Amiga-FAQ




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                   Amiga Frequently Asked Questions List
                         created by David Tiberio

                              March 27th 1993


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+




      V. Amiga Models and Statistics



        A. Screenmodes

            Maximum Size            16368 x 16368
            Monitor Types           RGB, VGA, SVGA, Multiscan, Composite
            Display Formats         NTSC, PAL
            Horizontal Scan Rates   15kHz - 31kHz
            Vertical Scan Rates     50Hz - 72Hz

            EURO:36Hz Low Res
            EURO:36Hz Low Res Laced
            EURO:36Hz High Res              640x200     73Hz, 15.69kHz ECS
            EURO:36Hz High Res Laced        640x400     73Hz, 15.69kHz ECS
            EURO:36Hz Super-High Res       1280x200     73Hz, 15.69kHz ECS
            EURO:36Hz Super-High Res Laced 1280x400     73Hz, 15.69kHz ECS
            EURO:72Hz Productivity          640x400     70Hz, 31.43kHz ECS
            EURO:72Hz Productivity Laced    640x800     70Hz, 31.43kHz ECS
            MULTISCAN:Extra-Low Res
            MULTISCAN:Extra-Low Res Laced
            MULTISCAN:Low Res
            MULTISCAN:Low Res Laced
            MULTISCAN:Productivity          640x480     60Hz, 31.44kHz ECS
            MULTISCAN:Productivity Laced    640x960     60Hz, 31.44kHz ECS
            NTSC:Low Res                    320x200     60Hz
            NTSC:Low Res Laced              320x400     60Hz
            NTSC:Low Res
            NTSC:Low Res Laced
            NTSC:High Res                   640x200     60Hz, 15.72kHz
            NTSC:High Res Laced             640x400     60Hz, 15.72kHz
            NTSC:High Res                   702x234     60Hz, 15.72kHz
            NTSC:High Res Laced             702x468     60Hz, 15.72kHz
            NTSC:Super-High Res            1280x200     60Hz, 15.72kHz ECS
            NTSC:Super-High Res Laced      1280x400     60Hz, 15.72kHz ECS
            NTSC:Super-High Res            1404x234     60Hz, 15.72kHz ECS
            NTSC:Super-High Res Laced      1404x468     60Hz, 15.72kHz ECS
            PAL:Low Res
            PAL:Low Res Laced
            PAL:High Res                    640x256     50Hz, 15.60kHz
            PAL:High Res Laced              640x512     50Hz, 15.60kHz
            PAL:Super-High Res             1280x256     50Hz, 15.60kHz ECS
            PAL:Super-High Res Laced       1280x512     50Hz, 15.60kHz ECS
            SUPER72:Low Res
            SUPER72:Low Res Laced
            SUPER72:High Res                400x300     72Hz, 24.62kHz ECS
            SUPER72:High Res Laced          400x600     72Hz, 24.62kHz ECS
            SUPER72:Super-High Res          800x300     72Hz, 24.62kHz ECS
            SUPER72:Super-High Res Laced    800x600     72Hz, 24.62kHz ECS

            [overscan modes wanted also]

        B. Colormodes


            1) OCS
              Palette               4,096
              Maximum Colors        4,096

                Low Res             2 4 8 16 32
                Low Res EHB                     64
                Low Res HAM6                               4096
                High Res            2 4 8 16


            2) ECS
              Palette               4,096
              Maximum Colors        4,096

                Extra-Low Res
                Low Res             2 4 8 16 32
                Low Res EHB                     64
                Low Res HAM6                               4096
                High Res            2 4 8 16
                Super-High Res      2 4


            2) AGA
              Palette               16,777,216
              Maximum Colors           262,144

                Extra-Low Res       2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256
                Low Res             2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256
                Low Res EHB                     64
                Low Res HAM6                               4096
                Low Res HAM8                                    262,144
                High Res            2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256
                High Res HAM6                              4096
                High Res HAM8                                   262,144
                Super-High Res      2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256
                Super-High Res HAM6                        4096
                Super-High Res HAM8                             262,144



        C. Expansion

            Models Available

                OCS     A500, A1000, A1500, A2000, A2500
                ECS     A500+, A600, A1500+, A2000+, A3000, A3000T, A3000T/040
                AGA     A1200, A4000/030, A4000/040


                                A500  A600 A1000 A1200 A2000 A3000 A4000   CDTV



            Currently Available   x     x           x     x     x     x      x
            Supports OCS          x     x     x     x     x     x     x      x
            Supports ECS          x     x     x     x     x     x     x      x
            Supports AGA                            x                 x


            Exterior Bus          x           x
            Trapdoor              x     x           x
            PCMCIA                      x           x                        x
            Zorro II    16 bit                            x     x     x
            Zorro III   32 bit                                  x     x
            PCAT        16 bit                            x     x     x
            Video       24 bit                            x     x     x
            CPU      16/32 bit                            x     x     x

            External SCSI                                       x
            External Floppy       x     x     x     x     x     x     x     x
            External Serial       x     x     x     x     x     x     x     x
            External Parallel     x     x     x     x     x     x     x     x
            External VGA/SVGA                       x           x     x
            External RGB          x     x     x           x     x
            External Composite    x     x     x     x

            Internal SCSI                                       x
            Internal IDE                x           x                 x
            Internal Floppy       x     x     x     x     x     x     x
            Internal CD-ROM                                                 x

            Socketed CPU          x           x           x                 x
            Socketed Custom Set   x           x           x     x           x
            Socketed ROM          x     x           x     x     x     x     x

            CPU Used              00    00    00    20    0  30/40 30/40    00
            020 Available?        Y           Y     Y     Y                 Y
            030 Available?        Y     Y     Y     Y     Y     Y     Y     Y
            040 Available?        Y           Y           Y     Y     Y     Y

            Motherboard RAM       1     1     1     2     1    18    18     1
            Expansion Slot RAM    8     8           8    32  1GIG  1GIG     1

            ROM Version (BASE)  1.3   2.1   1.3   3.0   1.3   2.0   3.0   1.3
            ROM Version (MAX)   2.1   2.1   1.3   3.0   2.1   2.1   3.0   1.3



        D.  OCS, ECS, and AGA

                The Amiga custom chips come in three versions. The OCS was used
            primarily from 1985 to 1992. OCS is known simply as the Old Chip
            Set and has not been given any public official definition by CBM.
            However, in 1989 CBM released the ECS Extended Chip Set. This is
            still in production today, and offers more scree resolutions and
            the same number of bitplanes as used previously. In 1992 the AGA
            Advanced Graphics Architecture was released and introduced numerous
            new screenmodes (compatible with ECS) and a large number of new
            colormodes. The AGA chip set is often referred to as the AA chip
            set in the older literature.
                Following is a complete listing of every Amiga and which chip
            set it was shipped with, along with dates whenever possible. The
            list includes the model number, chip set, rom version, year
            introduced, rom storage format, and maximum ram accessible by the
            custom chips (similar to video ram).

                A500    - OCS   KS1.2           1987    ROM     512k
                A500    - OCS   KS1.3                   ROM     512k
                A500+   - ECS   KS1.3                   ROM    1024k
                A600    - ECS   KS2.05          1992    ROM    1024k
                A1000   - OCS   KS1.0           1985    DISK    256k
                A1200   - AGA   KS3.0           1992    ROM    2048k
                A1500   - OCS   KS1.3                   ROM    1024k
                A1500+  - ECS                           ROM    1024k
                A2000   - OCS   KS1.2           1987    ROM    1024k
                A2000   - OCS   KS1.3                   ROM    1024k
                A2500   - OCS                           ROM    1024k
                A3000   - ECS   KS1.3/1.4/2.04  1989    DISK   2048k
                A3000   - ECS   KS2.04                  ROM    2048k
                A3000T  - ECS                                  2048k
                A3000UX - ECS   UNIX                           2048k
                A4000   - AGA   KS3.0           1992    ROM

                ROMs stored on disk offer some disadvantages and advantages.
            First, using the computer requires an additional amount of ram
            equal to the size of the ram, which is often 512k. However, access
            to the ROM is faster when stored in RAM in many cases. Also,
            multiple operating systems can be placed in one computer that
            has disk based ROM. In order to use multiple ROM revisions on
            the other computers, a ROM Swticher is used which is a hardware
            toggle that seats each ROM chip on a small daughterboard. Some
            machines, such as the A3000, also have a ROM Tower, which includes
            an outdated ROM revision required to boot the system.



        E. Info on Computer Chips Used

                The command VERSION, when executed from the Amiga Shell or
            CLI, returns the version of the Kickstart and the Workbench.
            Following are the various versions of the Amiga ROM chips.


                KS1.0
                KS1.1
                KS1.2
                KS1.3
                KS1.4
                KS2.04  KS37.175
                KS2.1   KS37.175    WB38.28
                KS3.0


                The command CPU displays the configuration of the CPU and
            the memory burst modes. Following are the various CPU's used
            by the various machines, along with FPU math coprocessors. All
            are Motorola 68k series. The SHOWCONFIG command also returns
            relevant information in more detial.

                            CPU         FPU      MMU
                A500        000/7
                A600        000/7
                A1000       000/7
                A1200       020/14

                A1500       000
                A2000       000/7
                A2500       020         ???       ?
                A2500       030         ???       ?

                A3000       030/16      881       x
                A3000       030/25      882       x
                A3000T      030/25      882       x
                A3000T      040/25      040       x
                A3000UX     030/25      882       x

                A4000       030         ???
                A4000       040/25      040       x



        F. AGA Compatible Monitors

                The following monitors are capable of displaying all
            modes of the AGA chip set for Amiga computers.


    MODEL             MANUFACTURER              PRICE   SIZE   kHz     VERT Hz

    MS-8431           Amazing Tech.             $399     14   15-36       ?
    AML-1402          Adara Technology,         $650     14   15-36     45-90
    CM-324            AOC International         $549     14   15-36     50-90
    CM-324H/M         AOC International           ?      14   15-36     50-90
    CM-326            AOC International         $649     14   15-38     50-90
    Auto-Trak 714     Conrac Display              ?      13   15.5-37   45-80
    Auto-Trak 9250    Conrac Display            $3,850   13   15-37.5   48-90
    Model 7126S       Conrac Display            $3,995   26   15-32     48-75
    Model 7211        Conrac Display            $4,120   13   15-37.5   47-80
    Model 7211        Conrac Display            $4,120   19   15-37.5   47-80
    Model 7241        Conrac Display            $2,995   19   15-37     47-80
    Model 9214        Conrac Display              ?      13   15-38     50-80
    Multiscan 3436    CTX International         $780     14   15-38     50-90
    TSM-1431          Darius Technology         $699     14   15.5-39   50-90
    ECM 1410          Electrohome, Ltd.         $1,195   14   15-40     45-90
    ECM 2010          Electrohome, Ltd.         $3,195   20   15-38     45-120
    Eversync Color    Everex Systems            $599     14   15.5-35   50-70
    FMS               Falco Data                $750     14   15-38     47-90
    MTS-9608S         Forefront Technology      $499     14   15-38     50-90
    TY-1411           Golden Dragon               ?      14   15.5-3    50-120
    Idek MF-5017      IDEK/Iiyama North Amer    $1,275   17   15-40     50-90
    Idek MF-5021      IDEK/Iiyama North Amer    $2,695   21   15.5-38   50-90
    C21LV-65MAX       Image Systems Corp.         ?      21   15-65     55-90
    C24LV-65MAX       Image Systems Corp.         ?      24   15-65     55-90
    CM-1403           Intra Electronics USA     $300     14   15-38     40-100
    GD-H4220US        JVC Information           $2,895   19   15-37     45-87
    CMON M            Leading Edge              $599     14   15.75-39  50-90
    MagicVIEW 20      Mac                       $1,999   20   15.75-36  50-100
    Model 2014/LP     Microvitec,                 ?      14   15-40     45-100
    Model 2020        Microvitec,               $2,495   20   15-38       ?
    Model 710MH       Mitsuba Corp.             $415     14   15-38     50-90
    Diamond Pro 26M   Mitsubishi Electronics    $11,300  25   15-38     45-90
    HC-3505SK         Mitsubishi Electronics    $11,300  26   15.7-38   45-90
    XC-3315C          Mitsubishi Electronics    $5,495   33   15-38     40-120
    XC-3715C          Mitsubishi Electronics    $7,599   37   15-36     45-120
    AM-2752A          Mitsubishi Electronics    $3,700   27   15.6-36   45-90
    AM-3151A          Mitsubishi Electronics    $5,200   31   15.6-36   45-90
    AM-3501R          Mitsubishi Electronics    $6,900   35   15-35.5   45-70
    AM-1381A          Mitsubishi Electronics    $839     14   15.6-36   45-90
    MG-3430           Modgraph,                 $985     9    15-35     50-70
    DM-2710           NEC Technologies,         $3,995   27   15-38     40-100
    PanaSync C1391    Panasonic Communicatio    $899     13   15.5-36   40-80
    Ultra 1200        Princeton Graphic Syst    $450     12   15-38     45-120
    Ultra 1400        Princeton Graphic Syst    $899     14   15-38     45-120
    Ultra 1600        Princeton Graphic Syst    $775     16   15-38     45-120
    AlphaScan         Sampo Corp. of America    $649     14   15.75-36  50-87
    CE-8              Sceptre Technologies,     $995     14   15-38     50-90
    CM-3              Sceptre Technologies,     $795     14   15.5-36   50-70
    CPD-1302          SONY Corporation          $995     13   15.75-36  50-100
    GVM-1310          SONY Corporation          $1,295   13   15.75-36  50-100
    GVM-2020          SONY Corporation          $1,595   20   15.75-36  50-100
    Tuff/CRT          Talon Technology Corp.    $6,000   14   15-35     47-73
    Omniscan CM-1495H Tatung Co. of America,    $899     14   15-37     40-120
    MultiVision 770+  TAXAN America             $895     14   15-37     50-90
    MediaScan 3+      TVM Professional Monit      ?      14   15-38     46-100
    TM-5414           TW Casper Corp.             ?      14   15.5-35   50-70

                                                            Bjorn Stenberg
                                                            Stockholm, Sweden
                                                            bjst@sth.frontec.se


        G. Storage Devices

                          AMIGADOS      MS-DOS     MACINTOSH
            KS1.0       720k
            KS1.2       880k
            KS1.3       880k          720k
            KS2.04      900k 1.76mb   720k 1.44mb    1.44mb
            KS3.0       900k 1.76mb   720k 1.44mb    1.44mb

                In order to read 1.76mb AmigaDOS or 1.44mb MS-DOS a high
            density disk drive is required. These include the CBM drive,
            the Aplied Engineering drive, a floptical drive, or a high density
            IBM floppy drive. Some floptical drives do not support standard
            Amiga disks. IBM floppy drives may require a special driver. To
            read IBM disks from WB revisions older than 2.1, public domain
            software or WB upgrades are required. The Atari ST uses the same
            format as MS-DOS so no special conversion is necessary. In order
            to read Macintosh 800k disks, third party hardware is required
            or a Macintosh emulator card.



                                                      THIRD PARTY HARDWARE

                        FLOPPY HD-FLOPPY SCSI IDE   FLOPPY HD-FLOPPY SCSI IDE
            A500           x                           x        x      x   x
            A600           x                   x       x        x      ?  N/A
            A1000          x                           x        x      x   x
            A1200          x                   x       x        x      ?  N/A
            A1500          x                           x        x      x   x
            A2000          x                           x        x      x   x
            A2500          x               x           x        x      x   x
            A3000          x               x           x        x      x   x
            A3000T         x        x      x           x        x      x   x
            A3000UX        x               x           x        x      x   x
            A4000          x        x          x       x        x      x  N/A



+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+




    IX. Emulators

        A. IBM Emulators

                                        TEXT  CGA EGA VGA A500 ZorroII ALL
            Transformer      XT 8088      x                 x           x
            PC Task          XT 8088      x    x            x           x
            IBeM             XT 8088      x    x            x           x
            Cross PC         XT 8088      x    x            x           x
            Power PC Board   XT 8088      x    x       x    x     x     x
            2088 Bridgeboard XT 8088      x    x   x              x
            2286 Bridgeboard AT  286      x    x   x   x          x
            2386 Bridgeboard AT  386      x    x   x   x          x
            ATOnce           AT  286      x    x            x     x     x
            GoldenGate       AT  386      x    x   x   x          x
            GoldenGate       AT  486SLC   x    x   x   x          x
            EMC 486SLC       AT  486SLC   x    x   x   x          x
            GVP 286          AT  286      x    x   x   x    x     x


                            GVP286    ATOnce   PowerPC
                NortonSI      15
                Hercules       x        ?         ?
                CGA            x        x         x
                EGA/VGA      MONO       ?         ?
                Multitask?     x        x
                Shared RAM?    x        x         x
                FPU         80C287   80C387SX     ?


                              GG386  GG486 2088 2286 2386 EMC486
                mHz                   25                    33
                NortonSI       23     45     ?    ?    ?    66
                Landmark 2.0          78                   103
                Hercules        x      x     ?    x    x     ?
                CGA             x      x     x    x    x     x
                EGA/VGA         x      x     x    x    x     x
                Multitask?      x      x     x    x    x     x
                Shared RAM?     x      x     ?    ?    ?     ?
                FPU             ?      ?     ?    ?    ?     ?
                IDE PORT        x      x     ?    x    x     x
                FLOPPY PORT     x      x     x    x    x     x
                SERIAL PORT    SW     SW     ?    ?    ?     2
                PARALLEL PORT  SW     SW     ?    ?    ?     1
                GAME PORT                    ?    ?    ?     1



        B. Macintosh Emulators
                                     PLUS IIx ZorroII ALL SYSTEM7 COLOR
            AMax               68000   x               x     x
            AMax II+           68000             x           x
            EMPLANT            68030   x   x     x           x      x

                       ROM  SERIAL_PORT APPLETALK MIDI_PORT SCSI_PORT
            AMax II+  128k       x          x         x
            EMPLANT   256k       x          x                   x

                All ports listed above are exterior ports.

                AMax allows emulation of black and white Macintosh
            software designed for the Macintosh Plus. It does not allow
            the user to run Amiga software at the same time as Macintosh
            software.
                Emplant is capable of multitasking Amiga and Macintosh
            software at the same time on independent screens. Emplant
            also allows emulation of other computers simultaneously.



        C. UNIX Emulators
                                      ALL ZorroII MULTIUSER
            Amiga UNIX         68030         x        x
            LINUX
            MINIX



        D. Commodore 64 Emulators

            GO 64 Emulator      6502    Commercial
            A64 Package         6502    Shareware



        E. Atari ST Emulators
                                        A500 ZorroII ALL MULTITASK
            Medusa             68000      x
            Cameleon           68000      x



        F. Miscellaneous
                                       ALL
            BBC Micro                   x
            ZX80 Spectrum        Z80    x
            Apple II            6502    x
            GameBoy              Z80    x



+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

        XII. Graphics Boards


            A. Hardware Comparisons

                      BITS    RES    RGB COMP NTSC PAL DIGI GLOCK VIDEOSLOT
        Harlequin      24   910x486   x         x   x
        Resolver        8  2048x2048  x         x   x
        Vivid 24       24  2048x2048  x         x   x          x
        Rembrandt      24  1024x1024  x         x   x    x     x
        Visiona        24  8192x4096  x         x   x          x
        OpalVision     24   768x476   x         x   x    x     x      x
        FireCracker    24  1024x480   x         x   x          x
        Lowell A2410    8  1280x1024  x         x   x
        EGS            24             x         x   x          x
        IV24           24   768x480   x    x    x   x    x     x      x
        AVideo12       12             x         x   x          ?
        AVideo24       24             x         x   x          ?
        Video Toaster  22   768x480        x    x        x     x      x
        DCTV           22   768x480        x    x   x    x     x
        HAM-E           ?  1600x1280  ?    ?    x   ?          ?
        AGA            18  1280x480   x    x    x   x


                            Denise ZorroII ALL  FPU      PIP
        Harlequin      24             x
        Resolver        8             x        34010
        Vivid 24       24             x        34020 (4)
        Rembrandt      24             x        34020
        Visiona        24             x        INMOS
        OpalVision     24             x                   x
        FireCracker    24             x
        Lowell A2410    8             x
        EGS            24           COMBO
        IV24           24             x                   x
        AVideo12       12      x
        AVideo24       24      x
        Video Toaster  22             x
        DCTV           22                   x
        HAM-E           ?                   x

                        A500 A600 A1000 A2000 A3000 A4000 CDTV
        Harlequin                          x     x     x
        Resolver                           x     x     x
        Vivid 24                           ?     x     x
        Rembrandt                          ?     x     x
        Visiona                            x     x     x
        OpalVision                         x     x     x
        FireCracker                        x     x     x
        Lowell A2410                       x     x     ?
        EGS                                x
        IV24                               x     x     x
        AVideo12          x          x     x                x
        AVideo24          x          x     x                x
        Video Toaster                      x     x     ?
        DCTV              x    x     x     x     x     x    x
        HAM-E             x    x     x     x     x     x    x

            NOTES: A2000 includes A1500, A2000, A2500
                   A3000 includes A3000, A3000T

                   EGS Requires an A2000 with a GVP Combo accelerator.
                   DCTV and HAM-E are external units.
                   Video Toaster requires endplate adjustment for A3000.
                   A3000UX may use Lowell A2410 or Resolver.



+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

        XIII. Frequently Asked Questions




            - Why is my stock computer slow?

              YOU NEED FAST RAM. If your computer only contains Chip RAM, than
              it may be as much as 4 times slower than a computer equipped
              with Fast RAM. This is true for all but the A3000 and A4000,
              which come with adequate Fast RAM. At least 512k of Fast RAM is
              suggested, although a minimum of 1 megabyte is greatly preferred.
              Any Fast RAM above 1 megabyte has a negligible impact on CPU
              speed.

            - Can I replace my 68000 with a 68010?

              POSSIBLY. If you have an A1000, A500, A1500, or A2000 then
              you can. On an A600, the 68000 is not socketed and cannot be
              removed.

                The 68010 allows you to access FPU chips via a special disk
              based library. Speed increases are on the order of 10-15%.
              However, software compatibility suffers, so it is advised that
              you do not do this. 68010 chips sell for under $10.

            - What is the difference between the A500, A500+, and A500 Plus?

                The A500 contains either KS1.2 or KS1.3. The A500+ contains
              KS2.04 with the ECS chipset and is only available in Europe.
              The A500 Plus is an A500 with a special set of software
              packages and is similar in hardware to an A500.

            - Can I have different versions of the Kickstart and Workbench?

              YES. If you have KS1.2 you can also run WB1.3. If you have
              KS2.04 you can also run WB2.1. It is also possible to run
              older versions of system software but it is suggested to use
              the most compatible versions as older versions may suffer
              from software incompatibilities.

            - What is a Tower ROM?

              KS1.4 for the A3000. It is available on early model A3000's.
              It is not suggested that you use KS1.4 as it is outdated and
              not supported. These should not be removed.

            - Can an 040 accelerator work on KS1.3 or lower?

              NO. If you intend on using an 040 accelerator, it is suggested
              that you either use KS2.04 or greater. The KS must also be in
              ROM and not on disk. Some older 040 accelerators permit the
              use of KS1.3 or KS2.04 in RAM but this is not widely used. The
              KS2.04, if needed, sell for $50 or less.

            - Can the Amiga run IBM PC software?

              YES. Every Amiga is capable of running IBM PC software, including
              MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, OS/2, and all supporting software. This
              also includes SVGA cards, SoundBlaster, and time-based video
              correctors. In fact, many of these emulators can multitask PC
              and Amiga software simultaneously with minimal usage of CPU time.

            - Does the Amiga multitask?

              YES. The Amiga has multitasked since its conception in 1985.
              It works pre-emptively similar to UNIX and OS/2, as opposed
              to Windows 3.1 and System 7 which multitask co-operatively.
              It is generally accepted that pre-emptive multitasking is much
              cleaner and more reliable than co-operative multitasking. Also
              supported is multiprocessing. It is possible for the Amiga's
              custom chip sets to perform different operations simultaneously.

            - Why does the Amiga come with so little RAM or disk space?

              The Amiga requires less RAM and disk space than other computers.
              It is possible to use the Amiga operating system with less than
              20k of disk space and less than 100k of RAM. It is possible to
              run most Amiga software with 1 megabyte of RAM and one floppy
              drive.

            - Is the Amiga text based or window based?

              BOTH. The Amiga offers a windowing system called Intuition, that
              is accessed through the Workbench and most software. There is
              also a command line interface know as the CLI, and an advanced
              shell known as the AmigaShell. Also available is CSH, KSH, and
              BASH. The newer Kickstarts offer more shell commands in ROM than
              the previous versions.

            - Does the Amiga support high density floppy disks?

              YES. The A4000 includes a 1.76 megabyte floppy drive which also
              reads IBM 1.44 megabyte and IBM 720k disks. This floppy drive
              should work with most Amigas. Some A3000's in Australia were
              shipped with high density floppy drives. Applied Engineering
              also manufactured a high density floppy drive, but it did
              not sell well due to its high price. The Amiga high density
              drive from CBM sells for under $100. Many people have used
              standard IBM high density drives using a special device driver.

            - Is it possible to access the IBM slots in my computer without
              buying a Bridgeboard?

              YES. The Golden Gate II card allows one to use the IBM slots
              without purchasing a bridgeboard. IBM peripherals can therefor
              be used by Amiga software. The Golden Gate II is not an IBM
              emulator and should not be confused with the Golden Gate IBM
              emulator.

            - Is the Amiga for games only?

              NO. The Amiga is used by numerous television stations and other
              studios to produce broadcast quality video images and animations.
              The Amiga is used by Nickelodian, MTV, Prevue Guide, many
              cable TV stations, and movie studios. For example, the computer
              graphics in the science fiction movie Babylon 5 was produced
              using Amiga video and morphing software.

            - What is the difference between Chip RAM and Fast RAM?

              Chip RAM is similar to video RAM found on other computers. On the
              Amiga, the custom chip set can only directly access the RAM found
              in the Chip RAM. Chip is required by all Amigas, while Fast RAM is
              not required but highly suggested. Chip RAM stores screen data
              and audio data among other things.

            - If I purchase an Amiga, what additional hardware will I need?

              Generally, the only additional hardware required is a monitor
              or television to be used as a display device. The Amiga comes
              with all the necessary hardware to provide a fully working
              system. Some models do not include hard drives, however are fully
              capable of operating from floppy drives since Amiga software
              occupies less disk space than software for other formats.

            - Why should I upgrade my Kickstart or Workbench?

              If you are running anything lower than KS1.2, you have an
              obsolete version that is no longer generally supported. If
              You are running KS1.2, you may wish to upgrade to KS1.3 if you
              require better compatibility or autobooting hard drives. If
              you have KS1.3 or less, you will want KS2.04 if you intend
              to use a 68040 accelerator. Also, KS2.04 offers much more
              compatibility with productivity software, while KS1.3 is more
              compatible with entertainment software. If you are running
              KS2.04, you may wish to look into WB2.1 if you need to read
              MD-DOS disks. KS3.0, although a major upgrade, is not yet
              required by existing software.



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