Apple Computer Inc has caused a flurry of excitement with reports that it may add 80486 co-processor boards for its Quadra, Centris and notebook machines. According to the Wall Street Journal, it has begun work on a notebook version of a dual-mode Macintosh with an 80486 to run Windows applications as well as the 68030 or 68040, but it may never appear as a product. According to PC Week, a board code-named Houdini will enable Quadra and Centris users switch between the Mac environment and MS-DOS or Windows at the touch of a hot key. The board will include an 80486 and VGA graphics chip, and will plug into the 68040 processor direct slot in the Centris or Quadra and use the machines’ existing RAM, SCSI devices and serial ports. The thing has hit delays, but if it is not killed in the current round of cuts would see the light of day late this year or early next. The aim is to keep the price below $500, with $300 suggested as a possibility. Users will not need to reboot, but the board will not support Windows applications in a Mac window.
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