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.
Houdini Reappears
