BMK BMK T H E FFFFFFFF AA LL CCCCCCC OOOOOO NNN NN FF AA AA LL CC OO OO NNNN NN FFFF AA AA AA LL CC OO OO NN NN NN FF AA AA LL CC OO OO NN NNNN FF AA AA LLLLLLLL CCCCCCC OOOOOO NN NNN ** 000000 33333333 000000 ** 00 00 33 00 00 * 00 00 00 333333 00 00 00 00 00 33 00 00 000000 33333333 000000 The Falcon'030 - A high-flyer or a Stuffed Bird? Article by The Bitmap Kid. Most ST owners probably started hearing about the wonder machine around the spring of last year. First reports stated 'full ST compatibility' 'better than ANY computer under œ1000' 'memory upgradable with STE SIMMS' 'multi-TOS as standard'. So let's see what's come true.... 'Features, brilliant, brilliant features!' The little grey cells. The Falcon'030 runs on a Motorola 16MHz 68030 main processor, which is, of course, slightly slower than the horrendously fast speeds of up to 50 MHz (!) which you can find in some modern PCs. However, due to the amazing DSP chip etc, which the PCs don't have, the difference is decreased when you actually get down to using software. The 68030 is a true 32 bit machine. This basically means that instead of being only able to move 16 bits of data around at a time, like in the ST, Amiga etc, the Falcon'030 can move 32 bits around at a time, making the machine as a whole, much faster. The DSP (Digital Signal Processor) is also a Motorola and operates at 32 MHz (very fast). This is the bit of the Falcon that makes it such a powerful machine. The DSP is designed to process signals at high speed separately from the main processor, this enables the CPU to get on with the main job of running the system, while the DSP can handle the data, whether it be visual, sound etc. With the clock speed of 32 MHz and combined with all the other chips, it brings the Falcon far out of the reach of its competitors. DSP chips are normally found in machines like the NeXT system, costing thousands of pounds. There is also, in the Falcon, a floating point for an optional Motorola 68881/68882 co-processor, which is designed to concentrate on hard mathematical calculations. The Falcon has 512K of internal ROM for the operating system and can handle 1, 4 or 14 Megabytes of RAM, which is upgradeable with inexpensive boards SIMILAR to, (but not the same as), STE SIMMS. Graphics. The graphics on the Falcon are too good to believe, at higher resolutions, with more speed and colours, it is amazing what this baby (or should I say 'chick') can do compared to STs etc. There are many different screen modes (over 50, depending on your video setup) with a wide range of resolutions going up to 768 x 480 pixels. Probably the best and most interesting screen mode is True Colour (32,000 colours on-screen), which can not only beat most PCs' outputs, but is also as good as TV pictures. All resolutions can choose from a palette of over 262,000 colours. In addition to this there is also a Blitter and hardware scrolling. The Falcon accepts external video synch signal for high-quality genlocking and also has a 15-bit overlay mode which allows easy video tilting and special effects. The Falcon is happy displaying on RGB or VGA monitors and also standard TVs with selectible and programmable overscan (no border around the picture) with the built-in modulator which comes as standard. Sound. Definitely the best non-dedicated computer for sound handling on the market must be the Falcon. With its super built-in 16bit ADCs (Analog to Digital Converters), DACs (Digital to Analog Converters) and 8-track, 16-bit DMA (Direct Memory Access) with sampling rates up to 50KHz, you can record (through the built-in microphone socket etc) BETTER than CD quality sound, which runs at only 44.1 KHz! You can then play it back through the Falcon with no quality lost. This means voice synthesis and general sound in software will sound better than perfect! There is a built-in speaker and also a headphone socket, which means VGA monitors with no speakers can be used straight to the Falcon without having to buy any separate speakers. The MIDI sockets like in the ST have been included on the Falcon, so MIDI equipment will not have to change, good news for those with a MIDI setup already. Data Storage. Unlike the ST and Amiga, the Falcon comes with a more PC-like 1.44 Meg high-density floppy disk drive, allowing you to store more on a disk than the ST or Amiga. There is also space for an internal hard drive, which can be bought with the machine or separately at a later date. The Falcon uses SCSI-2 (Small Computer Systems Interface) connections for hard disks, CD-ROM etc, rather than the Atari-unique equipment found on the ST. User Interface. The Falcon will come with a standard 94 QWERTY keyboard including 10 function keys. There is also a separate keyboard processor chip to keep the CPU free. In addition, there is of course, a two-button mouse as standard. Standard Ports and Internal Expansion. * 2 x 9-pin joystick connectors (the same as the ST) * 2 x 15-pin enhanced digital/analog controller connectors * SCSI II port with Direct Memory Access * LAN (Local Area Network) port * Monitor connector, Genlocking input/Video Out. * TV modulator output * MIDI in/out * Stereo sound out, standard speaker/headphone pin (small type) * Stereo microphone input, standard pin (small type) * Two-way parallel printer port * Cartridge port (128K capacity) * Modem/RS232C serial port * Full featured internal expansion bus with CPU, Bus Control, Interrupt and clock signals * Internal memory expansion sockets In the games department, all this will allow you to play BETTER THAN ARCADE QUALITY GAMES!!! With all that power, those colours, animation, sound and speech capabilities you'll get amazing games, much better then those in consoles! As for serious work, think about the DTP and audio potential, clearly SPEAKING files, programs etc, animations beyond belief, quick, easy 3D design work, amazing multi-media, the list is almost endless... ******** The Falcon has a very good operating system, clear, very user-friendly and perfectly adequate for all types of work. The Operating System (TOS), is fully ROM-based, and so doesn't need loading from disks. ST owners will notice the 3D buttons on windows and the file selectors, giving a slightly more polished feel. The desktop, overall, is pretty much the same as the latest STE versions, including icon editing etc. MultiTOS is standard. It has been alleged that the Falcon's MultiTOS does not use 'proper' multi-tasking, that while one operation is being performed, all others cease. This is simply not true, so don't believe it. The Falcon has full multi-tasking capabilities, allowing you to not only run several programs at once, but also pass data between them. The Falcon should be 90% compatible with ST software, but games written up to this point will not be due to hardware differences. If programmers now stick to Atari's guidelines, then most ST programs for the future should be compatible with both machines. However Falcon-only software (including games) will have to be produced to take advantage of the Falcon because of Atari's own range of games being produced. Many people have been getting steamed up about the lack of advertisement for the Falcon, but basically there is no need. The first shipment of the Falcon was in the summer of last year, and so many people thought this was going to be the release date of it. Not true, there HAVE been Falcons for sale, but only in the development casing, and they were only REALLY on sale for the most keen computer users. The proper release date for the Falcon is set to be on the 1st of March, when the real advertising will probably start. The Falcon, from that date will be sold in a new casing, possibly looking something like the Mega ST or TT. Anyway, what is the point in advertising a product when there is not enough of the product for the demand generated? None. When there are enough consumer-Falcons in the country, the advertising will start, I assure you. The MAIN really amazing bit about the Falcon is this, for all that power and technology you will only have to pay around œ399, for your basic, 1Meg machine. Which is mega-cheap for what you get. Head to Head: The biggest competitor to the Falcon will be Commodore's Amiga 1200 and the massive PC market. The only real claim-to-fame the A1200 has over the Falcon is that it can display 256,000 colours on-screen at once from a palette of 16.7 million in high resolution HAM (Hold And Modify) mode. However, the problem with this is that the A1200 would only be able to display stationary pictures, and HAM causes a lot of screen-flicker. Overall the Falcon is faster, easier to use and basically all-round better than the poor old A1200! Initially, I see the A1200 outselling the Falcon, due to its earlier release date and possibly slightly better marketing. However, the Falcon will see the light in the end and will ride over the A1200 when people see the the Falcon is definitely not a 'stuffed bird'. FEATURE 1200 FALCON CPU EC 68020 68030 DSP NO YES Clock Speed 14.32MHz 16MHz LAN NO YES MIDI ports NO YES Disk drive 880K 1.44 Mbyte Opt Hard drive YES YES Graphics Blitter YES YES MMU NO YEP! Maximum RAM 6Mbytes 14Mbytes Max video RAM 2Mbytes 14Mbytes Multi-tasking YES YES ROM 512K 512K Full ROM boot? NO YES Expansion slot PCMCIA DSP and Internal Bus Expansion Palette 256,000 from 16.7m 32,768 from 262,144 True 8bit per pixel graphics NO YES 16bit True Colour NO YES Data cache NONE 256 bytes Instruction cache 256 bytes 256 bytes Record channels NO 16bit stereo Stero audio 8bit 16bit Playback channels 4 8+PSO (3 additional) Independent pixel defining in max colour modes NO YES DSP/DMA audio ports NO YES The PC. The PC has already a massive market in its nest, one which the Falcon will find hard to break into. Indeed, there may be faster PC systems, systems with better graphics, but to get a PC completely at par with the Falcon, the cost would be amazing compared to the œ399 price tag of the Falcon. The PC may be fast, but I don't think it will be long before the Falcon'040 is out, the Falcon'030's faster brother. Not only that, but I also don't think it will be long before the '030 is upgradable speed-wise - watch out PCs! The Last Word: Whatever way you look at it, the Atari Falcon'030 is far superior to all home computers, and at such a cheap price, it's gotta be the computer of the future. PCs can maybe beat it, but at what cost? A hell of a lot more I can tell 'ya! As for the A1200. Why bother? The Falcon will take over in no time, and soon the A1200 will be a laughing stock, Atari have once again got it just right, like in the good old days.... The Falcon'030 - œ399.99 - on sale (hopefully) March'93. If you have any comments on this article I'll be happy to read (and possibly print) your views. Address your mail to The Bitmap Kid at the normal SynTax address. BMK BMK