At COMDEX 2 weeks ago, I didn't notice any PCI serial port boards, esp.
since I wasn't really looking for any :-), but I did see some PCI sound
cards. Most of them are SB compatible only in Win95 (or a Win95 DOS
box), not "native" DOS (limitation in the way the PCI bus works). This
means that you will still need an ISA based SB-compatible sound card for
DOS-based apps.
Turtle Beach is the only "major" company currently shipping a PCI sound
card - the "Daytona 64". It retails for $129. I'm sure Creative will
soon release a PCI sound card, but I doubt it will be SB-compatible in
DOS (again, probably a PCI limitation). There are also some generic PCI
sound cards available...support is a shot in the dark. Some
"professional quality" PCI sound cards have been available for a while,
but the prices are outrageous.
Not much of a market for "generic" PCI serial port cards, but I do know
that DigiBoard makes a 16-port serial port adapter designed for
"multi-user" environments (LAN via serial port). DigiBoard's been
making multi-serial port adapter for years, primarily for the telecom
market. The retail on the 16-port PCI card is $1495! Don't think I'll
be needing one of those any time soon! Give it some time. I'm sure
somebody will eventually release a PCI "Multi-I/O" card soon. Being a
"low bandwidth" device, most companies don't see a need to release a PCI
based card - the ISA bus is fast enough. But, eventually, ISA slots
will disappear and the need will be real. I even saw a motherboard with
7 PCI slots and 2 ISA slots (one shared)!
- Aaron Hsu, KD6DAE
athsu@unistudios.com
dae@pacbell.net
p.s. Recently, my Pacbell e-mail ID has been forged as the return
address on SPAM sent to AOL users. Please be aware that I have not, do
not, nor will not ever send SPAM. I have notified my ISP, AOL, and the
message's originating ISP (mci.net) about this matter. If you have
received one of these SPAM's, please accept my apologies on behalf of
the idiot who's using my ID.
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