rcpieter@svin02.info.win.tue.nl (Tiggr) (12/05/90)
[
I am posting this for `Quackers <hdfa@cs.warwick.ac.uk>'.
Reply to me about the stuff between the square brackets (you're
reading it *now*) and reply to Quackers (pmf?) about the rest of this
article. I thought about posting this to comp.sys.mac.hardware as
well, but they've already had some quoted articles on this item, and
I'm not sure this one was in there as well (and I'm too lazy ...)
To avoid flames, this article won't appear in comp.sys.mac.hardware.
Tiggr
PS Something is now telling me that comp.sys.arm would have been a
right name after all :-)
]
From: Quackers <hdfa@cs.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: Arm processor for Mac's
Below is a small article that I read in this weeks Computer Weekly and thought
that would be of interest.
Quackers.
APPLE AND ACORN JOIN VLSI FOR MAC CHIP
======================================
Apple Computer has announced a joint venture with US chip firm VLSI Technology
and European computer maker Acorn aimed at developing a RISC chip for use in
Apple's Machintosh.
Acorns part of the venture will allow VLSI and Apple to co-design a new chip
based around the ARM (Acorn Risc Machine) microprocessor.
The outcome of the venture will be a chip capable of powering the next
generation of Apple Machintosh desktop computers, or operating as a support
chip within a Machintosh to manipulate peripheral equipment such as printers.
The outcome of the venture could have major ramifications for Motorola and
Apple users.
Motorola has, since the introduction of the Machintosh computer, provided
Apple with the microprocessors at the heart of its computer - namely the 68xxx
family of chips.
Apple has been expected to adopt a Risc processor design for sometime, but
belief has been the company would use Motorola's Risc offering, the 88000.
A venture with Acorn and VLSI could strain what has been a long-standing and
reciprocal relationship between Apple and Motorola.
>From a user standpoint the adoption of a proprietary Arm/VLSI Risc processor
for the Machintosh would cast doubt on current Machintosh software being
supported.
The Acorn Arm Risc processor design is not a widespread architecture, but
Acorn has found some success with the chip design in the form of the company's
Archimedes Unix workstation.
VLSI Technology has had a long-standing relationship with both Apple and
Acorn.
Apple has long been one of VLSI's major customers for the supply of Asic
chips, and in the case of Acorn, VLSI manufactures its Arm processor.
Neil Fawcett, Computer Weekly, November 29, 1990