A86: Proposal!!

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A86: Proposal!!


I don't know how many of you are on the assembly 85 list, but they are
getting together on a large project to make 86 users jealous.  They are
trying to create a shell that is strongly based on the expander 2.  Here are
some of their main discussions:

>I have an idea that I've come across while talking to TGaArdvark on AOL.
>Is it not feasible that the SF could act like a hard drive and (this is my
>idea) the WHOLE RAM(or the vast majority of it) of the calculator could act as
>the RAM for a Mini-computer.  Think about it this way:  The flashrom used in
>the chip for the e2 can only be written to a whopping 100,000 times, whereas
>there is no limit practically to how much it can be READ off of. :)  When
>you're playing a commercialized game(mk4, descent, ff7, whatever), how often
>does it write to anything but the RAM?  Practically never, unless it's saving
>games, or you have a scratch disk or virtual memory set up.. .  but anyway.
>SO, if we were to use the 85's RAM as a processor for loads of information
>from the e2 as ROM, then who the heck says we couldn't have EPIC rpg's or
>freaking INCREDIBLE graphics on a fighting game, or, well, I'm sworn to
>secrecy on that. You'll see soon. :)  You all do respond.  Tell me if I'm on
>the dot.

>Perhaps we need a name more optimistic. :)  Perhaps not.  Jeez, this is
>exciting.  I see a problem though... the 512K capacity for the e2 is kind of
>limited in one way... it can't hold programs any bigger than the RAM of the
>calculator... here's why:  how the hell are you gonna get a program larger
>than about 26K on to the e2? hm?  No direct link to the e2.  Weird.  So here's
>another aspect of the project to consider.  We need to make an ASM program
>that takes 25K or so strings that it finds in the e2 that are segments of a
>program and joins them... cause if DH85 is more than 25K how are we gettin it
>to the e2? Weird.  (Am I making sense)?  As soon as we get started with this
>project, if it looks like it will work, I will make a HUGE RPG battler
>(instead of my ti-85 mem only version) that works with the e2.  Sounds cool,
>right?  ALL of the pictures I could ever want, etc. :)

>From DorkReMi:
    ZShell support?  Yes.  and Usgard too.   (what do you mean by  
        Scripted????)
    E2 dynamic access?  Yes.  Like a hard drive but cheaper, and smaller (and 
        less writes:(   but it will require that we write some new driver
stuff.  This will 
        be part of the basis for the OS Kernal.
    Luanch apps from e2?  Yes.  This is the major point of the OS!

>From TGaArdvark:
    Expander Blocked into RAM?     Yes.  This is main disk drive theory.
Load disk 
        block to RAM, modify it/use it/write it back to disk.  This goes
back to the 
        Hard Drive likeness of the E2 ( see above).
>From DorkReMi:
    E2 harddrive and calc's RAM is like mini-computer RAM?   Absolutley!!!
This 
        is, again, the OS's main point.  (!!!!)  With this OS, the 85 will
become an 
        actual classic type computer, instead of just a
microcontroller/calculator.
    No Read Limit.    YES!!  This is good!!  I had HOPED SO!! but wasnt sure
if the 
        access to it was limited to whatever number of writes or reads.
(the hardware 
        guys can be very confusing!)
    You are Definitely ON THE DOT!!!!!


It sounds like a great idea, and I think it would be just as good for the
86.  I don't know any assembly, so I couldn't help anybody with it, but I
hope this inspires some of you to make such a revolutionary program!  Good
Luck!!!!!!

                                                                        -Matt
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