TI-H: EII feature list

To: CALC-TI@LISTS.PPP.TI.COM, ti-hardware@lists.ticalc.org, assembly-92@lists.ticalc.org
Subject: TI-H: EII feature list
From: gussie@alaska.net (Grant Stockly)
Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 19:06:22 -0700
Reply-To: ti-hardware@lists.ticalc.org


        I'm happy to announce the EII.  If you would like to reserve a
firmware chip for the EII, please send me an e-mail.  I currently only have
16 to sell.  The chips won't be available immediately, but in a day or two,
so you don't have to get out your money yet.  If you have a TI-92 you
should be very interested in this.  If you have a TI-85, you should wait
for a bug free driver to be released.

The EII memory expander has these features:
-8bit I/O
        The 8bit I/O can be used to interface with many different devices.
There is already devolpement in "ti-hardware" for 8 bit sound capibilities.
Other possibilities being worked on are 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 disk drives,
serial UART, Parallel printer, Character LCD, IDE hard drives, remote
control, the possibilities are endless!
-256, 512, 1, and 2MB capacities
        The EII will interface with 256k, 512k, 1MB, and 2MB chips without
midification to the hardware.  This allows you to have an inexpensive
cartridge ($8) for games, or allows you to have a more expensive ($20) 2MB
cartridge for pictures.
-Removable cartridges
        The EII will support cartridges with all the capacities listed
above.  You can exchange a cartridge with another person just by pulling it
out!  The EII even has protection built in.  If you take a cartridge out
before turning off the EII, it will automatically turn off!
-Status light
        The EII has a LED that operates like the busy light on your modem
or hard drive.  When the EII's memory is being accessed, it will turn on
for the length of the transfer.
-Memory life
        The memory used in the EII is top of the line FLASH.  It takes over
1,000,000 writes to burn a $10 chip out.  People have tried doing this, and
after a few million times, gave up.  1 million is just the minimum!  The
EII will retain the memroy in the cartridges for over 10 years also.
-Compatibility
        The EII is currently compatible with the TI-92, and by the time its
released, a beta version of the TI-85 driver will have been released.
There are problems with ASH and CrASH so a TI-82 driver is impossible.  A
TI-86 driver is on the way also!  The TI-83 will either be supported after
the 86, or in the EIII when its announced in 2 weeks.

If you have questions/comments please send them to gussie@alaska.net.

Thanks,
Grant