bob (03/12/83)
Zilog Press Release: "Commodore International Limited and Zilog, Inc. have signed an agreement under which Commodore will use Zilog's 16-bit Z8000(TM) microprocessor family in its next generation of microcomputer systems ..." Commodore will also supply mask sets and manufacturing rights for their own custom circuits to Zilog. Apparently, Commodore has given up on MOSTEK's proposed 65000 and is going with the Z8000 because (a) it works, (b) its small die size (smallest of the 16-bitters), which translates to (c) potentially cheapest when produced in large quantities, and (d) software development support, which is embodied in ZEUS(TM), a very useful translation of our favorite operating system, and the first such to be offered by any of the 16-bit manufacturers. This puts Zilog back into the big leagues. They had been suffering because Intel got to the market first with '86, with customer support reminiscent of IBM, and Motorola got to the market best with the 68K, a very nice architecture. The Z8000 is not as nice to use as the 68K, but it is definitely not the hack that the '86 is. It's nice to see the balance restored between the big three of the micro world. Bob (not afraid to call 'em the way I see 'em) Dalgleish ...!utah-cs!sask!dvlcn!bob Develcon Electronics