| Apple was so pleased by the test marketing of its first
DOS-compatible board — nicknamed Houdini and briefly
bundled last spring with the Quadra/Centris 610 — that a
new line of 486 plug-in boards will be announced at Fall
Comdex. The first one is designed for use with the Power
Mac 6100, but Apple says more versions will follow. "We want to make sure that anyone who is considering a Mac won't have to pass us by just because there's one application that isn't available for the Mac OS," says Dave Daetz, cross-platform product-line manager for Apple's Personal Computer Division. The new Houdini incorporates several improvements suggested by users, especially corporate buyers. First, it has a 66-MHz Intel 486DX2 processor instead of the 25-MHz 486SX in the original version, and it plugs into the 6100's PDS (Processor Direct Slot) instead of a NuBus slot. Both changes will significantly boost performance. Second, the new Houdini supports NetWare or TCP/IP networking via the Mac's built-in Ethernet port. Third, it includes a 16-bit stereo SoundBlaster-compatible chip set. And fourth, it accepts up to 32 MB of local RAM on 72-pin SIMMs. Like the previous board, it can also share the Mac's RAM, but this reduces performance by about 25 percent. At Comdex, Apple will show a "technology demonstration" of a 68040-based Quadra 630 with a Houdini board, but that product isn't official. Apple says it may enlist third-party vendors to make DOS-compatible boards for some Macs. Apple estimates that a Power Mac 6100 bundled with the new Houdini board plus 16 MB of RAM, a 350-MB hard drive, a color monitor, and a keyboard will sell for about $2899, which works out to a cost of roughly $500 for the Houdini. The board will also be available separately for about $700. Copyright 1994-1998 BYTE |