New Model Development Updates

[MbeeTech]

Hey All.
The USB mouse is now working with new versions of the Shell, Init, Transfer & Backup.
There was only a minor change needed to each of these to allow for BIOS version 10
rather than just checking for BIOS version 9 (first bios to have mouse support).

   

[shane.crozier]

Hey All.
The USB mouse is now working with new versions of the Shell, Init, Transfer & Backup.
There was only a minor change needed to each of these to allow for BIOS version 10
rather than just checking for BIOS version 9 (first bios to have mouse support).

This is looking great Ewan - is it too early to ask what the pricing might look like?

[MbeeTech]

Hey All.
The USB mouse is now working with new versions of the Shell, Init, Transfer & Backup.
There was only a minor change needed to each of these to allow for BIOS version 10
rather than just checking for BIOS version 9 (first bios to have mouse support).

This is looking great Ewan - is it too early to ask what the pricing might look like?

Thanks Shane.
Yes, too early I'm afraid.
I'll be announcing a release date and pricing after a round of Beta testing has been complete.
Not too far off that now.

[snake]

Is there a list of what is left to do?

[MbeeTech]

Is there a list of what is left to do?

G'day Snake.

Here is the to-do list, in no particular order:

* Implement the stereo sound FIFOs
   Normal Microbee 1 bit sound is done, and the I2S interface and sound out working but the dual 8k FiFos need to be implemented
   for stereo wave output.
* Sound over HDMI output
   This is a programming task to enable audio over the HDMI link.  Currently sound out is available via the internal speaker and line level out.
* Complete the keyboard interface firmware (Bug fixes but also proper handling of NumLock Active state) 
* Bug fixes
   Screen glitching due to the keyboard scanning circuit is in play under some circumstances
   Not booting the Z80 at 20Mhz (but running o.k. at 20Mhz after boot at lower speed and then switching to 20Mhz)
* Metalwork for the keyboard / floppy drive support in the 98 key model
* Packaging
* M68K mode O/S (CP/68K or compatible) porting
* Whatever else turns up through the Beta test round.

Cheers.

[kgilmore]

Is there a list of what is left to do?

G'day Snake.

Here is the to-do list, in no particular order:

* Implement the stereo sound FIFOs
   Normal Microbee 1 bit sound is done, and the I2S interface and sound out working but the dual 8k FiFos need to be implemented
   for stereo wave output.
* Sound over HDMI output
   This is a programming task to enable audio over the HDMI link.  Currently sound out is available via the internal speaker and line level out.
* Complete the keyboard interface firmware (Bug fixes but also proper handling of NumLock Active state) 
* Bug fixes
   Screen glitching the keyboard scanning circuit is in play under some circumstances
   Not booting the Z80 at 20Mhz (but running o.k. at 20Mhz after boot at lower speed and then switching to 20Mhz)
* Metalwork for the keyboard / floppy drive support in the 98 key model
* Packaging
* M68K mode O/S (CP/68K or compatible) porting
* Whatever else turns up through the Beta test round.

Cheers.

Once again, thank you for all your work. I no longer work as an electronic engineer but I can appreciate just how much work has gone into this. 

With the 68K mode, I can’t help feel that effectively what we’re getting is a Gamma for the 21st century. One question. In a future - and much later! - version, would it be technically possible to have a 68010 mode and MMU to allow people to play with virtual memory on this machine?

[MbeeTech]

With the 68K mode, I can’t help feel that effectively what we’re getting is a Gamma for the 21st century.

It's as close to a Gamma as we'll ever produce but with quite a few differences.
No MMU or memory protection in these models, whereas the Gamma had both, although the memory protection was not utilized (tied off in hardware).
Graphics resolution on the Gamma was (at max) 720 x 350 and 4 bit planes and a choice of 16 from 4096 colors.
These models have a max resolution of 640 x 288 with up to 256 colors on screen at once from 4096 colors. Not just one palette though, 16 foreground palettes
of 16 colors each (programmable from the 4096 colors) and another 16 palettes (of 16 colors each) for the background / bit plane graphics.
The Gamma had no hardware graphics 'helpers' whereas these models have horizontal bitwise scrolling support, the ability to write a color across the 4 bit planes
with a single write, masking support, or / and support.  Also a hardware cursor / sprite of up to 64 x 32 pixels and it uses one of the foreground palettes to 
specify 16 colors for the cursor bitmap.
The Gamma had 1Mb ram as standard (at least on the 10 prototypes) with a max of 7Mb - whereas these new models have 32Mb for the 68k processor to utilise.
The new models are fully backwards compatible with the z80 bee range, whereas the Gamma had limited backwards compatibility. 

One question. In a future - and much later! - version, would it be technically possible to have a 68010 mode and MMU to allow people to play with virtual memory on this machine?

It's possible.  The tricky thing with going forward with 68k is availability of suitable parts or having to put a 68k core into the FPGA logic.  There are drawbacks in both those scenarios which make it 
tricky to bring a product to market that should be sold in the 100's or even 1000's.  Nice thought though, and I'll keep it in mind for the future.