[comp.sys.atari.st] 680x0 are NOT obsolete

wright@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Wright) (02/12/91)

> 2.  Motorola has only two REAL 680x0 customers left: Apple and Motorola.  NeXT
>     might pick up some slack, but not more than 2-3%...
> 6.  Motorola has several REAL customers for 88xxx: Data General, Tektronix,
>     Sequent, Opus, and, of course, Motorola.

Call me biased, but I consider Hewlett Packard to be more *REAL* than any
of Data General, Tektronix, Sequent, Opus, or Motorola.  Since you're
apparently not aware, HP does a pretty good business in Motorola 68k
workstations, partially through the aquisition of Apollo, and partially
through pre-existing HP products.

But of course, I'm not an official spokesman, and am just speaking of
my own opinions.  I actually don't our official position on REALity.


--Jeff Wright                           HP Circuit Technology R&D
  wright@hpctgrd.hp.com                   (HPtelnet/415) 857-5351

rehrauer@apollo.HP.COM (Steve Rehrauer) (02/14/91)

In article <1540010@hpcc01.HP.COM> wright@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Wright) writes:
>> 2.  Motorola has only two REAL 680x0 customers left: Apple and Motorola.  NeXT
>>     might pick up some slack, but not more than 2-3%...
>> 6.  Motorola has several REAL customers for 88xxx: Data General, Tektronix,
>>     Sequent, Opus, and, of course, Motorola.
>
>Call me biased, but I consider Hewlett Packard to be more *REAL* than any
>of Data General, Tektronix, Sequent, Opus, or Motorola.

   But to be fair, the shipments of all of the above "not Apple" products
   probably don't add up to a tenth of the number of Macs, STs and Amigas
   that go out the door.  Workstations may get the trade-rag hype, but in
   terms of volume consumption of 680x0s they're pretty small potatoes,
   I'd guess.  By that measure (volume==REAL), the original poster is right.
   (Of course, I suppose "REAL" must have different meaning in 88k-land...)

>  Since you're
>apparently not aware, HP does a pretty good business in Motorola 68k
>workstations, partially through the aquisition of Apollo

   Oh, is *that* why you bought us?  I was beginning to wonder...
   And here I thought it was to get discounts on DOMAIN nodes... :>
--
"The goons are riding motorcycles, but WE'VE  | (Steve) rehrauer@apollo.hp.com
 got a whole big metal car! This will be like | The Apollo Systems Division of
 stepping on ants..." -- Freelance Police     |       Hewlett-Packard

rrd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Ray Depew) (02/15/91)

In hpfcso:comp.sys.atari.st, rehrauer@apollo.HP.COM (Steve Rehrauer) writes:

>In article <1540010@hpcc01.HP.COM> wright@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Wright) writes:
>>> 2.  Motorola has only two REAL 680x0 customers left: Apple and Motorola.  NeXT
>>>     might pick up some slack, but not more than 2-3%...
>>> 6.  Motorola has several REAL customers for 88xxx: Data General, Tektronix,
>>>     Sequent, Opus, and, of course, Motorola.
>>
>>Call me biased, but I consider Hewlett Packard to be more *REAL* than any
>>of Data General, Tektronix, Sequent, Opus, or Motorola.
>
   >But to be fair, the shipments of all of the above "not Apple" products
   >probably don't add up to a tenth of the number of Macs, STs and Amigas
   >that go out the door.  Workstations may get the trade-rag hype, but in
   >terms of volume consumption of 680x0s they're pretty small potatoes,
   >I'd guess.  By that measure (volume==REAL), the original poster is right.
   >(Of course, I suppose "REAL" must have different meaning in 88k-land...)
>
>>  Since you're
>>apparently not aware, HP does a pretty good business in Motorola 68k
>>workstations, partially through the aquisition of Apollo
>
   >Oh, is *that* why you bought us?  I was beginning to wonder...
   >And here I thought it was to get discounts on DOMAIN nodes... :>

Hate to correct you both, but every LaserJet HP has sold contains a 680X0.
I may be wrong on this (time for someone from HP Boise to jump into this!)
but I'm sure there are more LaserJets than Macs out there by now.  It's 
hard to beat a sales strategy of "gain more respect, add more features, drop
the price again."  If Apple had followed this strategy, I'd be typing this
in from a Mac II.


Regards
Ray Depew
HP ICBD -- IC's By Decree
rrd@hpfitst1.hp.com
(350 at work, ST at home)

mjv@brownvm.brown.edu (Marshall Vale) (02/20/91)

In article <7340085@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> rrd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Ray Depew) 
writes:
> Hate to correct you both, but every LaserJet HP has sold contains a 680X0.
> I may be wrong on this (time for someone from HP Boise to jump into this!)

 Yup, my LaserJet3 has a 68000 in it (10MHz in it.) In fact many laser
printer controller boards are running a 680x0. Think of all the Apple
LaserWriters out there too. There are probably many Sega Genesi (proper
plural?) out there by now and many arcade machines are running off
the friendly 68000. Just a couple other areas that the 68Ks are in.

Marshall

 *******************************************************************
-> Internet: mjv@brownvm.brown.edu
"He had found the perfect TV mix, on Marvin's Hour of Power.
 (The show that put the FUN back into fundamentalist)."
   -- Neil Gaiman; Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of 
     Agnes Nutter, Witch

vsnyder@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Van Snyder) (02/20/91)

In article <65500@brunix.UUCP> mjv@brownvm.brown.edu (Marshall Vale) writes:
>In article <7340085@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> rrd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Ray Depew) 
>writes:
>> Hate to correct you both, but every LaserJet HP has sold contains a 680X0.
>> I may be wrong on this (time for someone from HP Boise to jump into this!)
>
> Yup, my LaserJet3 has a 68000 in it (10MHz in it.) ...

I started this mess, and I'm getting sorry for it.  But the point I wanted
to make wasn't that NOBODY uses the 68k any more.  FEWER every year build
COMPUTERS around them.  How much application software do you find for
6809s?  There're tons of them in device controllers.  They're pretty good
little 8-bit processors, but NOBODY builds computers around them.  If ONE
vendor still did, would YOU be a developer for it?

-- 
vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov
ames!elroy!jato!vsnyder
vsnyder@jato.uucp

floyd@ims.alaska.edu (Floyd Davidson) (02/20/91)

In article <65500@brunix.UUCP> mjv@brownvm.brown.edu (Marshall Vale) writes:
>In article <7340085@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> rrd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Ray Depew) 
>writes:
>> Hate to correct you both, but every LaserJet HP has sold contains a 680X0.
>> I may be wrong on this (time for someone from HP Boise to jump into this!)
>
> Yup, my LaserJet3 has a 68000 in it (10MHz in it.) In fact many laser
[...]
>plural?) out there by now and many arcade machines are running off
>the friendly 68000. Just a couple other areas that the 68Ks are in.

Yep, 680x0 chips ain't going away for a long time.  The idea gave
me a chuckle, and this article brought to mind another example.

If your phone is connected to a Northern Telecom digital switch,
well, chances are that 68000's and 68030's are deciding how and
where your digital bits get through the switch.  But that is not
the half of it.  Those intercept messages, like "The number you 
have dialed is not in service...", that is put together by no
less that an 8085.  Not even an 8085 is obsolete yet.

Floyd
-- 
Floyd L. Davidson  |  floyd@ims.alaska.edu   |  Alascom, Inc. pays me
Salcha, AK 99714   |    Univ. of Alaska      |  but not for opinions.

bill@mwca.UUCP (Bill Sheppard) (02/21/91)

In article <1991Feb20.011111.14958@jato.jpl.nasa.gov> vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Van Snyder) writes:
>I started this mess, and I'm getting sorry for it.  But the point I wanted
>to make wasn't that NOBODY uses the 68k any more.  FEWER every year build
>COMPUTERS around them.  How much application software do you find for
>6809s?  There're tons of them in device controllers.  They're pretty good
>little 8-bit processors, but NOBODY builds computers around them.  If ONE
>vendor still did, would YOU be a developer for it?

Actually, there is a _new_ computer coming out based on the 6809 - the TC-9
from Frank Hogg Labs (don't laugh, they have a pretty large customer base).
The TC-9 is aimed at the couple of million Tandy Color Computer users who
would like more options in terms of peripherals, memory, and clock speed
than the now orphaned CoCo 3 provides.  Check into comp.os.os9 and you'll
see a fair number of posts regarding the TC-9 (even though comp.os.os9 isn't
the proper newsgroup for such queries, generally).  There are many companies
still developing 6809 software for the CoCo and other 6809 machines out there.
Of course, I suppose we could find a developer for the Coleco Adam if we
looked hard enough...

-- 
 ##############################################################################
 # Bill Sheppard  --  bills@microware.com  --  {uunet,sun}!mcrware!mwca!bill  #
 # Microware Systems Corporation  ---  OS-9: Seven generations beyond OS/2!!  #
 ######Opinions expressed are my own, though you'd be wise to adopt them!######

jcksnsr@nmt.edu (Jeffrey C. King) (02/23/91)

In article <1991Feb20.011111.14958@jato.jpl.nasa.gov> vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Van Snyder) writes:
>I started this mess, and I'm getting sorry for it.  But the point I wanted
>to make wasn't that NOBODY uses the 68k any more.  FEWER every year build
>COMPUTERS around them.  How much application software do you find for
>6809s?  There're tons of them in device controllers.  They're pretty good
>little 8-bit processors, but NOBODY builds computers around them.  If ONE
>vendor still did, would YOU be a developer for it?
>
  Perhpas I'm being snide here, but how many people are still developing 
computers around the 8088?  And if you were a developer, would you sell it?

  fact is, only one computer (including clones) is built around the 80x86
series (well maybe a few more SUN does make an intel based system (I believe))
while many are built arouond the  680X0 series (MAc, Amiga, Atari and most suns
  (NMT has several 68020 based SUNS and SUNS are not becoming obsolete...)

JEff

luoto@cs.Helsinki.FI (Markku Luoto) (02/26/91)

just, I don't know why, but I had to tell...
Many (including my Goldstar) microwaves have 68000 in them... (I mean the top 
of the line models)...

now wad u think ? are there more cmptrs in the world than micros ??

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>>   " I'm completely operational & all my cicuits are functioning  <<<<<<
>>>>>>      correctly...correc...corr...co...-! " : HAl9000             <<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

vsnyder@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Van Snyder) (02/27/91)

In article <11760@hydra.Helsinki.FI> luoto@cs.Helsinki.FI (Markku Luoto) writes:
>just, I don't know why, but I had to tell...
>Many (including my Goldstar) microwaves have 68000 in them... (I mean the top 
>of the line models)...
>
>now wad u think ? are there more cmptrs in the world than micros ??

Are you trying to make a living as a developer for software to run on top-of-
the line microwaves?

-- 
vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov
ames!elroy!jato!vsnyder
vsnyder@jato.uucp

carter@cat27.cs.wisc.edu (Gregory Carter) (02/27/91)

I don't know what all the fuss is about obsolescence??  I mean, if the machine
does what you want it too your degree of satisfaction I don't think the 
processor is obsolete.

saying something is obsolete carries with it the notion that something is
no longer useful in what it does.

I would hardly say that about my Mega STe.  It has everything I want right
now in as far as speed is concerned.  If it ever becomes to slow, I'll
upgrade, maybe buy Mr. Small's SST board if he ever makes one for my
MEGA STe??

--Gregory

lunnon@qut.edu.au (02/28/91)

In article <1991Feb26.201947.13117@jato.jpl.nasa.gov>, vsnyder@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Van Snyder) writes:
> In article <11760@hydra.Helsinki.FI> luoto@cs.Helsinki.FI (Markku Luoto) writes:
>>just, I don't know why, but I had to tell...
>>Many (including my Goldstar) microwaves have 68000 in them... (I mean the top 
>>of the line models)...
>>
>>now wad u think ? are there more cmptrs in the world than micros ??
> 
> Are you trying to make a living as a developer for software to run on top-of-
> the line microwaves?
> 

Don't laugh, there is much more money to be made writing software for
microcontrolled machinery than there EVER will be in selling PC packages. I
made a living off this for 2 years without really trying, now if I had TRIED ?


But a version of Gauntlet II for my microwave would go down real nice
(could give the dragon a taste of his own medicine :-)




> -- 
> vsnyder@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov
> ames!elroy!jato!vsnyder
> vsnyder@jato.uucp

		BOB
		R.lunnon@qut.edu.au