NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/comp/sys/ibm/pc/hardware/36708

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From: [e-mail] (GRUBB)
Subject: Mac & IBM Info-Version 1.1.1
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Organization: New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 16:29:31 GMT
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{Send followups to comp.sys.mac.advocacy}
{Sorry about the header but the Pnews here is braindead and does not allow
easy access to the headers.  I gave up on it after one year of trying.}
Mac & IBM Info-Version 1.1.1 {International Posting}

The reason for this general data sheet is that people in both camps are not
clear or accurate about what they are saying about their machines and what
little accurate info is out there is unconsolidated.  When completed, this
data sheet should enable us to make convincing and intelligent comparisons
between Mac and IBM. I plan to send version 1.2 of this and further updates
to Sumex, so that people who miss it on the newsgroups can still read
and comment on it.
To keep this data sheet organized please provide, if possible, article
citations for the information provided or corrected and keep the opinions to a
minimum.  As this is a general data sheet, keep the info provided simple so I
can understand what is being talked about and can explain it to others. Also
keep the information relevant to the section corrected. {For example, OS code
in ROM is hardware and not software, so no more of the 'but it is supported in
OS software' data for the hardware section, please.} Finally just don't say
it's incomplete but give me the info to make it correct and provide clear and
consice corrections. Thank you.

Special thanks to [e-mail] (Chihuahua Charlie),
[e-mail] (Andrew Klossner), [e-mail] (Peter Bell),
[e-mail] (Carl B Jabido), [e-mail] (Faisal Nameer
Jawdat), [e-mail] (Gabriel Sidler),
[e-mail] (Julian Harris), [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail] (Matt Healy),
[e-mail] (Nan Zou), pwagner%us.oracle.com, [e-mail],
[e-mail] (Wolfgang Strobl), [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
(Jay C. Beavers), Lewis [e-mail], [e-mail]
(Bradley Lamont), [e-mail] ("Cerro, Joseph A"),
[e-mail] (Mel Park), [e-mail]
(Jeff Logullo), [e-mail] (Robert Irlbeck), and [e-mail] for
providing some of the information that made this list possible.
 Contents
CPUs
Hardware
 Monitor support
 Expansion
Operating system
Network & Printing

The CPUs
 Note: I am only showing the Motorola & Intel CPUs used in the Mac and
the main IBM machines. This is why, for example, the Motorola 68008 and 68010
are not listed: Apple never used these chips in the Mac. Years only appear
with dead CPUs and indicate first to last year used as a CPU.
Cache note:  both the IBM and the MAC use caches external to the CPUs. These
external caches increace the speed of the CPU; in most of the present Macs the
external caches are built-in while with IBM they are optional {Though machines
are generally sold with them installed.}.  Since these caches range from SCSI
to video to disk, I have desided to leave them out of the list since they are
independent of the CPU and are machine {IIci, IIfx, and IIvx have a 32KB disk
cache, for example} or seller dependent.

IBM     ALU  Registers    External    cache    Features/
CPU                     bus  address           Notes
 8088   16      16       8     20     none    {1981-1989}
 8086   16      16      16     20     none    {198?-1989}
80286   16      16      16     24     none    Protected Mode & segmenting
80386   32      32      32     32     none    MMU & 32-bit Protected Mode
486sx   32      32      32     32    one 8K   80486 - FPU
80486   32      32      32     32    one 8K   80386 & FPU
486dx2  32      32      32     32    one 8K   doubled internal clock rate*
486dx3  being demoed. 20/60 mHz, 25/75 mHz, and 33/99 mHz planned. IBM's chip
Pentium 32      32      64     36?   code &   RISC-like features,
                                     data     superscalar, Write-Back [386]
                                              64 bit FPU path, pipelining,
                                              100+ MIPS performance**
PowerPC: The chip is out and rumor has it that IBM may build its PowerPC 601
in EARLY 1993 and this machine will be four times as fast as a 50 MHz 486dx2
running Windows. (InfoWorld June 8, 15/92, 92; MacWeek 7/13/92)

386sx   386 chip with 32 bit internal architecture, & 16 bit external.
16MB is the maximum addressable limit of the 286 and 386sx chips.
386slc  low power 386  with a chip cashe. Used mainly in laptops.
* ex. in a machine with a 50 Mhz dx2 the chip runs at 50 MHz, the rest of the
machine runs at 25 MHz.
**according to Intel. It is to be out in 1st quarter 1993 (InfoWorld July
27/92; Vaporware 9/92).

MAC     ALU  Registers    External    cache*   Features/
CPU                     bus  address           Notes
68000   16      32      16     24      none    {1984-1993} 4MB limit
68020   32      32      32     32     i; 256   {1987-1992}
68030   32      32      32     32    two 256    MMU
68040LC 32      32      32     32     two 4K    68040 - FPU**
68040   32      32      32     32     two 4K    MMU, FPU, doubled internal
                                                clock rate***
68050    development discontinued in favor of 68060
68060   32      32      32     32     Branch    68040, Superscaler pipelining,
                                      target    cache line bursts, better FPU,
                                                equivalent capabilities &
                                                speeds to Pentium****
PowerPC: Chip is out and rumor is that the 601 machine will be three times as
fast as a Mac Quadra and Apple's PowerPC 601 will be about a year latter than
IBM's.  Rumor is that some NuBus boards containing early samples of the
PowerPC have been given to Apple's "A-list" developers (InfoWorld August 3,
92; Vaporware 9/92; PC Week Dec 7/92, and MacWeek 12/14/92)

*caching includes data{d} and instructions{i}.  The 68030, 68040LC, & 68040
have caches for both.
**a variant of this to be used in the Centris 610 due out on Feb. 15, 1993
(MacWeek 11/02/92).  Unclear as if a 68040LC will be used or Motorola will go
and design a special chip.
***The 040 has 2 clocks, one internal [PCLK] that is 2x the freq of the
external clock [BCLK] which is the one used to rate the chips. Since some
internal calcs are done using the PCLK, the 68040 can be considered a clock
doubler chip even though Motorola does not call it such. (Bradley Lamont;
Motorola 68040 data book)
****according to Motorola. (PC Week Sept 7; 14/92)

CPUs comparison List:
As a general rule of thumb Motorola chips are faster than Intel chips at the
same frequency {040/25 ~= 486/33}, but Intel has chips at higher frequencies
than Motorola, so this evens out.  The Macintosh Bible 4th ed. supports the
comparisons between Intel and Motorola chips for the 68020 and above.

8088/8086 ~ 68000 {16-bit vs 16/24/32-bit chip [data path/address
lines/data & address registers.]  The ALU determines the bit classification of
chips so the 68000 is 16-bit despite the higher bits of the External
Address(24) and the Registers(32). This is more of a 'de facto' compairison
than anything else since the 68020 pairs off better with the 286 [See notes on
286 & 68020 below] and these chips were the lowest of their respective lines
when the Mac came out in 1984. Side note: 8088/8086 was discontinued in 1989
and the 68000 goes out as a CPU in February 1993.}

286        ~ 68020 {286's hardware segmenting vs. 68020's 32-bit ALU and the
fact that both these chips come before their MMU [80386, 68030] successors.
The protected mode of the hardware segmenting is used by OS/2 1.0 though 1.3
and Windows 3.X. The use of the hardware segmenting and its 16-bit nature put
the 286 between the 60000 and 68030 in features.  Side note: 286 is almost
gone as a CPU.}

386       ~ 68030 {The MMUs, protected memory, and 32-bit nature of these
chips puts them roughly together.  AU/X 3.0 is at present the only Mac OS to
use the protected memory feature of the 68030.}

486sx   ~ 68040LC {same as 486 and 68040 but without the FPU; used as
a low cost solution for people who do not need the FPU.}

486     ~ 68040 {two 32-bit microprocessors with built-in FPU, MMU, 8K
internal cache.  The cache is implemented as two 4K caches in the 68040
and one in the 486.  The 68040's double speed internal circuitry may make it
more on par with the 486dx2.  Any conformation?}

Pentium   ~ 68060 {Both are planned to be superscalar but may flounder
against the earlier released PowerPC chip.  Too early to compare these.}

PowerPC   = PowerPC {This is the only CPU to be used by both IBM and
Apple and is planned to run programs from DOS, Windows 3.x, OS/2 and Mac OS on
top of PowerOpen-AU/X 4.0 [UNIX] and later Taligent OS by using emulators or,
if necessary, the OSes themselves in a 'shell'-like SoftPC does for DOS on the
Mac. [Since both the PowerPC and the OS [PowerOpen] for it are a year ahead of
schedule it could give the Pentium and 68060 chips a run for the money.]}

Hardware
Color Support/Display
 Mac: All present Macs except the Classic support the use of 32-bit color in
hardware. This is done in ROM by 32-bit color QuickDraw, which allows programs
to use 32-bit color even if the monitor does not display it; older machines
that supported color {SE/30, II, IIX, and IIcx} had only 8-bit color in ROM
and needed a software patch to use 32-bit color. (MacUser Special 1993: 28-29)
To keep costs down and speed up most Macs have only 8 or 16 bit display
capability built in, but most of those can be expanded to display 24 bit
color.  32-bit color QuickDraw allows an almost transparent capability to
display and edit X-bit images in Y-bit color [Where X and Y are 1, 2, 4, 8, or
32 in any combination] regardless of monitor resolution {63 dpi [12" color] to
94 dpi [PaletteBook]} though QuickDraw is optimized for 72 dpi display;
QuickDraw QX will, hopefully, change this.
This means that even though you can use only 256 or 32,768 of the colors at a
time, all 16,777,216 colors are still available and are simulated at lower
resolutions by dithering. {This is the reason for CLUTS, so the program knows
which set of colors to use with a picture and what 32-bit colors the dithers
really are.}  It also allows, with a hardware video adaptor and no added
software, a Mac with monitor support to use an Autosynchronous Monitor {Range
must include 66.7 hz vertically and 35 hz horizontally and the monitor must be
VGA, MCGA and/or SVGA compatible} as if it was a Mac monitor (MacUser August
1992: 158-176)  So present Macs can view and edit 32-bit color pictures on
some VGA, MCGA and SVGA monitors just as if they were equivalent Mac monitors
though the Macs runs with a Pixel Clock of 30.24.
In addition, QuickDraw allows, in Macs with a NuBus slot, more then one
monitor to be used in any combination, from a mirrored screen to a virtural
screen {Two or more monitors acting as one large monitor}.
Sound output:  Standard in all Macs since the 128K.

IBM:  PC's have no internal hardware [ROM] definition of how the operating
system interacts with the video hardware, and so it is left up to the OS and
video hardware in question (Faisal Nameer Jawdat). In addition, IBM never
bothered to provide a standard hardware mechanism for software to determine
what display mode is actually present (Matt Healy). As a result some modes are
very hard to detect unless the OS is very well written. {With no IBM
equivalent of 32-bit color QuickDraw in hardware, editing 32-bit pictures in
8-bit mode regardless of OS and monitor type may be more difficult than on the
Mac.  Any conformation?}  Later IBM machines will have integrated graphics
accelerators, faster processors, and modular upgradeability and may have built
in sound cards, CD ROM, and Ethernet. (PC Week Dec 14/92)
MDA: Monocrome Display Adapter
 original character-mapped video mode, no graphics, 80x25 text.
CGA: Color Graphics Array
 320x200 4 colors or 640x200 b/w, 16 color palette, bad for the eyes.
EGA:  Enhanced Graphics Array
 640x350 16 colors from 64 color palette [and some lower res]; some versions
 could run at 256 colors, bearable on the eyes.
VGA:  Video Graphics Array
 320x200 at 256 colors, 640x480 at 16 colors, and some others, these two are
 the most commonly used.  All modes have a 256K color palette, from a 18-bit
 CLUT [Color LookUp Table].  Monitors use analog input, incompatible with TTL
 signals from EGA/CGA etc.
MCGA:  Multi-Color Graphics Array
 subset of VGA that provides all the features of MDA & CGA, but lacks some EGA
 and VGA modes, like VGA 640x480x16 (Dictionary of Computer Terms-DCT).
 Common on the initial PS/1 implementation from IBM and some PS/2 Models.
SVGA:  Super VGA
 This is not a standard in the way the others were, but instead was a 'catch
 all' category for a group of video cards.  As such, with each manufacturer
 using their own implementation scheme, SVGA was chaos with people debating
 as to what is SVGA and what is not.  In an effort to make SVGA more of a
 standard VESA was established and is used in the newer units, but things
 are still a mess.  Video is either 512K [~1990] or 1M [today], resolution
 of 800x600 and 1024x768 at 16 and 256 colors are common, newer ones [since
 1990] have the Sierra HiColor RAMDAC, giving 15-bit 32,768 colors at 800x600,
 some of the very newer ones [~6/92] can do 24 bits per pixel [usually
 at 640x480].  Speedwise, too much variation, some very slow [Western Digital
 Paradise based, for example], some very fast [S3 86C911 based, for example],
 some are so-so [like Tseng ET4000, a very popular chipset].  Some limiting
 factors: 8.33 MHz ISA bus, AT architecture where the CPU looks at the card
 through a 64K "window", etc.
Other standards not classified as SVGA:
8514/a:
 IBM's own standard, graphics accelerator with graphics functions like
 linedraw, polygon fill, etc. in hardware.  Uses interlacing.  Some clone
 implementations from ATI are the fastest video available today, though some
 models do not have interlacing.
TMS34010/34020: high end graphics co-processors, usually >$1000, some
 do 24-bit, speeds up vector-oriented graphics like CAD.
XGA:  eXtended graphics array
 newer and faster than 8514/a, only available for MCA bus-based PS/2s, clones
 are coming out soon.  Emulates VGA, EGA, and CGA. (DCT).  Max resolution at
 1024x768x8b, same as 8514/a, also some 16 bpp modes.
XGA-2
 Accelerates graphics functions up to 20 times faster than standard VGA in
 Windows and OS/2, including line draws, bit and pixel-block transfers, area
 fills, masking and X/Y addressing. Has an intelligent way to detect and co-
 exist with other XGA-2 cards, so multiple desktops like on the Mac may not be
 far away.  Since this is an architecture, its resolution and color depth
 isn't fixed {IBM implements only 16-bit [65,536] color, while other
 companies can have 24-bit color though IBM technocal licenses.} Refresh rates
 up to 75 Hz, ensures flicker free, rock solid images to reduce visual
 discomfort, and is VGA compatible. Up to 1280x1024 on OS/2.

Expansion
Mac:  All Macs since the Plus have a SCSI interface and SIMM memory expansion.
Printers, ABD, and modems each have their own interfaces built-in.
Most macs now have built-in monitor and sound input interfaces.
SCSI: used for almost all external devices.
SCSI-2: a faster implementation of SCSI. With the exception of the Quadras 900
and 950 which have parts of the SCSI-2 hardware built-in {including the
controller chip}, the Mac requires a NuBus card to use this.  SCSI-2 is
limited by the speed of NuBus most machines.  In addition, the SCSI Manager in
the OS also needs to totally rewritten to take full advantage of features like
wide and fast SCSI.
PDS: Available in the SE and all present Modular Macs.
NuBus: Supported in all Modular Macs except the LC, LCII, and Performa 400.
The SE/30 could be adapted to use this as well.  Supports everything from CPU
expandsion to Ethernet.
CPU expansion is handled either through the PDS or the NuBus.  Unlike PDS,
some Nubus CPU cards, like the Radius Rocket, allow use of mutiple processors
at the same time.

IBM:  {need more info}
Memory expansion is through parity-checked SIMMs, same as special Mac IIcis or
by memory boards. {Parity SIMMs are more expensive than 'normal' SIMMs and
their importance is at present questionable with error correction in OS and
other parts of the hardware available.  For example, the Mac will not boot if
something is seriously wrong with the SIMMs or hardware and give a sound chord
indicating what the problem is.}
Side Note: to find the number of SIMMS that a full x-bit chip requires to run
at full speed, divide x by 8.  So, 16-bit requires two SIMMS, 32-bit: four,
and 64-bit: eight. One way to get around this is to halve the data path, but
this can half the speed of the machine, so it's a trade off.  {LC II uses a
32-bit chip but a 16 bit data path so only 2 as opposed to 4 SIMMS are
required; the 386sx is the IBM equivalent.}

SCSI
 not too wide spread yet, generally not bundled with systems, except as add-
 on. Can support up to 7 devices per SCSI controller. One problem:  here's no
 exact specifications for the controller so incompatibilities result.

HD Interfaces:
MFM:  Modified Frequency Modulation, RLL:  Run Length Limited
 hard drive only interfaces, and only used in smaller [2 60mb] hard drives.
IDE:  Integrated Drive Electronics
 currently the most common standard, and is used for medium sized drives. Can
 have more than one hard drive.  Hard disk only interface.
ESDI:  Enhanced Small Device Interface
 generally considered better than SCSI in many ways but not common enough for
 practical consideration. Can have more than one hard drive. {Is this also
 limited to hard drives only?}

BUS interfaces {More info please, this is Greek to me.}
ISA
 dominant factor, but it's showing its age.  Uses edge-triggered interrupts,
 can't share them, hence comes the IRQ conflict. Limited busmastering
 capabilities. 8 and 16 bit, most cards aren't bandwidth limited {COM ports,
 LPT ports, game ports, MIDI card, etc.}, though ones like video and disk
 controller are. Most ISA motherboard designs today have memory on a 32
 bit path direct to the processor.
MCA
 IBM's 16 and 32-bit bus; "allows use of more than one CPU in a computer"
 (DCT) and anything can talk to anything, as fast as the two components
 involved can handle it. Never took off because it was incompatible with ISA
 and EISA.
EISA {Closest equivalent to Mac's NuBus}
 Is 32 bit, runs at 8.33 mHz and has the ability to self-configure cards like
 MCA.  Also allows multiple bus masters, sharable interrupt and DMA channels,
 and burst mode throughput 33MB/sec.
VESA Local Bus: VLB {Sometimes mistakenly refereed to as PDS}
 The standard of Local Bus. VLB is limited to three slots but allows bus
 mastering and will coexist with either ISA or EISA. Can run at
 high speeds [CPU clock rate, 25/33 MHz], huge bandwidth [~130 MB/sec], which
 makes it ideal for video and disk I/O.
PCI
 Intel's version of Local Bus that is intended to totally replace ISA/EISA/MCA
 Not going anywhere presently, because it's not completed.

OSes {assumes full installation [print drivers, fonts, Multifinder, etc.]
and multiple application use.}
Mac
512K and 1MB of OS code has been put into ROM with a 2MB version in the works
for Feb 1993.  The idea behind this is three fold.  First, it gives greater
control over the hardware interface, i.e. prevents the development of clones
and therefore allows for greater control over hardware-software standards.
Second, the OS and programs do not have to contain redundant code to support
things like monitors, networks, menus, and printing and are therefore smaller.
Finally, since part of the OS is in hardware it is more difficult for
programers to write their own hardware implementation drivers independent of
Apple's guidelines than it would be if the entire OS was software.
6.0.7: Single program usage base requirements: 1MB and DD floppy, Sudo-
 multitasking base requirements: 2 MB and HD floppy.  Features a GUI, sudo-
 multitasking [MultiFinder], standard program interface, & standard stereo
 sound support [snd]. Network recieving part of AppleShare software is
 bundled with the OS. Has a 8MB RAM barrier and is a 24-bit OS. Some third
 party products allow 14MB of Virtual Memory as long as real RAM is below 8MB.
6.0.8: 6.0.7 with 7.0.0 print drivers.
6.0.8L:  System 6 for new Macs that require System 7.
7.0.X: Base requirements: 2MB, 40MB Hard Drive, and a 68000; to run all
 features well: 4MB, a 80MB Hard Drive, and a 68030.  It has 6.0.7 features,
 program linking within and between computers [AIC], and built-in server
 capablities {Filesharing can be used by older OSes using AppleShare Client
 software and can be accessed by a max of 10 macs; 4-5 is more speed
 practical, AIC requires 7.X}, Virtual Memory in machines with MMU{1.6 times
 real RAM for least noticeable speed degradation on a IIsi}, drag and drop, &
 built-in TrueType support.
 Supports sound input [AIFF and snd formats] for most present machines.  Can
 access up to 1GB of true RAM and 4GB of virtual memory and is both a 24 and
 32-bit OS.  To use real RAM beyond 8MB it must be in 32-bit mode and on older
 machines requires Mode 32 software.
7.1.0: 7.0.1 with WorldScript support, speedier, and less RAM usage than
 7.0.dot.(MacWeek 8/24/92; 9/14/92; PC Week Sept 7/92) {The installer has a
 bug that when upgrading it may keep some old system fonts from the previous
 system inside the system file.  This can eat up any RAM benefits and cause
 other problems.  Apple itself recommends removing all fonts from the system
 file.}
AU/X 3.0 [Unix]: Needs 8MB of RAM {12-20MB suggested}, a 160MB hard drive, and
 something the power of a 68030 or 68040 to run.  Large due to the need for
 translators between UNIX and ROM.  32-bit OS.
PowerOpen [AU/X 4.0]: Rumor is that it is ahead of schedule to the point it
 COULD be out by by early 1993.  Planned to run on 68030, 68040, and PowerPC
 chips(MacWeek 7/13/92).  Intel compatablity uncertain (See Mac 7.0 below).
 32-bit OS.
Note: sound output was supported in OSes 3.2 to 6.0.5 by many formats
including the following:  snd, WAVE, ASND, FSSD, QSSN, SMSD, SOUN, dc2d, and
DCFL.  In 6.0.7 the sound manager was optimized for the sound standards 'snd'
and AIFF which causes some playback problems for the old formats, though most
still play.

IBM
Uses the idea of placing almost everything into the OS software and having it
broken up over many files.  This has the advantage of the commands having
faster implementation by being loaded into RAM.  It also has the advantage of
being able to better optimize the code given a certain piece or collection of
hardware which is harder with a ROM based system.  It also reduces the need
for patches if a major revision of the hardware support is needed.  Side note:
The FTC has brought charges against MicroSoft for forming a OS trust by not
providing all feature documentation for its OSes to developers outside MS and
designing its Windows and DOS apps to fail under OS/2 ("Undocumented Windows")
and "There is deliberate code in [Windows] NT Beta which causes the install to
abort if OS/2 Boot Manager is present" (Gregory Hicks, Info-IBMPC Digest V92
#201)
DOS 5.0: Has a 640K barrier with its own memory manager, a 1 MB barrier
 with third party memory managers.  Each program must provide its own print
 drivers and is 16 bit.
DRDOS 6.0: same as DOS 5.0 with some extras {like built-in data compression}
 and memory management enhancements. Still has 640K/1MB barrier.  A later
 version of this may use a version of the Mac finder and Apple file management
 system. (PC Week and InfoWorld Dec 14/92)
Window 3.1: runs on top of DOS.  Breaks 640K and 1M barriers but still has to
 deal with DOS file structure.  Base requirements 1 MB, floppy and a 286; to
 run well 2MB, Hard Drive, and 386sx. Has a equivalent of Mac's QD called
 Windows GDI [Graphics Device Interface].  Does not have a cosistant interface
 nor a very large program base and still tends to slow the machine down
 (Info-IBMPC Digest V92 #186).
Windows for Workgroups:  intermediary between Win 3.1 and Windows NT.  It is
 basically Windows 3.1 with network support.
Windows NT:  The beta release takes about 50M of disk space [including the
 swap file], and requires 8-12 MB of RAM, which is what the final version is
 expected to require.  Rumor mill is that the final version is not to be
 available before Oct 1993. (InfoWorld May 25/92; July 6/92; Vaporware 07/92;
 08/92.) Also PC Week Sept 28/92 points to a 3rd or 4th quarter 1993
 release date.  Some people see a July 4 release date (InfoWorld Nov 16/92)
OS/2 2.0: Unix like features and unix like requirements; 8 MB of RAM,
 a 60MB hard drive {uses 17-33MB on HD}, and 386 CPU. This 32-bit
 multithreaded, multitasking OS can address up to 4GB of RAM but has to use a
 fast swap file to use more than 16 MB RAM on ISA systems using DMA {Direct
 Memory Access}. IBM plans to use Taligent's OOPS in future versions of this.
 (InfoWorld Oct 26/92)
AIX:  IBM's UNIX system, planned to be a subset of Taligent OS and PowerOpen.
Mac 7.0: {Maybe} Apple has System 7.0 running off Intel Chips and is looking
 at making this version available for IBM. {Another wait & see.  Maybe a
 testing of Apple OS code on a Intel chip for PowerOpen} (ComputerWorld Nov
 2/92) DOS programs will probably require an emulator/interpreter to run, al
 la SoftPC.
PowerOpen(AU/X 4.0): Rumor is that this could be the OS for IBM's PowerPC 601
 due out in early 1993 [Apple's PowerPC 601 is not due out until Jan 1994.]
 {Supports the theory of Apple planning to be both a hardware and software
 company.}

Operating sytems--Number Crunching
Mac
 Arithmetic is done in a consistent numerical environment (SANE or Standard
Apple Numerics Environment). Floating point numbers are 90 bits long when an
FPU is present and 80 bits when not. Exceptions, such as dividing by zero or
taking the square root of a negative number do not cause an abort but are
handled in a logically consistent manner. 1/1.0 produces the internal
representation for infinity (INF).  1/(1/1.0) produces zero. The above
treatment of 1/(1/1.0) occurs in an FPU-equipped machine even when SANE is
bypassed and the FPU programmed directly.

IBM
 Floats are 64-bits long and the way that they are handled is dependent on the
coding of whatever compiler or assembler was used for a program. Exceptions
cause program aborts. 1/1.0 aborts to the DOS prompt at the point where it
occurs as does 1/(1/1.0).

Network [Includes printing]
Mac
Hardware: Built-in network operating system called LocalTalk that can use
variety of media types. Using the built-in LocalTalk port for moderate speeds
(230.4 Kb/s) requires special connectors for each machine ($15 and up).
Ethernet requires a card [PDS or Nubus] in most present machines and the
hardware support for each machine runs about $150-$300.  There is a SCSI
Ethernet interface for macs without a PDS or Nubus slot avalable {though I
suppect that it is slower then the other options}. The Macintosh Quadra family
includes Ethernet interface on motherboard, with transcievers available for
thick, thin, and 10BaseT Ethernet.

Hardware: Connection is though the printer or modem port for AppleTalk which
needs special connectors beyond two machines [$15 and up].  TokenRing has
recently come to the Mac world as a network option.
Software: AppleTalk {the suite of protocols (like talking about "TCP/IP" or
"IPX")} standard with Macintosh operating system.  AppleShare client software
included with operating system as well. System 7 includes peer-to-peer File
Sharing software {Which max out at about 10 machines (See OS section)}.
AppleShare client software can connect to file servers such as Novell Netware,
3Com 3+Open, Banyan Vines, DEC Pathworks, Apple's AppleShare servers, System 7
File Sharing machines, and AFP servers running on variety of UNIX hosts.
Third-party software to connect to NFS servers. MacTCP allows typical TCP/IP
communications (telnet, ftp, NFS, rlogin). DEC Pathworks provides DECnet
support.
Printing requires connection of the printer and the printer being selected in
the chooser.  Changing printers is by selecting a different name in the
chooser.  The same is true of connecting to servers.

IBM
Hardware: AppleTalk [not widely used], Ethernet,  and TokenRing.
Software: Novell Netware, Banyan Vines, DECNet, Windows/Work Groups,
AppleShare {newcomer}.
Each of the MS-DOS networking schemes are, in general, totally incompatible
with the others. Once you have chosen one, you are pretty much locked-in to
that product line from then on.  Windows/Work Groups is a little more
forgiving and removes some of this problem.  Novell Netware is the biggest,
{It controls something like 80 percent of the corporate market.} and in
general is more powerful and offers better control/management/security than
AppleTalk, but it's designed around a mainframe type set-up.  This will change
due to the use of the Mac finder and file management system by Novell. (PC
Week and InfoWorld Dec 14/92)
Printing {Looks like a mess. Need more info}
DOS: If it's a single user, then you plug the printer into the parallel port,
 and don't worry about it. {Tweeking may be needed with poorly written
 software.}  Network Printing is not controlled by the system; it is mostly
 implemented by the actual program, therefore performance varies from one
 software program to the next.
Windows 3.x: supports standard drivers and can do a good job of showing "jobs"
 in the print queue, but it always lists printers as "active"... even if they
 are not.  This becomes a problem if there are several incompatible printers
 on the same net, because there's no way for software to reliably determine
 which printer is active right now.  Windows for Workgroups is more Mac-like
 and intelligent about this.
OS/2: Mac-like; the os deals with the printers, with apps making calls to the
 OS.

Price issue: Apple has dropped prices for dealers 15% to 20%
(MacWeek 8/17/92),  the Preforma line is out, and some IBM monitors can be
used with Macs which cuts some more of the cost. (MacUser Aug 1992:158-176)
IBM is planning cheap machines as well with a 25 MHz 386SLC model with a 60MB
hard drive and color VGA for less than $1,200 is planned (MacWeek 8/17/92).
These changes will in the LONG term change the price issue. Too early to tell
though.

Bibliography notes
'Vaporware' is available in the digest/vapor directory on Sumex [36.44.0.6]
and is by Murphy Sewall, From APPLE PULP H.U.G.E. Apple Club (E. Hartford)
News Letter  $24/year, P.O. Box 18027, East Hartford, CT 06118.
Phone #: "Bit Bucket" [phone] {"These are rumors folks; we reserve
the right to be dead wrong!"}
'Info-IBMPC Digest' back issues are available from wsmr-simtel20.army.mil in
directory PD2:<ARCHIVES.IBMPC>
'Dictionary of Computer Terms 3rd ed.' (ISBM 0-8120-4824-5)

These are the facts as they were known to me on 1/21/93 and may be changed by
new developments, announcements, or corrections.  Corrections to the
information are welcome.
Please email corrections to
CompuServe ID: 72130,3557
AOL: bruceg6069
Internet:  [e-mail]

Final note: In its FINAL form this will be posted to ONLY comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
and comp.sys.mac.advocacy.  Until then, to gather the information I need to
complete this I need to post to as many relevent groups who are likely to have
the info I need. To get this off the other newgroups PLEASE include which
newsgroup you found this in so I can determine when to drop newsgroups from
the posting list.
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware: IBM hardware info I need
comp.sys.intel: Intel info completed; dropped
comp.sys.mac.hardware: info complete enough and what is being provided getting
too technical; dropped
comp.sys.mac.system:  Since PowerOpen will used in PowerPC and parts of the
Mac SYSTEM will be running on the IBM, it is most logically place to get that
info from.

"Eliminate the impossible and what ever remains, no matter how improbable,
is the truth" -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle through Sherlock Holmes in The
Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, Sign of
Four and The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.

"The Computer is your friend"--Parinoia RPG