[net.micro] PCs, ATs, DOS, Intel chips etc.

grr@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (George Robbins) (06/16/86)

In article <580@looking.UUCP> brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes:
>>I don't like to make preditions about specific companies.  I would
>>say that the first company to come out with 1280x800 (mono) graphics,
>>1 meg memory, 1 MIPS, Virtual memory, and non-proprietary
>>multi-tasking in a complete system for under $1000 will shake the
>>market so badly, that the rest will have to follow.
>
>The Commodore 900 had all this for about $3K 2 years ago.  They cancelled.

Well not quite - we had 1024 * 640, 512K-1MB memory, and it was not virtual.
Furthermore, it was based on the Zilog Z8000, which is almost as brain
damaged as the Intel trash.  The first chips of each new generation are
generally not the best - TMS9900, Intel 8086, Zilog Z8000 vs. MC68000 and
NS16/32000.

>>Right now, I like the looks of the 68070, but success depends
>>on what is done with it, not the chip itself.

May turn out to be the vapor chip if the year...

>What might have happened if the 6502 had been expanded instead of the 6800?
>The same guy (Chuck Peddle) did both chips, and he did the 6502 second.

WDL is still trying to produce the 65C816, which offers 6502 compatibility
with 16 bit operations and extended memory addressing.  It is not pretty.
-- 
George Robbins - now working with,	uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)