one meg.  Really, two meg depending
on <mumble>."  I got the idea that if you had a two meg board that fit
into the slot, it was a two meg expansion slot.)  The manual described
how to install the memory board.

The price of the sidecar wasn't set.  The Memory Location guy thought
it was going to be either $695 or $795.  He expected a shipment in
January, but thought he might have two to sale before Christmas.

The folks at the Memory Location thought that they might be able to hold
onto the demo unit for a few more days, but they weren't sure when the
people who loaned it to them might want it back.  If you are dying for
sidecar details, rush down to Memory Location.

The sidecar as an expansion box might be the "bad news" for hardware
developers mentioned in the trip report about the Amiga Developer's
Conference.  At $695, a sidecar and a standard IBM pc 20 meg disk ($600)
would cost about the same as the going rate for a Amiga hard disk.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
194.1	...	JAKE::ACCIARDI		`Sun Nov 30 1986 09:52`	10
	Re: Bad News... I think the bad news for the hardware developers was that the Zorro spec is going to 104 pins, not 100. This means that the umpteen 3 rd party expansion box builders will have to re-design their products. I understand that this was done to be pin-compatible with som IBM standards in the Amiga 2500, which is to have internal slots.
194.2	20 MB for $395	EDEN::P_MACDONALD		`Mon Dec 01 1986 11:44`	2
	Ah, but you can add a 20 MB IBM hard card to the Sidecar for $395!
194.3	MORE SIDECAR INFO!!	58405::GOSLING		`Mon Dec 01 1986 13:17`	73
	As promised Lynx Technical Services up here in Ottawa had a Sidecar running over the past few days (see 164.12). The thing that I find unfortunate is that Commodore has spent very little time with the Salespeople (about an hour) in explaining the features of the unit and this lack of "education" was evident based on the salesman's response to some questions. In addition, in this particular case, the Sidecar manual was missing, leaving them further in the dark! The following is what I saw and heard: . they expect the SIDECAR to retail for $1200 CDN (that equates to approx. $800-850 U.S.). They won't know for sure until they get salable units and an invoice from CBM. . they had a 10meg Hard Card installed and partitioned for both AMIGA and PC. . the salesman wasn't sure (not having the manual obviously didn't help) if there was facilities for AMIGA memory in the AMIGA (damn well better if the last statement in the next item doesn't prove to be true). . it didn't work, or the memory didn't work (not sure of which) when connected with a RAM card in between it and the AMIGA. The party line still seems to be however that this is a short term problem that the expansion RAM manufacturers will be able to get around through some changes!!??? . it did run PC software - he demo'd the PC version of Flight Simulator and LOTUS 1-2-3. I am very familiar with 1-2-3 and played with it for a few minutes and perceived no performance problems or functionality losses. By way of comparison, if you run VIP Professional on a 512K AMIGA, you end up with about 60K of spreadsheet RAM left over once VIP is loaded up. Running 1-2-3 on the SIDECAR, with 256K, you end up with spreadsheet ram of 125K once 1-2-3 is loaded up. I also bet that 1-2-3 makes much better use of that 125K than VIP does with the 60K! . the AMIGA - SIDECAR user interface, ie: icons, menus, etc., appeared well done. Even with a PC application running, you could pull down menues and make some changes on the fly - palette, curser blink rate, window size, and more. The point is, running the SIDECAR application didn't "lock you out" of the AMIGA. . while running the FS he resized the PC window down, letting you see the Workbench window, and started up the AMIGA Clock program. Both were running simultaneously! . still no definite date for receipt of saleable units ("any week now", which is the same line for all AMIGA stuff when you phone the stores here. No wonder places like GO AMIGA do such a good business with Canadian customers - they have it, they get it to you in less than 2 weeks, and even with exchange, duty and taxes [the last 2 you sometimes get away without paying] the cost is significantly less than the sale price in Canada. THERE - I FEEL BETTER GETTING THAT OFF MY CHEST!!). Bottom line, the SIDECAR seemed to do what it was advertized to do. There is some question concerning compatibility with RAM cards and addition of AMIGA memory in the SIDECAR and the price is DEFINITELY WRONG. My statement upon leaving, and the salesman nodded his concurrence, was that unless you have money to burn and/or your life depends on running PC software, this is definitely a product that you will want to allow another 6 months to pass before purchasing. Art
194.4	Prices	TLE::RMEYERS	Randy Meyers	`Mon Dec 01 1986 20:36`	12
	I stand corrected on the price on the cost of a hard card. I only had a fuzzy memory of how much those things cost. I remembered that the cost of disks for a clone machine were ridiculously low compared to every other species of computer. I was guessing that a factor of .5 was reasonable. Didn't know that .25 was more on the mark. The guy at the memory location was not very sure of the price of the sidecar. He said that Commodore has been dropping hints, but has not made any pricing decision yet. The situation isn't that Commodore is keeping the price a secret, but that no one, including Commodore, knows the price yet.
194.5	Different Proces - Like Cars	AUTHOR::MACDONALD	CUP/ML	`Mon Dec 01 1986 22:53`	3
	Actually you can pay $900 for a hard card .. depends on the manufacturer and whether or not it is thin enough to consume only one expansion slot. Most of them cover two slots due to their width.