Category : Miscellaneous Language Source Code
Archive   : VDIGIT.ZIP
Filename : README.1ST

NOTICE OF UNSUPPORTED CPU TYPE
------------------------------

Everything in this software package requires an 80286 or 80386 processor
running at a speed of at least 6 MHz. In order to provide the features of
background playback and file reading on-the-fly, a lot of processing has to
occur in a very short time period a lot of times per second. Few if any PC/XT
machines using 8088/8086 processors will be fast enough. In tests I made,
NONE of the four 8088-based machines tested were able to keep up. Voice
output was slow, distorted, and erratic, or non-existent.

I realize that there are still a lot of XT's out there, but the fact is that
there are very few XT's (8088 CPU's) being bought as new machines. The price
of 10 MHz AT clone motherboards is now so low that this is usually "bottom of
the line" in desktop machines. Even portables are moving away from the 8088
as a CPU.

A decision was made (with some reluctance) to abandon all efforts to make
this package work with 8088/8086 machines. Why have a 286 or 386 and yet not
use its improved performance? All the programs included here use 286-specific
instructions and therefore will not run on an 8088/8086 even if a fast enough
one could be found. The routines RVOICE_INIT and PVOICE_INIT (see VOICEKIT.DOC
and VPMOD.DOC) test for CPU type before doing anything else, and return an
error code of 2 if an 8088 or 8086 is detected.

- Alan D. Jones