Author: Robert Pope
Date: 07:37:03 05/25/99
Go up one level in this thread
On May 25, 1999 at 09:45:16, Robert Hyatt wrote: >On May 25, 1999 at 03:06:34, Dave Gomboc wrote: > >>On May 24, 1999 at 22:05:17, Dann Corbit wrote: >> >>>On May 24, 1999 at 21:00:56, Roger D Davis wrote: >>> >>>>Seems that some people think installation will be a bear and others think it's a >>>>minor issue. It occurred to me that maybe the DB chip could be put into a box >>>>about the size of my Iomega Zip drive, or just a little larger, and plugged into >>>>the USB port. Then there would no hardware installation problem, and the thing >>>>would be portable, too. So carry it back and forth to your local chess club, >>>>maybe even run it on your laptop on an airplane. Take it wherever. Seems to me >>>>that would solve a lot of problems, if it could be done. >>>> >>>>And that gives it another advantage over the micros: You can't often legally >>>>install software on multiple computers for easy portability. With a DB box, all >>>>you'd need to install would be the basic software needed to interface with the >>>>box, just like Iomega the Iomega Tools disk, for example. >>>> >>>>Possible? >>>I think the only problem with this scheme is that you would have to have all the >>>memory for the chip included in the box as well. Seems that it might be >>>expensive to do it that way. The parallel port would be *way* too slow to store >>>the data to and from memory. Basically, you would have to have a PC in the >>>little box, along with the Hsu chips, I think. That is clearly doable, since >>>they have PC-on-a-board implementations, but it would be a lot more expensive >>>than a card with a chip on it that uses the PC resources. >> >>It's clear that the parallel port would be too slow, but he suggested using the >>USB port. I doubt this would be fast enough either, but I am not informed: I >>don't really know how fast USB is. >> >>Dave > > >A couple of points. USB/Parallel are too slow. This is about high-speed >communication between the processor and the chess processor(s). It was >originally built around VME bus speeds. It needs the PCI speed at least. > >Second, I don't understand this hesitation to install a PC circuit board. >Comp-USA does a huge business here in Birmingham. My wife knows _nothing_ >about computer hardware, yet she has installed a fax modem and an ethernet >board in her office computer with no help. _students_ are putting machines >together, much less installing a single board. This is simply a non-issue. > >You remove the cover (2-5 screws), remove the blocking plate and throw it away >(1 screw), insert the PCI board and use the blocking plate screw to hold it in >the slot, replace the cover, and this is done. It does _not_ require a high >degree of technical skill. If someone can't follow a simple set of pictures >and instructions to accomplish this, then it is highly unlikely that person >can operate the computer at all. > >It is _trivial_ and _safe_. But then you find out the modem doesn't work because it has to be assigned to an IRQ below 10, which are all filled. So a tech guy tells you to remove COM2 to make space, but that was the port your mouse used, so now you have no mouse, and have to get it running... Safe? Most likely, if you aren't a static electricity magnet. Trivial? Usually, but not always. And until it is, there will always be people nervous about messing something up.
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