XPost: comp.sys.cbm, rec.games.video.classic   
   From: screw@you.net   
      
   In article ,   
    MagerValp  wrote:   
      
   > >>>>> "PB" == Payton Byrd  writes:   
   >   
   > PB> The C64's slow disk access had nothing to do with the DOS, but was   
   > PB> a side-effect of an industrial engineer getting too happy with the   
   > PB> cutting knife and removing a motherboard trace that the Kernal   
   > PB> programmer was depending on. Before the error was caught over   
   > PB> 100,000 boards had been produced and the Kernal programmer had to   
   > PB> scramble to fix the Kernal in both the C64 and the 1541 to work   
   > PB> without the trace and all of the boards had to have the updated   
   > PB> Kernal retrofitted.   
   >   
   > What? Where on earth did you come up with that?   
   >   
   > IEC is slow because of the 6522 shift register bug, forcing Bob   
   > Russell to implement it with bit-banging when doing the VIC-20 kernal.   
   > He chose a slow but reliable bitrate, as he didn't have time to test   
   > it properly before shipping. IEC is slow on the C64 because management   
   > wanted it to be compatible with the 1540 disk drive. Badlines screwed   
   > that up, and therefore it's even slower on the C64. Fast serial is   
   > available on the C128 + 1571 as they use 6526 chips, with working   
   > shift registers.   
      
   Actually the reason it is so slow is during the manufacturing process   
   some of the necessary hardware lines were "deleted" on accident and it   
   was caught too late...he was correct.   
      
   Douglas   
      
   :)   
      
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