MULTI@TRIUMFCL.BITNET (12/23/87)
It 'would be nice' if Atari provided an IBM-PC/xt compatible i/o channel adaptor with their standard (ie, AFFORDABLE) 680X0 based microcomputer line. This would combine the advantage of a large (16-megabyte minimum) DIRECTLY-addressable address space with the advantage of a large, existing, AFFORDABLE selection of IBM-PC/xt peripherals. In addition, we would like to point out that the Motorola 680X0 instruction set is much friendlier than the Intel 80X86 instruction set, and that the Motorola math-coprocessors tend to be MUCH faster than their Intel (NMOS=overheat) equivalents. Now, if only Atari would allow their GEM rom-based operating system to operate with the (faster) 68020, and supply a functional socket for the 68881 math co-processor. ps: Ever try Engineering/Physics Phortran with 64K segments?